New York University Scholar Wins Top Award in Occupational Therapy

Kristie Patten, vice dean for academic affairs at the Steinhardt School of New York University, is the recipient of the American Occupational Therapy Association’s prestigious Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award. The award is considered the highest honor in the profession of occupational therapy.

The Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award was established as a memorial to one of the outstanding pioneers in the profession of occupational therapy. The purpose is to honor a member of the association who has substantially and innovatively contributed to the development of the profession’s body of knowledge.

“I am humbled and honored to receive this award,” said Dr. Patten, vice dean and associate professor of occupational therapy at New York University. “Eleanor Clarke Slagle was a founding member of our profession, with deep ties to New York state. And previous winners have included prominent NYU occupational therapy faculty and alumni.. I look forward to contributing to the strong tradition of excellence and innovative ideas that these scholars have put forth.”

Dr. Patten joined the faculty at New York University in 2007 after teaching for five years at Temple University in Philadelphia. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. She earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy and a Ph.D. in educational psychology at Temple University.