The Division of Occupational Therapy is excited to welcome our newest full clinical assistant professor, Hillary Till. She started off as an adjunct professor in 2018 and became a full time time professor as of June 2025.
Till is originally from Claremont, California, a town known as “the land of trees and PhDs.” She attended University of California-Santa Cruz for her undergrad where she received her degree in Feminist Studies. Later on, she received her M.S. in Occupational Therapy from New York University. Her professional background spans from acute rehab, skilled nursing, and home health with a focus on acute care.
Till expressed that her choice to study Occupational Therapy was motivated by her youngest brother who had a lot of sensory challenges as a child. She shared that it was her mom that found OT and that was the thing that helped her brother the most. She describes OT as “holistic”, requiring “a lot of collaboration with patient.”
“I’m really interested in adult learning and training this new group of OTs coming into the field,” said Till. “I teach a lot of the biomedical aspects of the program and have a specific interest in safety for new clinicians and students, especially through habit and role formation around safe patient handling.”
Looking ahead, Till is working on establishing the development of an acute care fellowship at UNC, set to launch in January 2026. The program will help new clinicians become specialists in acute care and gain expertise in the field. “I’m excited to be here,” she added. “There are so many great people who work here and who have a lot of experience. I’m learning a lot from them.”
Join us in welcoming Hillary Till to the full time faculty.