Faculty Spotlight: Speech-Language Pathology Professor Sparks Communal and Institutional Change
Cal State Long Beach prides itself on its quality education and excellence thanks to the continuous work of our highly skilled faculty. In this faculty spotlight segment – a new segment brought to you by the Office of the Provost – we highlight the achievements of select Beach instructors and professors across campus. In this piece, we spotlight Associate Professor of speech-language pathology, Dr. Pei-Fang Hung. From sparking institutional change as Academic Senate Chair to bettering the community through clinical service, Dr. Hung’s fruitful career exemplifies our campus’ mission to serve ALL.
A Departmental Champion of Equity
Dr. Hung is chair of CSULB’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Department, where she proudly oversees departmental operations and strengthens its mission statement on a day-to-day basis. Her extensive clinical experience working with people with neurogenic speech and language disorders has been an asset to the incredible milestones the department has achieved.
A trailblazer of accomplishments, her contributions to the expansion of our campus’ Speech and Language clinic are a testament to her work as a champion of equity. A pro bono effort, the clinic works to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, fluency, voice, social communication, cognitive communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults under the supervision of certified and licensed speech-language pathologists. Under Dr. Hung’s leadership, the clinic has served as a center of theoretical learning and hands-on experience for students, providing them with the strong skills needed to excel in the workforce.
Few Dr. Hung’s most recent clinical education endeavors with helping our students grow their skillset includes improving clinical real-time supervision, incorporating clinical simulation, and upgrading and streamlining the electronic health records system. Through these transformations, students have the opportunities to conduct self-reflections for improving their clinical and communication skills. Utilizing the electronic health records system not only allows students to have immersive, hands-on learning, but also cultivates their clinical documentation skill development.
Influencing Institutional Innovation
Dr. Hung’s service at The Beach is not solely limited to her work on the departmental level. As Academic Senate Chair, she has led the creation and review of policies, practices, and procedures in matters of academic and professional concern. A consultative, shared governance body, CSULB's Academic Senate ensures effective exercise of the rights, duties, privileges, and responsibilities of citizenship on our campus and serves as the official representative body responsible at The Beach.
One of Dr. Hung’s greatest achievements as chair includes the thorough reconfiguration of CSULB’s official Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion (RTP) policy. A crucial component of our institution, the RTP policy aims to establish the mission, vision, and guiding principles for the evaluation of tenure-track and tenured faculty members. It examines those eligible for reappointment, tenure, and promotion, while specifying the process by which faculty work shall be evaluated. Dr. Hung’s innovative policy was approved by President Jane Close Conoley in November 2023, sparking a historic change since 2009.
A powerhouse of change, Dr. Hung was also presented by Provost Karyn Scissum Gunn with the "Exemplars of Black Success" certificate for the Senate Executive Committee's work on their most recent Senate Retreat, “Elevating Black Excellence at The Beach.”
For more information on the Academic Senate’s goals, objectives, and processes, please visit their website. We also encourage ALL to also visit their meeting schedule and join the conversation.
A Promising Future for SLP
Today, Dr. Hung continues to make a monumental impact at The Beach. Currently, she is working to build a clinical doctoral program in the SLP department. With a recent growth in doctoral programs in different disciplines, Dr. Hung is coupling her faculty and clinician expertise into the development of more degree opportunities for the SLP department.
CSULB proudly recognizes Dr. Hung’s passion and innovation in the work she does. Her commitment, expertise, and skill will continue to catapult The Beach into a place that cultivates opportunity, prosperity, and success.
