SHRP Welcomes New Chair of Occupational Therapy
Penelope “Penny” Moyers, Ed.D., the new SHRP
chair of occupational therapy, was drawn to a
career in occupational therapy at a young age for a simple
reason: She saw how it helped her grandmother.
“My grandmother had tuberculosis, and those
were the days they put people with tuberculosis in a
sanitarium,” Moyers remembers. Her grandmother
sent letters to Moyers, who was about seven at the
time, to stay connected with the family. “She always
sounded depressed, until she starting writing about
her occupational-therapy program.” At an age when
most children have no idea what occupational therapy
is, Moyers had found her calling.
A Wealth of Experience—and Interests
Moyers comes to UAB from the University of
Indianapolis, where over 18 years she worked her way
up from her first teaching assignment to become dean
of the School of Occupational Therapy.
SHRP dean Harold P. Jones, Ph.D., says Moyers
brings a wealth of talent and experience to UAB.
“Her reputation and energy will only add to the historical
excellence of the program and to the program’s
legacy of strong leadership.”
Moyers is a Charles City, Iowa, native with a bachelor’s
degree in occupational therapy from the
University of Missouri, a master of science in community
development from the University of
Louisville, and a doctorate in adult education from
Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She was in
private practice before she came to Indiana, and for
16 of the years she was at the University of
Indianapolis, she kept practicing occupational therapy
on the side, working with hand-surgery patients.
She has a keen interest in working with people
with substance-use disorders. As she prepared to
move to Birmingham this past summer, Moyers was
anticipating publication of a paper in the , co-written with a colleague, on
evidence-based interventions for people with substance-
use disorders.
She is also chair of the American Occupational
Therapy Association’s commission on continuing
competency, another area of particular interest to her.
The commission is launching new board and specialist
certifications.
Moyers says she was
impressed in the interview
process by the desire Dean
Jones expressed to see the
school become one of the
best in the country, and she
shares his ambition for the
program to receive more
attention both regionally
and nationally. “I would
like to highlight to the OT
community what’s going on
at UAB—our research, our
students, our faculty, our
curriculum,” she says. “I
think the program has a lot
to contribute.”
Among her other goals is
to get the alumni community
more involved and get
their input on the future of
occupational therapy, as
well as their help with
recruiting and fund-raising.
“I’d also like to increase
the size of the student body,
particularly in professional programs and post-professional
offerings, especially with the new emphasis on
competency,” Moyers says. “I’d like to see what the
alumni think of that.”
Growing enrollment and offering more post-professional
education will be increasingly important as
the shortage of OT professors and practicing occupational
therapists grows, she adds: “It’s going to be as
bad as the nursing shortage.” She would also like to
increase interaction with the Alabama Occupational
Therapy Association, to “make sure UAB has a presence
in what goes on in the state.”
Moyers says her move to UAB came at a time when
she was looking for a chance to get more involved
with a research program. But research wasn’t her only
reason for making a move.
“It just seemed ideal. Plus I’ve got a big interest in
golf,” she says.