Posted in

Activities Of The Chair

Mobility as a Human Right

Older adults will tell you that losing their driving license is like getting a death sentence. In her unstoppable journey to empower seniors, Dr. Sherrilene Classen, a professor and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions, is getting older adults comfortable with autonomous vehicle technology as well as conducting research to develop autonomous transit resources to promote their independence and safety.

Chair’s address to students during town hall meeting

The Occupational Therapy department is taking action to start addressing a culture change that is both necessary and critical so that each one of our black students and each one of our black colleagues feel that they matter- that means to feel valued and to feel that they can contribute to the value of the department, the college, and the profession.

Message from the Chair

I am very much troubled, as I am sure you are too-- by the recent killing of Mr. George Floyd. The heinous circumstances surrounding his unrightfully suffering and subsequent death are inconceivable, inhumane and unacceptable. This act is a manifestation of deleterious, derogative, demeaning and destructive forces inherent to racism, ethnocentrism, prejudice, and white supremacy. The image of the police officer’s knee on the throat of a man incapable of defending himself, pleading for help, suffering, and slowly dying--now so engrained in our consciousness, depicts a deep divide of oneness, a violation of concern for others, and is in direct opposition with the core ideologies of humanity--  and of us being extensions of creation’s generosity and love.

CODY project wraps up and researchers share video

This 5-minute video provides an excellent overview of the project introducing the project to consumers and healthcare professionals involved in home modifications for people with movement impairments.