Victoria Keetay, who was selected to direct Pacific’s new School of Audiology in the College of Health Professions, has numerous goals for this school year.
She said getting a new program up and running is “challenging, but it’s also exciting. There is a lot that has to be done all at once.”
Keetay is working hard to establish the audiology program on the Health Professions Campus in Hillsboro and plans to enroll the first class of the doctorate program’s students by the fall of 2012, pending accreditation.
She plans to hire a manager of administrative services by the end of this term and is looking for a director for the future audiology clinic and clinical education.
Pacific University administrators have plans to build a new building on the HPC, but in the meantime Keetay is searching for clinic space. Keetay plans to establish a community-based teaching clinic in Hillsboro that will serve the public while providing students a chance to gain hands-on experience.
“We must have a state-of-the-art clinic,” said Keetay.
In addition, Keetay said she plans to collaborate with Pacific’s other health professions programs to ensure students receive a well-rounded interprofessional healthcare education.
Once the program receives accreditation, Keetay will be busy hiring faculty, recruiting students, developing a marketing strategy and creating community connections.
Keetay said she will seek faculty who “look toward the future, think outside the box, are flexible in terms of currency in both audiology and teaching and, like me, fundamentally just really love what they do for a living.”
Her ultimate goal is to “set the standard for audiology education in this country.”
Keetay is well-educated to undertake the task; she earned a doctorate in hearing science from Purdue University, worked as the Senior Director of Education for the American Academy of Audiology, has served several professional and academic committees and said her “whole career has focused on education. My heart was always in academia.”
After visiting the HPC for a conference a few years ago, Keetay said she fell in love with the area and Pacific. “One of the joys of the CHP is how collaborative, friendly and welcoming everyone is. You know you belong here and you’re going to get an outstanding education here.”
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