About ASHS

Ann Lee Burch, PT, MPH, EdD, FNAP, is the dean of A.T. Still University of Health Sciences’ Arizona School of Health Sciences (ATSU–ASHS) and has served in this role since 2019. Dr. Burch received her EdD from Columbia University, Teachers College in 2005. She received her MPH from Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health in 2002 and her MSPT from Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1989. She was a postdoctoral fellow with the Research Group on Health Disparities at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her BA is in psychology from the University of Rochester.

Prior to her appointment as dean, Dr. Burch served as vice dean for ATSU-ASHS. She served as the chair of the Physical Therapy Department from 2008-2012. Prior to ATSU, Dr. Burch was the director of physical therapy at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. She has held administrative and/or faculty positions at the International Center for the Disabled in NYC, Mercy College, NY and Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY.

Dr. Burch’s experience in community needs assessment and application of findings includes her work a co-investigator on an NIH grant at the University of Puerto Rico exploring the feasibility of an exercise program for breast cancer survivors living in San Juan and her work as a co-investigator on a Centers for Disease Control Prevention, Association for Prevention Teaching grant exploring population health and the impact of evidence-based community and clinical interventions. Dr. Burch’s area of scholarly interest since 2005 is the knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy of healthcare providers and healthcare professional students towards underrepresented patient/client groups. In 2025, she was named a National Academies of Practice Distinguished Scholar Fellow.

Dr. Burch has lived in Greece, Taiwan, India, Puerto Rico, NY and Arizona and is committed to higher education in the health professions, cultural proficiency, diversity and inclusion, and healthy communities.

Dr. Salas-Provance, is professor and vice dean of A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Health Sciences (ATSU-ASHS). Dr. Salas-Provance received her doctorate in speech science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She received her masters of health administration from the University of Missouri School of Medicine-Columbia. She holds both a bachelors and masters in Speech Pathology from New Mexico State University.

Prior to her appointment as vice dean, Dr. Salas-Provance served as associate dean of academic and student affairs for the School of Health Professions at the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston. She served as assistant dean and chair in the College of Education, Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico and department chair in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Montevallo (AL). She held faculty positions at Fontbonne College and St. Louis University, in St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Salas-Provance has made extensive professional contributions to the American, Speech, Language & Hearing Association (ASHA). She is a member of the ASHA Board of Directors, serving as Vice President for Planning (2016-2019). Her service also included two terms on the Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Council, member of the Financial Planning Board, and the Multicultural Issues Board. She served as coordinator of ASHA’s Special Interest Group (SIG) 14, Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse populations and was a founding member and coordinator of SIG 17, Global Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is an ASHA Fellow and received ASHA’s highest awards for “Special Recognition in Multicultural Affairs” and “Outstanding Contributions in International Achievement.”

Dr.Salas-Provance has served as a clinical educator throughout her academic career, especially related to children with cleft lip and palate. She is a member of an international medical team with Rotaplast International and has traveled worldwide for over 20 years to provide clinical services to children with cleft palate. She implemented a program for graduate students in speech pathology to provide clinical services in Spanish to children with cleft palate in Lima, Peru and in Cebu, Philippines. In addition to her work in Peru and the Philippines, she has provided clinical services in Bangladesh, China, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela.

Dr. Salas-Provance is coauthor of the textbook Culturally Responsive Practices in Speech-Language and Hearing Science in its 3rd edition (Plural Publishing, 2026) which meets the needs for training students in healthcare professions regarding practice with individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Her research is focused on attitudes towards disability by diverse populations and addressing the use of language interpreters during healthcare and educational encounters.

She has lectured extensively to international audiences, both in English and Spanish, including as invited speaker for the Congreso Internacional en Trastornos de la Comunicacion at Escuela de Fonoaudiologia (Speech Language Pathology / Audiology) de la Universidad de Talca, Chile and for the Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza, Lima, Peru, Endoscopic Evaluation of Velopharyngeal Dysfunction. She was invited keynote speaker for the First International Congress in Speech-Language Pathology and Orthodontics in the area of cleft lip and palate in Lima, Peru. Through her company, Bilingual Advantage, Inc. training is provided for bilingual medical interpreters nationwide and for organizations regarding cultural responsive practices and cultural competence.

Dr. Salas-Provance was selected for the American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Leadership Program and attended the National Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington DC for advancing female executives in higher education.