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CMU Off-Campus Success Stories
CMU Graduate, Dr. Marlene Bagatto, Wins Prestigious National Award
Many students are unaware that CMU has a large number of international
graduates. CMU has Off-Campus Program centers in Canada and Mexico; plus, a
growing number of students are completing their programs online from a wide
variety of countries and achieving great success in their fields.
One of our recent graduates, Dr. Marlene Bagatto who earned her Doctorate in
Audiology online through CMU Off-Campus Programs, is an excellent example of
a dedicated student who shines in her profession. In December of 2006, Dr.
Bagatto won the Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada Young Innovator
Award. This award recognizes Canada’s young entrepreneurs by honoring
outstanding individuals who have been successful in translating their
innovative research into business, process, or service to benefit society at
large.
Dr. Bagatto’s research certainly meets these criteria. While earning her
Au.D., she began her research into more accurately fitting hearing aids to
young infants with permanent hearing loss. “The critical time for learning
speech and language is between birth and two years old,” says Dr. Bagatto.
“We need to be certain that any pediatric patient, who clearly can’t tell us
how their hearing aid is working, is fitted as accurately as possible. The
hearing instruments need to be adjusted appropriately so that the infants
have an optimal chance of getting the sound in the ear.”
Dr. Bagatto and her team of colleagues at the National Centre for Audiology
at the University of Western Ontario met this daunting challenge of serving
the needs of those too young to speak for themselves. Today, Dr. Bagatto’s
normative data for measuring the unique acoustic characteristics of infant’s
ear canals and her new probe-tube insertion technique that allows for
individual measurements in infants have been integrated into the
international practice of pediatric audiology. Her results have been
published, presented at conferences, and delivered in hands-on workshops.
Two of her articles in peer-reviewed journals have been cited as “The Best
in Audiological Literature” for the year in which they were published –
another major accomplishment for this stellar CMU alumna.
And what is Dr. Bagatto’s opinion of her degree program at CMU? “The Au.D.
Distance Learning Program at CMU is exceptional. The faculty is first-rate
and the courses contained relevant information. While completing my Au.D., I
appreciated the evidence –based focus that was consistent throughout the
program. As an international student, the competent administrative and
technical support staff helped make the transition back to school an
uncomplicated one. It was a worthwhile experience overall!”
Congratulations to Dr. Bagatto on her award and on her dedication and skill.
