By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU

Alabama State University has received approval to offer a doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The new degree will be taught within the University's College of Health Sciences (COHS). 

Dr. Charlene Portee, dean of the College of Health Sciences, expressed her excitement about SACSCOC’s approval of the new terminal degree program at ASU.

 

 

Dr. Charlene Portee, dean of the College of Health Sciences (photo contributed).

"I am immensely pleased to announce that SACSCOC approved our brand new Occupational Therapy doctorate program (OTD) just last week, and we will begin admitting students to it in the Fall of 2024," stated Portee, who is an associate professor of Physical Therapy. "This approval has been long in the making, and we have been at work for many years within our team located both here in the College of Health Sciences and within the President's and Provost's offices."

BACKGROUND ON PROGRAM'S DEVELOPMENT

The Dean shared that several factors influenced COHS to pursue the doctoral program, including ensuring ASU’s Occupational Therapy students remained as up-to-date as possible in the academic realm of their profession and maintaining a strong competitive edge with the five other OT programs, all located within the state of Alabama.

"Being granted our new doctoral degree in OT is a great accomplishment for the University and for its students in that it corresponds with our Strategic Plan/FOCUS 2030 to increase our graduate-level degree programs, and it enhances the base of knowledge for our students, which allows them to better serve their patients," explained Portee, from her office in the Buskey Health Science Center. "None of this would have been possible without the dedication, leadership, and support ofPresident Quinton Ross,Provost Carl Pettis,Vice President Tanjula Petty,Dean Caterina Bristol, and the OT faculty, staff, and students."

 

News media contact: Kenneth Mullinax, 334-229-4104.

 

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ASU news media contact:Kenneth Mullinax, 334-229-4104.  

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