History
Since occupational therapy was introduced at USC as a baccalaureate program in the Fall of 1942, the University of Southern California has established an unparalleled record of excellence in service to the profession of occupational therapy and the research discipline of occupational science.
- USC’s history of professional firsts includes:
- 1945: The first graduating class of the USC bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy program had 28 members, including A. Jean Ayres ’45
- 1947: USC inaugurated the nation’s first post-professional degree program in occupational therapy
- 1948: Wilma West ’48 became the first person in the country to receive a graduate degree focused on occupational therapy content
- 1962: USC established the nation’s first two-year, entry-level master’s degree in occupational therapy
- 1989: USC created the world’s first doctoral program in occupational science
- 1990: USC welcomed Stephen Hawking as a keynote speaker at the third Occupational Science Symposium, and appointed world-renowned ethologist Jane Goodall as distinguished adjunct professor
- 1997: The USC Well Elderly Study was the first occupational therapy research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
- 1998: USC was ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report in the first nationwide ranking of occupational therapy graduate educational programs
- 2014: USC received the first naming endowment gift, and largest ever made, to any occupational therapy program in the history of the field
9 leaders have overseen the academic unit since 1942:
- 1942-43 Mary Abbey, Coordinator of Occupational Therapy
- 1943-52 Margaret Rood, Department Chair
- 1952-53 Helen Askren, Department Chair
- 1953-60 Angeline Howard, Department Chair
- 1960-74 Harriet Zlatohlavek, Department Chair
- 1974-76 Florence Cromwell, Interim Chair
- 1976-88 Elizabeth Yerxa, Department Chair
- 1988-2017 Florence Clark, Acting Chair 1988-89, Department Chair 1989-2006, Associate Dean and Division Chair 2006-2017
- 2017-present Grace Baranek, Associate Dean and Chair
5 Trojans have been elected President of the American Occupational Therapy Association:
- Wilma L. West MA ’48 (1961-64)
- Florence S. Cromwell MA ’52 (1967-73)
- Mary Foto BS ’66 (1995-98)
- Florence Clark PhD ’82 (emeritus faculty member) (2010-13)
- Arameh Anvarizadeh ’05, MA ’06, OTD ’07 (2025-28)
16 Trojans have received the AOTA Eleanor Clarke Slagle Award, the profession’s most prestigious academic recognition:
- Margaret S. Rood, former faculty member (1958)
- Mary Reilly BS ’51, former faculty member (1961)
- A. Jean Ayres BS ’45, MA ’54, former faculty member (1963)
- Elizabeth J. Yerxa BS ’52, MA ’53, emeritus faculty member (1966)
- Wilma L. West MA ’48 (1967)
- Lela Llorens, former faculty member (1969)
- A. Joy Huss Cert. ’58 (1976)
- L. Irene Hollis Cert. ’44 (1979)
- Joan Rogers MA ’68 (1983)
- Claudia Kay Allen, former faculty member (1987)
- Anne Henderson BS ’46 (1988)
- Florence A. Clark PhD ’82, emeritus faculty member (1993)
- Catherine Trombly Latham MA ’64 (1995)
- Ruth Zemke, emeritus faculty member (2004)
- Janice P. Burke MA ’75, former faculty member (2009)
- Mary Lawlor, faculty member (2023)
15 Trojans have been named to the American Occupational Therapy Foundation’s Academy of Research:
- A. Jean Ayres BS ’45, MA ’54, former faculty member (1983)
- Grace Baranek, faculty member (2008)
- Sharon Cermak, faculty member (1984)
- Florence Clark PhD ’82, emeritus faculty member (1986)
- Noomi Katz MA ’79 (1995)
- Gary Kielhofner MA ’75 (1984)
- Mary Lawlor, faculty member (2004)
- Sook-Lei Liew, MA ’08, PhD ’12, faculty member (2023)
- Cheryl Mattingly, former faculty member (1999)
- Bobbi Pineda, faculty member (2024)
- Elizabeth Pyatak ’02, MA ’04, PhD ’10, faculty member (2022)
- Mary Reilly BS ’51, former faculty member (1983)
- Joan Rogers MA ’68 (1984)
- Shawn C. Roll, faculty member (2021)
- Elizabeth J. Yerxa BS ’52, MA ’53, emeritus faculty member (1993)
23 Trojans have been named to the American Occupational Therapy Association’s list of Top 100 Influential Persons:
- Claudia Kay Allen, former faculty member
- A. Jean Ayres BS ’45, MA ’54, former faculty member
- Esther Bell Cert. ’53
- Janice P. Burke MA ’75, former faculty member
- Sharon A. Cermak, faculty member
- Florence Clark PhD ’82, emeritus faculty member
- Florence S. Cromwell MA ’52, former faculty member
- Linda Florey MA ’68, PhD ’98, chairperson of USC Chan Board of Councilors
- Mary Foto BS ’66, member of USC Chan Board of Councilors
- Anne Henderson BS ’46
- A. Joy Huss Cert. ’58
- Gary Kielhofner MA ’75
- Lorna Jean King MA ’50, former faculty member
- Catherine Trombly Latham MA ’64
- Lela Llorens, former faculty member
- Mary Reilly BS ’51, former faculty member
- Joan Rogers MA ’68
- Margaret S. Rood, former faculty member
- Carlotta Welles MA ’53
- Wilma L. West MA ’48
- Wendy Wood MA ’88, PhD ’95
- Elizabeth J. Yerxa BS ’52, MA ’53, emeritus faculty member
- Ruth Zemke, emeritus faculty member
- More than 100 Trojans have been selected Fellows of the American Occupational Therapy Association
6 Trojans have been elected President of the Occupational Therapy Association of California:
- Melissa Szamet BS ’68 (2002-04)
- Shawn Phipps BS ’97 (2008-12)
- Patricia Nagaishi MA ’80 (2012-16)
- Heather Kitching MA ’02, OTD ’10 (2016-20)
- Bryant Edwards MA ’05, OTD ’06 (2020-24)
- Samia Rafeedie MA ’05, OTD ’06 (2024-28)
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