National group recognizes OT faculty member, student organization

April 30, 2025 – DENTON – A national organization representing occupational therapists has recognized faculty, students and alumnae from Texas Woman’s School of Occupational Therapy. 

The honors were announced during the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) INSPIRE 2025 Annual Conference & Expo awards and recognition ceremony in April. 

Texas Woman’s SOT clinical professor Claudette Fette, PhD was one of 62 occupational therapists named to the AOTA’s Roster of Fellows (FAOTA) for their significant contributions to the profession. 

Fette was nominated for her work advocating for people with mental health needs at the local, state and national level. 

“I am humbled and honored to be listed among my heroes in occupational therapy,” Fette said. 

The Texas Woman’s Pi Theta Epsilon (PTE) student organization was recognized twice at the conference. PTE is a specialized honor society for OT students and alumni. 

The PTE chapter on the TWU Denton campus received the President’s Award, which honors outstanding scholarly activities. The Texas Woman’s PTE chapter nominated its Bridging the Gap research event for the award. The intent of this annual event is to ‘bridge the gap’ between an area of research and the practice of OT and includes a keynote speaker, panel discussion and student research projects. This was the 19th annual event, and the discussion topic was OT’s role in the aerospace industry.

The TWU PTE chapter was also recognized for being the top fundraising school for the 2025 St. Catherine Challenge, a national student-led fundraising initiative to support OT research grants awarded by the American Occupational Therapy Foundation. TWU OT students held multiple fundraisers with the main one being an inaugural turkey trot run. 

“Winning the St. Catherine Challenge is an incredible honor that reflects our students’ passion, leadership, and dedication to advancing occupational therapy research,” said Heather Roberts, OT associate director for the Denton campus and faculty advisor for the PTE chapter. “This achievement demonstrates the power of student-led advocacy and collaboration, and I couldn't be more proud of their commitment to shaping the future of our profession.”

Several TWU SOT alumnae also received recognition. Aimee Piller received the AOTF A. Jean Ayres award, and Judith Jenkins Joseph, Riqiea F. Kitchens, Twylla Kirchen and M. Heather McKay were all recognized as fellows. 

Texas Woman’s School of Occupational Therapy offers two graduate occupational therapy programs. The entry-level graduate degree (OTD) is face to face, and the post-professional doctorate (PhD) is a hybrid program, primarily online with periodic seminars on campus.  U.S. News & World Report recognized TWU’s occupational therapy program as being among the nation’s best and tops in Texas. OT ranked No. 1 in Texas, tied for 24th nationally and 15 spots in front of any other Texas program in the publication’s 2025 “Best Graduate Schools” edition, which offers rankings in a variety of categories.