Nancy Vandewiele Milligan, PhD, OTR/L, and Gerry E. Conti, PhD, OTR/L, will receive the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Roster of Fellows Awards at the 2012 Annual Conference and Expo in Indianapolis, IN, in April. Both are assistant professors in the Occupational Therapy (OT) program, Department of Health Care Sciences, in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (EACPS).

The Roster of Fellows recognizes AOTA members, who with their knowledge and expertise have made significant contributions to the continuing educational and professional development of the association's members. In recognition of her contributions, Milligan's award will state: Community Participation and Social Justice Advocate; Conti's award, Passionate Scholarship for Evidence, Discovery and Innovation. They will receive the awards at the Annual Awards and Recognition Ceremony on April 28. This past October, the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association (MIOTA) awarded "fellow" status to the two faculty members.

During the past 40 years, Conti has demonstrated her commitment to the profession of occupational therapy through education, research and service. She gave her first presentation at the AOTA conference in 1979 and has continued to make presentations at the local, state and national levels, sharing information on her clinical experience, knowledge of kinesiology and neuroscience, and research. Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed Conti to two consecutive three-year terms on the Michigan Board of Occupational Therapists, where she was elected chair from 2006 through 2010. She also served on a Michigan task force to revise the rules and regulations for the new occupational therapy law. Conti earned a bachelor of science degree in occupation therapy from Indiana University, a master's degree in occupational therapy from Eastern Michigan University, and her doctorate in kinesiology from the University of Michigan. She joined the Occupational Therapy program at Wayne State University in 2002.

For more than 30 years, Milligan has been an advocate for persons with disabilities and those who are underserved and marginalized. She has served on the Michigan Occupational Therapy Board in various positions since 1982. In 1986, Milligan started the Michigan Institute for Spinal Cord Injuries in Ann Arbor, one of the first transitional living facilities for individuals with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. As OT program director at Schoolcraft Community College, Livonia, she introduced community placements for fieldwork experiences to increase student awareness of the physical and attitudinal barriers that their clients faced. As the academic fieldwork coordinator at Wayne State, Milligan initiated community-based fieldwork for OT students, for which she organized contractual relationships with more than 60 sites. In 2003, she earned the "Building Bridges" Award from Eastern Michigan University Access Service Office for her work with students with disabilities. Her dissertation on the effects of faculty training about academic accommodation on the perceptions and intentions of health care science faculty was published in 2010 in the Journal of Allied Health.

In 2007, Milligan was named to the Commission for Disability Issues in Ann Arbor. In 2009, she was appointed to lead a college committee to establish an interdisciplinary clinic, which resulted in 2011 in the creation of the student-run Diabetes Education and Wellness (DEW) Clinic, at the S.A.Y. Detroit Family Health Clinic.

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, one of the founding colleges of Wayne State University, is committed to advancing the health and well-being of society through the preparation of highly skilled health care practitioners, and through research to improve health care practices and treatment from urban to global levels.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.

Date: January 27, 2012
Contact: Kathleen J. Karas, APR
Phone: 313-577-2312
Email: kkaras@wayne.edu