Faculty Information
News Story: Dr. Karen Stephens Cited for Excellence in Teaching
Karen was not only an Orange County Community College winner of the President's Award, but she was also a SUNY state winner of the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Contact Information
| Title | Name | Phone (845) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department Chairperson | Dr. Maria Masker | maria.masker@sunyorange.edu | 341-4290 |
| Department Secretary | Margaret Boyle | margaret.boyle@sunyorange.edu | 341-4291 |
| Professor | Dr. Karen Stephens | karen.stephens@sunyorange.edu | 341-4309 |
| Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education | Rhoda Collins | rhoda.collins@sunyorange.edu | 341-4280 |
| Adjunct Instructor and Clinical Liaison | Gretchen Meier | gretchen.meier@sunyorange.edu | 341-4291 |
| Office Fax | 341-4799 |
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Biographies
Dr. Maria Masker
Maria graduated from Quinnipiac University in 1987 with a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy and a declared minor in psychology. In January 2006, she completed her doctorate in physical therapy from Boston University. Maria's clinical experience includes direct patient care in acute care hospital settings, out patient clinics, sub-acute rehabilitation, long term nursing home care and home care. Administratively, she has served as physical therapy director, center coordinator of clinical education, and coordinator of physical therapy to various local facilities.
Maria began her career at Orange County Community College in March 2006 as department chair and faculty. She is presently an assistant professor and enjoys teaching PTA 1, Medical Conditions for the PTA, and PTA 4. In addition, she maintains her clinical experience by providing home care physical therapy to primarily the geriatric population while supervising two physical therapist assistants.
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Dr. Karen Stephens
Karen received an AS degree from Orange County Community College in 1977. In 1979, she graduated from SUNY Binghamton with a BS degree in Biology, and in 1983 graduated from Duke University with an MS degree in Physical Therapy. Karen received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2007 from Dominican College. She has clinical experience in acute care, rehabilitation, geriatrics, home care, and pediatrics.
Karen has been a guest lecturer in the PTA Program since 1983. She was an adjunct instructor for 2 years and has been a full time instructor since 1993. She is presently a professor and teaches PTA II; PTA III; Kinesiology; and Tests and Measurement Skills for the PTA. Karen is active in advising students and also has clinical responsibilities. In 2007, she received a well-deserved college Appreciation Award. In 2008, as described in news story above, she received both the President's Award and the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
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Rhoda Collins
Rhoda graduated from Ithaca College in 1968 with a B. S. in Physical Therapy. She has worked as a clinician in a variety of settings including: acute care, rehabilitation, out-patient care, home care and a skilled nursing facility.
She has served as Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) in the Physical Therapist Assistant Program since 1976 (one year after the inception of the program); As ACCE, Rhoda is responsible for the selection and establishment of clinical education sites (affiliations) and the orientation of new clinical faculty as well as the on-going development of clinical education faculty. She is also responsible for the selection of each student's specific clinical education assignment to provide each student with a diversity of quality learning experiences, and orients students to their role/responsibilities at the clinical education site. Rhoda coordinates the academic faculty in their role as clinical liaisons in visiting the clinical education sites to assess and discuss the student's experiences with the student, the Clinical Instructor (CI), and/or the Center Coordinator of Clinical Education (CCCE). Additionally, Rhoda monitors student progress through various feedback mechanisms, including midterm and final evaluations, clinical liaison reports, and reports from students (verbal and written).
Rhoda currently serves as the PTA web site program manager and also provides on-line web enhancement for two Clinical Education courses.
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Gretchen Meier
Gretchen graduated from Quinnipiac University in 1992 with a B. A. in Physical Therapy. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings with a wide variety of patient populations. She has worked acute rehabilitation, traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, acute care hospital settings, private practice and home care. Gretchen and her husband have owned their own outpatient physical therapy practice since 1994.
Gretchen began her teaching experiences on the rehab unit with the team itself, creating in services for body mechanics and transfers as well as extensive family and caregiver training. She has supervised PT students in the clinical setting in both acute care and rehab settings. She began teaching PTA 1 in 2005 at SUNY Orange and started serving as Clinical Liaison in Fall, 2007.
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Margaret Boyle
Peggy has been department secretary for both the Physical
Therapist Assistant Program (which included the Massage Program for several years) and the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program since 1991.
She effectively and efficiently handles the daily tasks of typing memos/course outlines/student handouts, making and receiving telephone calls, retrieving data, processing orders, processing for clinical contracts, setting up meeting times/locations,.....the list is endless.....not to mention those weekly, monthly, and annual tasks as well. She has been instrumental in preparing two accreditation reports over the years which is monumental in and of itself.
Peggy is so appreciated by both faculty and students who benefit by her positive attitude and on-going encouragement!
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