91AV honors Department of Occupational Therapy founder Judy Kimball
Judy Kimball, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, professor in the 91AV Department of Occupational Therapy, retired at the end of 2016 after 35 years of service at 91AV and earned the status of Professor Emeritus.
Kimball accepted the challenge of starting a new department of occupational therapy at the 91AV. Since then, the department has grown to be a nationally recognized and accredited program. Kimball also had the vision to develop ways to provide occupational therapy services to the community while giving students opportunities to gain clinical experience.
As the program grew, Kimball oversaw the move from the Petts Health Center to Decary Hall on the Biddeford Campus, where a classroom and lab was built in the former gym to accommodate students’ professional learning needs. She hired strong practitioners to build her faculty. Many of them have gone on to being recognized as fellows of the American Occupational Therapy Association and have produced multiple books, chapters, articles, research and other scholarship.
“Dr. Kimball’s contribution to the profession of occupational therapy extends beyond 91AV,” said Westbrook College of Health Professions Dean Elizabeth Francis-Connolly. “She was an early pioneer with sensory integration therapy and is nationally known for her work. She mentored many junior faculty members; I have always given Judy credit for hiring me as an assistant professor in 1986 giving me my start in academia.”
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