To celebrate 30 years, the program organized a symposium during Hearing Month. The guests of honour, Marie-Josée Taillefer and her daughter Rosalie Taillefer Simard, were the perfect choice for the occasion. As a mother of two children born with a hearing impairment, Taillefer consulted many specialists, such as audiologists and speech-language pathologists, to help and guide her children through deafness. This experience made her aware of the value of each person’s work and the impact of each action. Her daughter, Rosalie, spoke about how she learned to live with her disability to find her place and live as normal a life as possible. The challenges they have overcome and the anecdotes they told were quite inspiring to those in the room.
The evening began with a poster exhibition by students enrolled in the program. Jacques Frémont, president and vice-chancellor of the University, and Lucie Thibault, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, spoke alongside Josée Lagacé, program director, to welcome the many people who attended.
Lagacé took advantage of the presence of over 80 people, some from the 400 graduates, and had the chance to give a quick history of the program. Lagacé spoke about the pioneers of the program who were there for the first classes in speech-language pathology in 1993, and the beginning of the audiology program the following year. Lagacé also expressed a sense of pride that the University of Ottawa created the first speech-language pathology program offered in French in an establishment outside of Quebec. The bilingual nature of the program is still one of its strengths, as it creates an opportunity for new professionals in the field to offer services in both official languages.
Located on King Edward Avenue, and in the Roger Guidon building for over 20 years, the research and teaching laboratories are completely set up in the new Faculty of Health Sciences building at 200 Lees Avenue. Training in speech-language pathology was also offered remotely at Laurentian University almost five years after it began. Laurentian has since established its own master's degree in speech-language pathology.
The symposium was followed by a musical performance by the singing group Les Barbershoppers. Working with the Harmonize 4 Speech organization, the group has been involved in the program from the very beginning, offering scholarships and awards to students. The group has also put on musical performances on several occasions throughout the 30 years of the program.
The celebrations concluded around snacks, which let everyone network or reconnect with old classmates. Many attendees were lucky enough to also participate in a guided visit of the new installations in the program.
This evening was made possible thanks to the generous contribution of our three sponsors and partners: Lobe, our main sponsor, as well as Acoustique Médical Inc. and the CNFS – volet Université d’Ottawa.