Fang-Ling Lu, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, has been named director of the School of Health Professions new master of science in speech-language pathology program.
Dr. Lu comes to UT Health San Antonio from the University of North Texas, where she joined the faculty in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology in 1997. While at UNT, Dr. Lu served as director of graduate studies for 12 years cumulatively.
Dr. Lu said she is excited by the challenge of creating a new program, particularly one that is committed to offering a medical concentration, which she noted is currently offered by none of the 17 master’s programs in speech-pathology in Texas. The program’s curriculum will help meet the need for qualified speech therapists in medical settings, she said.
“There is a great need there,” she said. “We need the profession to have more training in medical.”
Faculty recruitment is underway for the program, which Dr. Lu said will benefit from strong support at UT Health San Antonio.
“Here I see there are no limits—the resources, the personnel and the support,” she said. “Everybody’s so excited about having this program built up here. It’s tremendously helpful.”
The two-year, five-semester MS-SLP program has received a Level One approval from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Student enrollment will not begin until accreditation is awarded, and the school expects to learn more about the program’s accreditation status in July.