Academy of Educators awards and honors

Christine Berg, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, received the Lifetime Achievement award recognizing outstanding contributions in health science education from the Academy of Educators. The award was established in 2021 to honor a faculty member who has shown a lifelong commitment to education and demonstrates excellence in one or more domains of educational service, leadership or scholarship.

For more than 30 years, Berg has devoted herself to educating graduate occupational therapy (OT) students at Washington University. She has moved through the ranks from instructor to assistant and now associate professor while maintaining a distinctive approach to her work centered on student development through community engagement. Berg has collaborated with more than 100 local agencies to enhance students’ worldviews while learning creative OT solutions to improve community health for diverse populations.

In her role as the interim education division director, Dr. Berg has put forth a vision for OT education to be more equitable, inclusive and impactful. She states her goals to be “ensuring equity across faculty recruitment, policies and procedures, student recruitment and retention, and transforming faculty’s growth mindset all for the expressed purpose of an enriched teaching and learning environment.”

Peggy Barco, OTD, OTR/L, SCDCM, CDRS, FAOTA; Vicki Kaskutas, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA; and Steve Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA, were named to the Honor Roll of the Academy in recognition of their outstanding commitment to the education of our students.

The Academy presented the awards during the Education Day celebration at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy Student Center on Oct. 5.