Our next board member spotlight in our ASAHP Spotlight series is Dr. Susan Gordon-Hickey, AuD, PhD. Dr. Gordon-Hickey joins ASAHP as the Board Secretary for 2021-2023. Her term began at the conclusion of the 2021 ASAHP Annual Conference in October, but she has been involved with ASAHP for several years. She currently serves as the Board Liaison for ASAHP’s Education Committee, a member for the Interprofessional Education Task Force, and also a member for the Research, Discovery, and Innovation Committee.
She is currently interim dean of the Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions at the University of South Alabama. As part of Women’s History Month, we spent some time this afternoon with Dr. Gordon-Hickey to discuss her role as Interim Dean during the pandemic, her initiatives to embrace DEI and interprofessional education, and the importance of mental health for herself, faculty/staff, and students. You can view that discussion with her here.
In addition, we asked Dr. Gordon-Hickey to share some interesting tidbits about herself:
Place of birth: West Lafayette, Indiana but I grew up in Gainesville, Florida (Go Gators!)
How long have you been in your position? I’ve served as Interim Dean of the Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions for 2 years. Prior to that, I served 4 years as the Associate Dean for our college.
What’s the value of education in the health professions? The health professions provide excellent opportunities for satisfying and challenging careers that allow scientists and clinicians to improve the quality of life of others. If you enjoy science and working on a team, a health professions career is for you.
What is the value of ASAHP? ASAHP is a fantastic organization. I enjoy and value the webinars and professional development opportunities that ASAHP has offered since the start of the pandemic. The annual convention is really something special. The keynote speakers at the ASAHP convention are always interesting and inspiring. And, conference attendees are warm and welcoming. ASAHP has a home for those who want to be involved in advancing the health professions.
Why did the health professions interest you and how did you get started? My interest in the health professions developed as I wanted to help others in my community. I was inspired by a dear friend who stuttered. He was a great person who struggled to overcome the challenges he had with communication. I frequently observed classmates and teachers who were not knowledgeable or understanding of stuttering and they made fun of him or would try to help in ways that were inappropriate (e.g. finishing his sentences).
I majored in communication sciences and disorders as I thought speech-language pathology was the right career for me. After graduation, I worked in an assisted living facility where I interacted with a wonderful community of retirees who frequently had communication issues due to age-related hearing loss. They often asked me questions about hearing and their hearing aids and I enjoyed helping them. After working for several years, I decided it was time to pursue graduate level education in the health professions so I applied to graduate school for audiology. It was a leap of faith that paid off. I love my profession and enjoy helping those that have hearing disorders, especially tinnitus or those who encounter communication difficulties due to background noise.What are you looking forward to during your ASAHP board tenure? I look forward to many things while serving on the ASAHP Board. I look forward to continuing work with a variety of ASAHP committees including the Interprofessional Education Task Force and the Education Committee. I am really looking forward to reviewing the Interprofessional Education Award applications again in 2022 as our member institutions do some amazing work in teaching students about collaboration, communication, teamwork, and other skills needed in interprofessional collaborative practice. Last, I am looking forward to the opportunity to give back to ASAHP as the previous and current leaders of this organization invested in my professional development at a crucial time in my career.
Your philosophy on education in 7 words: Education is a lifelong journey, enjoy it!
Before I retire I want to: I want to enjoy my career before I retire. In doing so, I plan to advance the initiatives of our professions and of my college. Our college aims to advance our interprofessional education initiatives; improve our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts with an aim of cultivating an environment of belongingness; and, enhance our program of scholarship. Additionally, I plan to support our students in today’s environment. In order to produce inquisitive and effective scientists as well as caring and knowledgeable health care providers, we need to provide effective programs that use pedagogical techniques for this generation. To do so, we must provide a variety of health care programs and support professional development of educators in the health professions.
In college, I was known for: I was known as a hometown student who loved music, friends, and family. I may have also been known for drinking a lot of Surge cola to make it through early morning classes.
My favorite trip was: My favorite trip was to the Rocky Mountains in Banff, Canada. I will forever remember hiking to Lake Agnes and spending time at Lake Peyto.
4 people I’d take to coffee or have a glass of wine with:
My grandma
Dolly Parton, a woman known for her voice but who gives fully from her heart and does all that she can to help others. In addition to her recent announcement of funding college for Dollywood employees, her imagination library is a wonderful contribution to supporting others.
Tom Petty, his music was something my Dad and I both enjoyed, especially at a time in life where we had little in common.
Jan Scott, a high school teacher who was a highly supportive and tough mentor early in my life.
The best advice I ever received was:
I’ve received a lot of good advice over the years including:
You can do anything you want to in life, even though you’re a woman.
Resubmit your manuscript.
Be kind but not too kind.
Think before you speak.
Maintain your integrity, no matter how hard it is.
My hobby is: I enjoy going to see live local music. I’m fortunate to live on the Gulf Coast because we have a thriving local music scene with some great singer songwriters and many listening venues.
My passion is: From the perspective of my profession, I am passionate in helping people with tinnitus as well as in managing challenging listening environments. As an administrator, I am passionate about supporting educators and students in their roles so that we can produce top notch graduates who become scientists or health care providers that give back to their community and improve the quality of life of others. I am also passionate regarding student loan debt. Our students often graduate with one-hundred thousand or more in debt due to their education. I would like to see this change. From a personal perspective, I am passionate about my family, friends, and local music.
I wish I could:
Reach things on the top shelf
Sing (but I can’t even clap on beat)
Only my friends know I:
Can’t cook
Go by Susie
My favorite saying is: My friend Cathe has a saying that I love - do a kindness for someone every day, but if you tell anybody, it doesn’t count. I try to live each day with this in mind.