50th Anniversary Celebration


A Year-long Celebration

The University of Central Arkansas Occupational Therapy Department celebrates reaching the milestone of being a 50 year accredited program in the state of Arkansas. This landmark occasion demonstrates a sustained history of educating leaders, change agents, scholars, advocates and most importantly, qualified practitioners that change lives on a daily basis.

Throughout this year long celebration, the University of Central Arkansas will host a variety of events to observe this monumental achievement. The calendar of events listed below is a list of each event that will occur each month throughout the year.  As events unfold, we will provide information regarding dates, times and locations of each event along with updates once events have taken place, so check back frequently to stay up to date!

Celebration Calendar


March 2024

In the month of March, the Occupational Therapy Department will hold a symposium for fieldwork educators. The program will be led by the Academic Fieldwork Department at UCA, and members of the fieldwork team will be joined by Amy Hawkins, PhD, APR who is the Assistant Provost for Teaching and Academic Leadership for the University of Central Arkansas.

While many universities have shifted towards an adult learning approach to accommodate the needs of younger generations, fieldwork educators may still be implementing teaching and learning strategies that have been successful in the past with previous generations.  As the learning styles of students continue to evolve, it is important that the teaching styles used in fieldwork education evolve with them.  As occupational therapy practitioners, we value our ability to adjust our therapeutic use of self and therapeutic strategies to meet the needs of each person individually.  Similarly, as fieldwork educators, we can strive to learn more about the new generation of students to enrich our teaching methods as a way to foster meaningful interactions and learning experiences of our fieldwork students. This seminar aims to equip fieldwork educators as they mentor the current generation of occupational therapy students.

Event Details

Title: Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education: Evolving Strategies for a New Generation of Students 
Date: Friday, March 8, 2024
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00pm

Location: In person at the University of Central Arkansas, Brewer-Hegeman Room 112/114 or virtual

Cost: Free!

This event is open to all current fieldwork educators as well as those who are interested in supervising and mentoring students in the future. Lunch will be provided for event participants.

Nominees for the annual Cynthia B. Cole Outstanding Fieldwork Educator Award will be recognized along with the announcement of the winner of the distinguished award.

February 2024

In the month of February, faculty members Dr. Kelly Hartwick and Dr. Brandy Pate, both certified brain injury specialists and low vision certificate holders will host a webinar related to occupational therapy’s role in assessing and providing interventions for those suffering from low vision. This webinar about low vision can be accessed on our YouTube channel and you viewer can take the post-test competency assessment for continuing education credit until March 31, 2024.

January 2024

The University of Central Arkansas Occupational Therapy Department kicks off its 50th Anniversary with a focus on scholarship. The department will be hosting a virtual journal club by exploring current occupational therapy literature related to dementia in an event titled “Dissecting the Literature with Anatomage”.  Faculty will lead a discussion on three current journal articles related to the treatment of dementia while reviewing the structures and function of the brain that are affected by the disease through the use of the anatomage table.

This event was held on January 23, 2024. Scan the QR code or click on the image link to view a recording of the session. A passcode is required to view the recording.