SHS Welcomes New Academic Advisor
SHS E-News October 2021
Kathi Ritten (L) retired after 25 years as advisor to SHS undergraduates. Danette Griffith (R) is now in the position. Here, they pose with Alma outside the SHS Building.
Danette Griffith has assumed the responsibilities of advising the Department of Speech and Hearing Science’s 250 undergraduate students. She joined the department over the summer after longtime SHS advisor Kathi Ritten retired.
Prior to joining SHS, Ms. Griffith was a student success advisor in the Office of Minority Student Affairs for two years. Her interest in her current position was spurred in part by her desire to return to direct academic advising. She previously had served in academic advising positions on Southern Illinois University campuses in Edwardsville and Carbondale. She also noted that her nine-year-old child’s experience working with a speech-language pathologist sparked her admiration for speech and hearing science professionals. “What better opportunity than to combine my love of advising with a major and career that helps the youngest love of my life?” she said.
Ms. Griffith said she is looking forward to being a resource for students and helping them navigate through their academic journey. “I like seeing students arrive on campus their first year, young and unknowing, watching them grow and mature over the years, and then finally seeing the pride on their faces as they walk across the stage at commencement,” she said.
Ms. Griffith completed a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees at SIU Carbondale. Last spring, she completed a third master’s degree, in college student personnel administration, at SIU Edwardsville.
"It was always home"
Kathi Ritten joined SHS in August 1996 after serving in advising roles at Parkland College and Eastern Illinois University. She completed a bachelor’s degree in communications and photography at Purdue University, and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling and a specialist degree in education at Eastern Illinois University.
For 25 years, Ms. Ritten promoted the academic, professional, and personal development of undergraduate students in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science. Among her many duties, she provided one-on-one academic advising and career counseling to SHS majors, helped to develop and taught the orientation class for new majors, and provided support to at-risk students and students on probation as well as to honors students. She was one of the first two people hired to serve as professional advisors in what was then the College of Applied Life Studies. The brainchild of Dr. Jerry Burnam, associate dean for academic and business affairs, the new model of advising meant that undergraduate students would work with the same advisor from the day they arrived on campus to the day they graduated.
“I enjoyed building relationships with students, helping guide them along the way and seeing them achieve their goals,” she said. “You remind them that it is their journey. Hopefully, they know that every step of the way, they have someone cheering them on, someone there to help them through highs and lows, the challenges, and to celebrate with them when they meet the challenges.” The reward, she said, is seeing them fulfill their dream of making a positive difference in the lives of others.
The effectiveness of her work is evidenced by twice being honored with campus and college awards for excellence in undergraduate advising.
Among the highlights of her career, Ms. Ritten cites the annual Fall Welcome, when she saw the excitement on the new students’ faces, and graduation, when she was able to meet their families and friends. She served as an advisor to the U of I chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, and enjoyed supporting students in their extracurricular activities as well. Her outstanding colleagues on the academic affairs team also made her time with SHS and the College of Applied Health Sciences special. She supervised the activities of the academic affairs team as acting assistant dean in the College of Applied Health Sciences from August of 2012 to August of 2013, at the same time continuing her advising work in SHS. "I learned I could do a lot," she said. "It was demanding, but a great opportunity for personal and professional growth."
She considers herself fortunate to have had her career with the Department of Speech and Hearing Science.
“SHS is such a fantastic group of people, so caring,” she said. “They trusted me with the students. I didn’t take it lightly. I treasured my time with the students; I treasured my time in the department.”
It was what she wanted to do, she added, saying, “I never was looking elsewhere because it was always home to me.”