2023-2027 Strategic Plan
Inspired by a dedication to excellence and a collective commitment to addressing key areas in occupational therapy, the Colorado State University Department of Occupational Therapy champions:
- novel collaborative opportunities for both students and faculty, with a particular focus on enhancing mental and behavioral health initiatives;
- advancing sustained excellence in research, teaching, and engagement aligned with Colorado State University’s land-grant mission and designation as an R1 institution;
- dedication to fostering greater inclusion and broader representation of faculty, staff, and students from marginalized and historically underrepresented backgrounds; and
- expanding the influential endeavors within the Department by fortifying and enhancing operational foundations.
GOAL 1: BUILD
BUILD new collaborative student and faculty opportunities, emphasizing mental and behavioral health.
Objective 1.1: Enhance the Department’s engagement in the College of Health and Human Sciences’s Mental and Behavioral Health initiatives.
- Engage with community, College, and University stakeholders via collaborative teams to support an interdisciplinary center proposal on mental and behavioral health, with an aim to secure federal funding for such a center (NIH PO1/P50 model).
- Leverage cluster hires for building OT’s contributions to mental and behavioral health with a range of stakeholders.
- Collaborate with the College of Health and Human Sciences development team to secure gifts emphasizing support of mental and behavioral health initiatives.
Objective 1.2: Develop and implement innovative programming that addresses workforce shortages.
- Create educational and practice opportunities aligned with faculty interests and specialties.
- Create an umbrella for a student-run clinic.
- Achieve accreditation for the OTD program.
GOAL 2: PROMOTE
PROMOTE continued excellence in research, teaching and engagement commensurate with CSU’s land-grant mission and status as an R1 institution and the Department’s status as a top-10 Occupational Therapy Program.
Research and Scholarship
Objective 2.1: Grow and strengthen the Department’s annual research.
- Increase the Department’s annual research portfolio expenditures by 5% by FY28.
- Secure funding (e.g., training and program grants, Departmental mechanisms) oriented toward promoting student and faculty research.
Objective 2.2: Expand research support and infrastructure.
- Establish and implement a process for post-award support that ensures solid communication between PIs and pre- and post-award support staff and other critical CSU offices.
Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring
Objective 2.3: Ensure outstanding academic experiences for all Department students.
- Attract and maintain cadres of OTD students who complete research-based capstone experiences.
- Create a viable pathway from OTD to Ph.D. and attract 1-2 OTD students into the Ph.D.
- Develop and implement innovative programming to ensure academic success of OTD cohorts admitted under new holistic admissions processes that increase emphasis on life experience and lessen emphasis on previous academic performance.
- Develop infrastructure for a faculty practice (e.g., student-run clinic).
- Increase faculty use of the TILT Teaching Effectiveness Framework strategies (e.g., TILT coursework, faculty annual reviews, peer observations, mentorship to novice instructors).
- Create processes that facilitate OTD applicants’ successful completion of applications.
- Department becomes known as a role model for inclusive, innovative programming.
Outreach and Engagement
Objective 2.4: Increase community-engaged scholarship.
- Recruit, hire, and support new faculty who have a community-engaged teaching and/or research philosophy.
Objective 2.5 Increase the Department’s contributions to, and involvement with, CSU’s Engagement and Extension initiatives related to rural health and workforce development.
- At least one faculty member actively participates with the Office of Engagement and Extension to support rural health initiatives specific to behavioral and mental health, healthy aging, and/or health promotion and coaching.
- Expand fieldwork placements and other workforce development initiatives through new partnerships with state agencies and/or the Office of Engagement and Extension.
- Maintain and expand certificate and/or credential offerings (e.g., assistive technology certificate, sleep health certificate, research certificate).
GOAL 3: INCLUDE
INCLUDE: Increase Departmental commitment to and representation of marginalized and/or historically underrepresented faculty, staff, students.
Objective 3.1: Ensure that all Department students feel a sense of purpose and belonging in the classroom, extracurricular activities and on fieldwork placements, paying particular attention to students from historically marginalized and/or underrepresented groups.
- Create an atmosphere in which all feel free to be who they are (e.g., respectfully disagree; feel that expectations are similar for all; feel no negative consequences to self-disclosure).
- Query fieldwork sites to better understand how DEIJ impacts service delivery and subsequently what DEIJ skills and knowledge are most relevant and impactful to OT service provision and ensure that our students develop those skills and knowledge.
- Create a DEIJ Faculty Committee to champion the Department’s efforts, the chair of which will sit on the College of Health and Human Sciences’ DEIJ Committee. Consider the relationship of this faculty committee to Diverse OT.
- Effectively champion a broad definition of diversity to include categories such as disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, and age.
- Prepare students to engage effectively in conversations with individuals who are challenging equity and diversity.
Objective 3.2: Increase diversity of students and faculty.
- Participate in Choose CSU/College of Health and Human Sciences recruitment events; present curriculum and program options (e.g., Open House; admissions information sessions) to undergraduate and master’s students to attract talented students from underrepresented groups.
- Create a process to extend early admission to high performing CSU undergraduate students who have met all pre-requisites for OTD admissions with an intentional commitment toward recruiting applicants from marginalized and/or historically underrepresented groups.
- Develop and implement targeted strategies that increase the pool of diverse applicants for faculty and staff positions.
- Develop and implement targeted strategies that increase the pool of diverse student applicants.
GOAL 4: GROW
GROW the impactful work carried out in the Department by ensuring solid operational foundations.
Objective 4.1: Maintain solid fiscal processes that support Departmental activities.
- Develop and implement reporting systems whereby faculty and staff track finances related to their roles and understand the Department’s overall financial status.
- Increase involvement of the Department’s Leadership team in financial decisions.
- Make OT SHARE financially independent.
Objective 4.2: Ensure that philanthropic activities align with Department priorities.
- Continue to work with the development team to increase gifts in priority areas (e.g., Ph.D., OTD, endowed chair).
- Expand use of media, social media and other sources to increase awareness of program strengths and attract interest in supporting CSU-OT by alumni and other potential donors (e.g., alumni Facebook page, posting stories about alums on department website).
Objective 4.3: Envision, create, and support spaces that promote our mission and vision for students, faculty, and staff that highlight student connection, inclusion, accessibility, work/life balance, wellness, and safety.