Salus Alumni Mag.100908:Document 2
10/11/08
12:14 PM
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AUDIOLOGY
George Lindley, Ph.D., Au.D. ’03 George Lindley, Ph.D., Au.D. ’03, is Director of the Audiology Distance Learning Program at the Salus University George S. Osborne College of Audiology. AuDonline is a distance based program solely for licensed, master’s degree level, practicing audiologists. The program is designed to facilitate interaction between students and instructors and includes weekly online classes, message boards, and online discussions. When the PCO School of Audiology was established, its founding dean, Dr. George S. Osborne, hired George Lindley as an instructor. While the program stopped accepting new students in 2007, the last AuDonline programs do not end until 2010. George Osborne realized the difficulty facing most practicing audiologists in going back to school full-time, so he developed a “bridge” program to provide a work and familyfriendly option for those master level practitioners wishing to obtain an Au.D., now the entry level degree for the profession. George Lindley explains that audiologists with fewer than four years experience must take 20 courses, while those with more than four years experience take an average of 16 courses. “Which courses they take are determined based on their past experience and future goals,” he adds. “Most students complete the program in 18 months to three years.” Upon completion of their coursework, the student must pass a comprehensive exam as the last step. One of the reasons for setting the program’s end date was to avoid the possibility that students could continue to obtain a master’s degree and then get their Au.D. through a distance based program. To date, more than 1000 audiologists have successfully completed AuDonline and more than 2000 will have graduated by the program’s end in May 2010. While enrolled, audiologists with a master’s degree continue to practice and provide their patients with excellent service, Dr. Lindley points out. “No training can replace experience,” he emphasizes, “But many audiologists with a master’s degree wish to obtain an Au.D. as well, since this is the degree new practitioners now hold.” Today George Lindley’s primary AuDonline responsibilities are determining which courses need to be offered each session, creating students’ comprehensive exams, which are required to graduate, and answering emails from the 800 plus remaining students. A 1993 Penn State graduate, Dr. Lindley earned a Master’s degree in Audiology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1995, where he received a Ph.D. in Audiology in 2001. He earned his Au.D. from the PCO School of Audiology in 2003. As an assistant professor at the College in 2002, George Lindley says he was fortunate to be involved in the development of the residential Au.D. program from its
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inception. “While working full-time as an assistant professor at PCO, I taught the hearing instrument courses to both residential and distance-based students. I also had some administrative responsibilities in the distance education program (e.g., creating the comprehensive exams),” he recalls. In 2006, Dr. Lindley accepted a full-time position with Oticon, one of the world’s major hearing aid manufacturers, while continuing as an adjunct professor at PCO, teaching in both the residential and distance based programs. After the unexpected death of George Osborne in June 2007, George Lindley was asked to become interim director of AuDonline. “Because I was familiar with the inner workings of the administration of the distance based program, I felt it was important to take on the role of acting director of the program when Dr. Osborne passed away,” he explains. “There would be less of an abruption since I was already familiar with how things worked.” Today Dr. Lindley continues his role as Manager of Pediatric Training and Education at Oticon, while continuing to administer the AuDonline distance- education program. Dr. Lindley says George Osborne influenced him in many ways, both professionally and personally. “Dr. Osborne was a pioneer in the field of Audiology and was always pushing the envelope in terms of our scope of practice, business models, and education and training requirements,” George Lindley remembers. “It was not easy to establish an Audiology program in a College of Optometry, but his enthusiasm and ‘glass half full’ mentality really drove the process forward. So I learned the value of persistence and believing in a purpose to get things accomplished.” Dr. Lindley says one of the more fun aspects of his role here at Salus University is calling each student after they pass their comprehensive exam. “It was important to Dr. Osborne that this call be made in person and it is always nice to be giving good news.” Juggling two jobs and a family with three small girls is difficult at times, George Lindley admits, but he notes that nearby family to help with childcare, and flexible work schedules help keep things organized. “My wife is a pediatrician and works some night and evening shifts and I can work from home some days,” he says. “So, with the help of a large marker board in the kitchen, we can usually do a good job of keeping track of who needs to be where and when. That’s not to say there isn’t chaos at home, but it is somewhat organized chaos.” Recently, four words have been used to describe the educational experience at Salus University: discovery, learning, engagement and impact. As he continues to engage our distance learning students, George Lindley is a superb example of how it should be done.
THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SALUS UNIVERSITY
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FALL 2008