Ithaca College

Several occupational therapy (OT) faculty members and students have had presentations accepted for the annual meeting of NYSOTA, the state's OT association, which will take place September 18-20 in Syracuse. Most of these presentations are the results or joint faculty-student work in research and community outreach.

Among the faculty presenters are associate professor Carole Dennis, chair of the OT department; associate professor Mindy Cozzolino, who is also chair of the graduate studies program; and assistant professor Julie Dorsey.

Professor Dennis's presentation is the product of a graduate group research class which studied the effect of seating position on handwriting performance of school children.

Julie Dorsey and OT students Jenessa Fisk, Taryn Michelitch, and Rebecca Palmese are reporting on their needs assessment for occupational therapy services among clients of the Ithaca Free Clinic. The results of this project include the introduction of OT services to the Ithaca Free Clinic this fall, provided by IC faculty and students in occupational therapy.

Professor Cozzolino will present a paper on allied health students' perceptions of interdisciplinary cooperation in clinical settings. This work is based on her continued service and research at IC's Center for Life Skills program, conducted at Longview for individuals with ongoing neurological conditions.