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The Mitchell Symposium in Occupational Science is named in honor and memory of Dr. Marlys Mitchell, the founder of the master’s program in occupational therapy at the UNC School of Medicine, and her husband, Earl, a great supporter of Marlys. Symposium scholars deliver a public lecture and participate in talks, discussions, and meetings with faculty, students, and researchers from throughout the division and the Department of Allied Health Sciences. Initiated in 2011, the symposium has been made possible through generous gifts from friends and alumni of the division.

2011 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Mary Lawlor
“Health Disparities and Cultural Competence: Bridging Clinical Worlds and Life at Home”

2012 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Debbie Laliberte Rudman
“Individualizing of the Social: The Critical Potential of Occupational Science”

2013 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Betty Risteen Hasselkus
“Everyday Occupations: The Heart of Research and Practice”

2014 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Gelya Frank
“Occupational Activism for Global Justice”

2015 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Dorothy Holland
“Cultural Know-How, Community Capacity and Transformative Agency: A New Frontier for Occupational Science and Therapy”

2016 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Staffan Josephsson
“Transactional Perspectives on Occupation: Missed Opportunities for Research and Practice”

2017 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Joy Hammel
“Why Can’t Rehab be More Like That?! Visioning Participation-Focused Assessment and Programming from the Insider Perspective of People with Disabilities”

2018 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Virginia Dickie
“QUILTED: Stitching Together Theory and Practice by Studying Occupation”

2019 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Elizabeth Anne Kinsella
“Embodiment and Human Occupation: Implications for Health and Social Care”

2020 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Sarah Kantartzis
“The Collective, our Collectivity and Collective Occupation”

2022 Mitchell Symposium

Dr. Moses Ikiugu
“Environmental Sustainability and Everyday Occupations”
Watch the recording