Kara Vincent named new executive director of Loyola Clinical Centers
Kara Vincent, ’91, M.S., ’93, has been named the next executive director of the Loyola Clinical Centers (LCC) at Loyola University Maryland. She will begin in the role on June 3, 2019.
Vincent is no stranger to Loyola or Jesuit values. She received her bachelor’s and master’s in speech-language pathology at Loyola and has a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology from the American Speech/Language and Hearing Association.
After earning her master’s, Vincent worked at Kennedy Krieger Children’s Hospital and then did private practice working with school-aged students before joining Loyola in 2006 as an undergraduate instructor. After teaching classes for seven years, Vincent took a position in 2013 as the division director for speech-language-hearing sciences. She served as interim executive director of the LCC from December 2015 through September 2016.
Vincent was selected as executive director through a search that was conducted this spring.
“The search committee and I were impressed not just by Kara’s experience, but also by her enthusiasm and vision for the continued growth of the Loyola Clinical Centers,” said Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., NCC, associate vice president for faculty affairs and diversity at Loyola. “Under her leadership, we can all look forward to seeing the Loyola Clinical Centers continue to make a positive difference for our students and in our Baltimore community.”
Although Vincent didn’t expect her career path would take her back to her alma mater, she has enjoyed the past 13 years at Loyola and is ready to take on a new challenge.
“I am fortunate that I’ve worked closely with the current leadership team at the LCC and the talented clinical faculty, and I’m inspired by the work they do,” said Vincent. “I plan to continue to mentor and support their work.”
Vincent plans to continue the LCC’s work within the community by offering additional collaborative experiences. This year, the LCC hosted a free tax clinic for the York Road neighborhood, a collaborative effort between Loyola’s Sellinger School of Business and Management students and the LCC. Loyola graduate students offer speech-language, literacy, audiology, and psychology services throughout the year with other partnerships in area schools and community agencies. Vincent hopes to expand these offerings by partnering with area organizations and meeting community members where they are.
“We truly believe the work the LCC does is Loyola’s mission in action. The focus for me—and us—is that we are closely aligning with Loyola’s strategic plan, The Ignatian Compass. Our work is integrated with the idea of cura personalis, caring for the whole person, as we serve our clients, students, faculty, staff, and members of our communities,” Vincent said. “We educate, reflect, then we act.”
As an alumna and a faculty member, Vincent wants to ensure that graduate student training and excellent client care remain a priority at the LCC. The LCC offers hands-on experiences to graduate students in literacy, speech-language-hearing sciences, and psychology that many other institutions don’t offer, Vincent said.
Vincent lives with her family in Sykesville. She is the mother of three daughters, including one who is a rising sophomore at Loyola.
The LCC operates from three locations: Belvedere Square and Loyola/Notre Dame Library in Baltimore City and Loyola University Maryland's Columbia Graduate Center in Columbia, Howard County. Some services are also provided off-site through partnerships with schools and community agencies. More information can be found at loyola.edu/clinics.