New acting dean faculty of health sciences appointed at University of Western Ontario

London, ON May 12, 2003 Dr Elizabeth Skarakis-Doyle has been appointed acting dean of the faculty of health sciences at the University of Western Ontario, effective July 1, 2003.

Dr Skarakis-Doyle has served as an associate professor in Western’s school of communication sciences and disorders since 1991. Prior to that, she held faculty positions at Dalhousie University and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

As Western’s acting dean of health sciences, Dr Skarakis-Doyle will provide leadership and strategic direction to a faculty with 180 members in the schools of communication sciences and disorders, kinesiology, nursing, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Health Sciences is also home to western sports and recreation services, the Fowler-Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic, and several research centres including the National Centre for Audiology; the Canadian Centre for Activity & Aging; the International Centre for Olympic Studies, the Nursing Research Unit; and the R. Samuel McLaughlin Foundation Exercise & Pregnancy Laboratory.

Dr Skarakis-Doyle received a BA and an MA in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of California (Santa Barbara) and a PhD in Communication Disorders/ Psycholinguistics from the University of California (Santa Barbara and Los Angeles). She conducts research in the areas of language acquisition in normal and atypical children and the assessment and treatment of childhood language impairment and has published widely in her field’s academic journals as well as served on their editorial boards.

She has served many administrative roles at Western. She developed and was the first chair of the interdisciplinary doctoral program in rehabilitation sciences and is currently the associate dean of academic programs for the faculty of health sciences, chair of the senate committee on university planning and chair of the internal appraisals committee for the faculty of graduate studies.

"Dr Skarakis-Doyle brings to the position of acting dean impressive energy, commitment, broad experience and knowledge of the faculty of health sciences,” says Dr Greg Moran, Western’s provost and vice-president (academic), says. “I am delighted she has agreed to take on this role and know she will have the full support of the health sciences’ faculty, staff, and students."

Dr Skarakis-Doyle’s term will end with the appointment of the next dean, likely on July 1, 2004.