Department Mission
The mission of the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology at West Virginia University is to recruit, retain and graduate highly qualified pre-professional undergraduate students and entry-level clinicians who will utilize evidence-based practice; adhere to the highest personal and professional ethical standards; employ critical thinking and self-analysis; recognize the value of advanced and continuing education; demonstrate empathy, altruism, and accountability in their clinical practice; and aspire to provide exceptional quality of service for a diversity of persons of all ages with communication, swallowing, and balance disorders in an equitable and inclusive manner. The Department also strives to further the discipline of communication sciences and disorders as well as the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology by excelling in research and scholarship; offering quality post-professional doctoral education for students who will assume leadership roles as productive researchers and effective educators; and, by providing excellent diagnostic and rehabilitative services to promote the health and well-being of the people of West Virginia and to serve as a resource for West Virginia University and the region.
Department Vision
By 2020, the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology will have made substantial contributions to West Virginia University’s land grant mission and research prominence by becoming a leader in the education of pre-professional undergraduate students, preparation of audiologists and speech-language pathologists, and development of educators and researchers who will become the future leaders in the discipline of communication sciences and disorders; by maintaining a faculty actively engaged in regionally, nationally, and internationally recognized research and scholarship; by fostering model clinical facilities to advance the education of students and the well-being of individuals with communication disorders; and by expanding its community outreach efforts and the visibility of its programs and services.
Strategic Plan
Informed by our mission, the strategic plan outlines the ways in which the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology intends to achieve its vision for the future. Although our vision statement (as well as those of the College of Education and Human Services and West Virginia University) extends to 2020, the Department recognizes that strategic planning is an ongoing process whereby both its success and relevance must be assessed regularly to address ever-changing internal and external needs. Accordingly, the Department faculty evaluates and, when necessary, revises the strategic plan each academic year at the beginning of the fall semester.
The most current strategic plan may be downloaded here. The Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology’s strategic plan includes the following goals:
1. Enhancing scholarship by increasing research impact, quality, and productivity;
2. Increasing the admission of highly qualified, motivated, and culturally diverse students;
3. Promoting diversity, global engagement, and a culture of inclusion;
4. Ensuring that the clinical services provided by the West Virginia University Speech
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and Hearing Centers meet the needs of the community; and
5. Establishing a dynamic Ph.D. program in Communication Sciences and Disorders