Ph.D. Faculty

Faculty includes:

Grace Baranek, Ph.D., OTR/L studies sensory features in children with autism, fragile X syndrome, & related developmental disabilities. She is interested in how unusual sensory experiences create occupational challenges in play, socialization, or activity repertoires.
Malcolm Cutchin, Ph.D., uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to study the complex relationships among people and places and how they pertain to well-being. His work is informed by the philosophy of John
Dewey and includes the study of frail older adults as well as stress and coping processes in various ethnic groups.
Virginia Dickie, Ph.D., OTR/L uses ethnographic methods to study the meaning & orchestration of human occupation & its context, focusing on single occupational domains (currently quilt making) in order to reveal their complexity. She has a long standing interest in the practice & culture of work, particularly specialized work in crafts.
Ruth Humphry, Ph.D., OTR/L studies the dynamic developmental processes that influence how young children learn their occupations & transform their experiences of participation. She is investigating her model regarding developmental forces that bring about systematic, age-related changes in children’s skills in play and self care activities.