Sarah Tucker, PhD, OTR/L, was honored with the 2025 Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award at a ceremony on October 22 at the UAB Alumni House.

UAB OT students and faculty met with lawmakers during AOTA Hill Day 2025. UAB brought one of the larger delegations—16 entry-level OTD students and three faculty. 

Low vision specialists from across South Africa gathered in Johannesburg in August for the Low Vision Matters More conference. The event, aimed at advancing the nation’s low vision care, was the second co-sponsored by the UAB School of Health Professions and the Low Vision Centre of Learning.

Department of Occupational Therapy students spent a day at Vulcan Park and Museum as part of the City Is Our Classroom series, which is designed to help them connect classroom concepts like social determinants of health and environmental justice to real places and lived experiences.

A recent 10-day education abroad program in South Africa gave Department of Occupational Therapy students and faculty a firsthand look at the profession through a global lens.

The UAB M.S. in Health Administration program is once again the #1 “Best Health Care Management Program” in the nation according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. And the UAB School of Health Professions has four programs ranked among the Top 25 graduate programs in the United States.

William Reed, DC, Ph.D., professor and director of the UAB PhD in Rehabilitation Science program, received the George B. McClelland Researcher of the Year Award from the American Chiropractic Association.

Each summer, the Department of Occupational Therapy joins with UAB Arts in Medicine to host two 4-week virtual magic camps for children with disabilities. It’s a unique skill-building opportunity for both the children and graduate students in UAB’s Entry-Level Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy program, who complete one of their Level I Fieldwork experiences as camp coaches.

A multidisciplinary group of low vision practitioners and people with visual impairments gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in early September at the Low Vision Matters conference. There, they heard Beth Barstow, PhD, OTR/L, and Jason Vice, PhD, OTR/L, speak about low vision evaluation, assessment, and intervention, and spent a day in hands-on labs.

Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Rachel Ashcraft, MS, OTR/L, TBRI Practitioner, received the Alabama Occupational Therapy Association’s (ALOTA) highest honor, the Elsie Holmes McKibbin Award, at its 2024 Annual Fall Conference in Gulf Shores, AL.

Adrianne Smiley, EdD, OTD, OTR/L (MSOT, 2015) is the kind of person who believes if you want to see change, the best way of going about it is by being the change you seek. For her, the inequalities in health care she can identify through her experience and dedication to her profession fuels her desire to continue to find new ways to advocate for equal healthcare opportunities for all.

Redemption Earned, an Alabama-based nonprofit, has appointed UAB Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Sarah Tucker, PhD, OTR/L, to its board of directors.

Vermont state representative, occupational therapist, and UAB OT alumna Mary-Katherine Stone sees her calling as uplifting and highlighting vulnerable voices.

Jewell J. Dickson-Clayton, OTD, MPH, OTR/L, ATP, FAOTA, and M. Tosi Gilford, MD, PA-C, each received a First Award from the UAB African American Faculty Association (AAFA) at an event on February 22, 2024.

UAB’s Entry-Level Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy Program reached two major milestones in early December. It received full accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and on December 8, graduated its first class.