Leadership
Tia Hughes, DrOT, MBA, OTR/L
Associate Dean of the College of Rehabilitative Sciences for Occupational Therapy
Dr. Tia Hughes joined the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in June 2020 as Associate Dean of the College of Rehabilitative Sciences for Occupational Therapy. Previously, Dr. Hughes was a faculty member and academic leader at health sciences university in Florida, serving as the institution’s program director for the occupational therapy programs.
Dr. Hughes’s clinical experience includes settings such as acute care hospitals, outpatient clinics, inpatient rehab hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and public schools. Her research interests include adult physical rehabilitation, disabled driving, OT in the penal system, and vision therapy.
She is a member of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education and has been published by local and state organizations. Dr. Hughes also has authored several chapters in Occupational Therapy for Children and Youth under IDEA, 3rd Ed. (2007), Foundations of Theory and Practice for the Occupational Therapy Assistant (2017) and Guest Editor for DiZazzo-Miller & Pociask’s Preparing for The Occupational Therapy Assistant National Board Exam: 45 Days and Counting (2017).
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Florida at Gainesville, a Master of Business Administration with emphasis on health care administration from Southern Adventist University and a Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Nova Southeastern University.