Faculty Spotlight: Jill Duthie, PhD, CCC-SLP

Jill Duthie, PhD, CCC-SLP, associate professor of speech-language pathology, was a clinician for 30 years before joining the Pacific faculty in 2006. Dr. Duthie first heard about Pacific while at University of Oregon. Her doctoral advisor strongly encouraged her to apply and told her, "They are really nice people, it is a really good department."

Reflecting on her time with the Department of Speech-Language Pathology, she emphasized the camaraderie and mutual respect between colleagues. The Department's faculty have a tradition of eating lunch together every weekday. "We all look forward to gathering for lunch," said Dr. Duthie. Together they share stories and "laugh so hard." Some of her fondest memories of her time at Pacific are from the Department's annual holiday party, where students and faculty perform skits. "I think it shows our students they can enjoy life and still be lifelong learners," she said.

Dr. Duthie and Jeannene M. Ward-Lonergan, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, department chair and professor of speech-language pathology, established the Language-Literacy Center, which provides reading intervention for clients in elementary school through high school. "We have developed a program that is a vital service to the community," Dr. Duthie said. "We significantly improved the lives of many children who have participated in our program. We have also trained students to learn how to provide this intervention, so it has that multiplier effect as they go out into the community."

One of her proudest accomplishments is the approach she developed for monitoring treatment progress. She developed resources for training supervisors and beginning clinicians, the "Clinicians' Hierarchy for Advancing Treatment" (CHAT). The CHAT resources have been adopted throughout California and nationwide. "We have had really strong feedback from students about how helpful it is," she said. One of her plans for her retirement is to finish the manual on CHAT she is writing with Nicholaus Brock '11, '12, MS, CCC-SLP, assistant clinical professor of speech-language pathology and director of the Stockton Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Center.

She has been actively involved in the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association (CSHA) and currently serves as the director of District 3. Throughout her career her goal has been to share her passion for speech-language pathology. "It is a profession of service to others," Dr. Duthie said. She stressed the intrinsic reward of helping people with communication disorders. She encourages speech-language pathologists to "always do good work for others; be thorough and thoughtful."

An avid long-distance hiker, she plans to complete a trail she started in Southern France and hopes to cross the Pyrenees mountain range on foot. She also plans on taking up woodworking.

She recently bought an RV and would like to take a road trip to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. She also looks forward to spending more time with her family, including five grandchildren. "I have two nice daughters and they have nice husbands and they have cute kids," she said. She plans to remain in Stockton and divide her time between Lodi and San Diego. She will miss her daily contacts with her beloved faculty, staff and students, but she is confident that her kind colleagues will continue their tradition of excellence.

about the author

Anne Marie H. Bergthold  

Anne Marie H. Bergthold is the Marketing Coordinator for Pacific's Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy.