We are pleased to announce that at its December meeting, the Accreditation Council on Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) voted to grant candidacy status to the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Drake.

As a result of this action, Drake may admit students into the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program according to the approved timeline (May 2016). The board noted the following:

Strengths:

• There is strong support from Drake University for the occupational therapy doctorate program with support from administration and other faculty members to assist in program development and implementation. This is the first rehabilitation profession program at Drake.
• The program has hired a very experienced program director and two full-time faculty members, all with doctorate degrees.
• The program has an adequate number of fieldwork sites that cover the lifespan, variety of populations, and health care settings.
• The curriculum reflects a thorough and thoughtful course of study with an emphasis on service-learning.

Congratulations to Ann Burkhardt, Kathy Griner, Jayna Fischbach, their staff Carmalee Woods and Cassie Paterson, and the staff in the Experiential and Student Affairs offices, for their work to prepare the report and participate in many discussions related to the 50 standards. They are to be congratulated for their expedient work in submitting a high-quality report that will pave the way for a successful program at Drake!

—Submitted by Renae Chesnut, Interim Dean, CPHS