If you ask Valeriy Shafiro, PhD, what brought him to Rush 20 years ago, he will tell you it was serendipity. Since then, he has been leading others through his teaching, research and service at Rush.
Shafiro, who is now acting chairperson of the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, recently shared his views on teaching and leadership and explained why he believes the audiology (AuD, No. 9) and speech-language pathology (SLP, No. 29) programs at Rush are ranked among the top 30 programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Q: What drew you to Rush 20 years ago?
I was finishing my PhD training, and as I started looking into Rush, I thought this place was an interesting match with my background. Initially, I had clinical training in nursing back in the Soviet Union, and then when I came to the U.S., I studied psychology and cognitive sciences, and then speech and hearing. As I started answering clinical questions in my research, I thought Rush was the right place to be.
Q: You recently volunteered in Poland with a team that provided hearing aids for Ukrainian war refugees with hearing loss. What was that experience like?
I was very happy to go and help. Unfortunately, I think there will be a great need for audiology services in the next five, 10 or 15 years. In addition to a growing number of older adults who experience difficulty hearing, similar to the U.S. and other Western countries, many people in Ukraine are also being exposed to a lot of noise from guns and explosions, and the war is not over. I do hope to be part of future volunteer efforts. In the meantime, we’ve been collecting donations and medical supplies to send to the front lines. My family is from Odesa, and we still have friends and relatives there and in other parts of Ukraine. We try to help them as much as we can.
Q: How would you describe your teaching philosophy?
It is more of an approach to teaching rather than a grand philosophy. I believe in focusing on specific practical problems and finding ways to do things better, such as through technology. On the other hand, it is ultimately the fundamental knowledge accumulated over time that provides a framework for developing new approaches. The best learning happens in transition, while going back and forth between concrete cases and general principles. Essentially this is the teacher-practitioner model that we have here at Rush.
There’s also an intrinsic reward that is associated with learning. As educators, we must share that pleasure of learning with our students. And to be a good teacher, you must be a good learner.
Q: What is your approach to leadership?
The high marks we receive for our audiology and speech pathology programs are the result of our strong faculty and students. As a leader, I aim to create the conditions that will help the faculty and students thrive.
Q: What are your goals for the department?
Our strategic goals have been well-articulated by the faculty and are quite ambitious. One is to expand our outreach efforts through our SCOPE (Student Community Outreach Program of Excellence) clinic, which gives audiology and speech pathology students a unique way to learn clinical skills under faculty supervision while providing free care to uninsured or underinsured patients. It aligns well with the Rush mission, and here in Chicago, there are many people who cannot effectively address their health care needs due to multiple barriers to care.
We are expanding services to underserved populations around Rush, while making that part of our teaching practices and clinical training. Being in a diverse place like Chicago is both exciting and a blessing, but at the same time it brings challenges because we must be aware of different cultural practices to find the best ways faculty and students can serve our patients.
“The high marks we receive for our audiology and speech pathology programs are the result of our strong faculty and students. As a leader, I aim to create the conditions that will help the faculty and students thrive.”
– Valeriy Shafiro, PhD, acting chairperson, Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences
As acting chairperson, I would also like to expand our faculty and student research. If students are involved in research earlier, they will be more sophisticated consumers of research in their fields and will make better choices as clinicians.
Q: What are some of the greatest challenges and opportunities you see facing audiology and speech-language pathology today?
Students who choose careers in audiology or speech pathology can be confident that they have chosen a great career path. Both audiology and speech pathology are considered among the top 20 best health care jobs for 2024, according to U.S. News & World Report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also projects significant growth in both jobs, in part because of the aging population.
But both fields face challenges because their scope of practice is so broad. Audiologists and speech pathologists can work in hospitals, educational settings, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and private practice. These all require somewhat different sets of skills, and education needs to prepare students for that.
At the same time, there are also big changes in technology taking place, as well as legislative changes. At Rush, we embrace the opportunity to prepare students for a changing environment and give them the fundamental knowledge they need to be successful. We also encourage students to be involved in advocacy and service through our professional associations, so they can take ownership of these issues and become leaders in their field.