Eleanor Clarke Slagle had a vision for occupational therapy that integrated theory, philosophy, and spirit.
To continue her legacy, AOTA established its highest award in Slagle’s honor.
The first Eleanor Clarke Slagle lecture was awarded in 1955 to Florence Stattel. The lecture took place at AOTA’s 38th Annual Conference in San Francisco on October 25, 1955.
The first lecture encouraged occupational therapy practitioners to search for further knowledge so that the profession can continue to extend its hand to benefit mankind.
“We are all occupational therapists first, reduced from our specialties by the common denominator, the human being who needs our help.” Stattel reminded occupational therapy practitioners that, “our specialty field is related to helping the human being.”
The Slagle lecture has been awarded for 62 years and candidates are nominated by the general AOTA membership.
Want to learn more about the Eleanor Clarke Slagle lectures? You can read all of the lectures from 1955 to 2016 in the AOTA Press book, A Professional Legacy The Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectures in Occupational Therapy, 1955-2016, Centennial Edition.
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Throughout 2017, AOTA will be sharing about the 100 year history of occupational therapy on social media.
