Tara Ruppert, OTD, OTR/L, CHT
Associate Professor, Program Director, Occupational Therapy
[email protected]
Education
BS in Occupational Therapy, Creighton University
OTD in Occupational Therapy, George Washington University
General Background
Dr. Tara Ruppert is an Associate Professor and Program Director for the entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program at the College of Saint Mary. She brings over 20 years of clinical experience as an occupational therapist and certified hand therapist, with practice across outpatient, pediatric, physical rehabilitation, and specialty hand therapy settings. Her clinical expertise focuses on upper extremity rehabilitation, orthotic fabrication, and evidence-informed intervention for both adults and children.
Dr. Ruppert has been a member of the CSM faculty since 2015 and teaches across the OTD curriculum in areas including human movement, activity analysis, therapeutic modalities, upper extremity conditions, and clinical reasoning. She is dedicated to mentoring students through academic advising, research supervision, and doctoral capstone project guidance. In addition to teaching, she is actively involved in professional leadership, scholarship, and service at the state and national levels. Dr. Ruppert is passionate about preparing future occupational therapists to be thoughtful clinicians, strong collaborators, and lifelong learners who are responsive to the needs of the communities they serve
Professional Affiliations & Service
American Occupational Therapy Association member – 2000-2007, 2015 to present
New Educator Mentorship Program mentor – 2025-2026
American Society of Hand Therapists – 2008 to 2013, 2015 to present
Education Division member – 2019 to 2024
Clinical Mentor – 2022 to 2024
Awards Committee member – 2016-2020
Nebraska Occupational Therapy Association – 2015 to present
Executive Board – Vice President of Academia – 2023-2025 and 2025-2027
Member of the NOTA Conference Planning Committee – 2017-2018 and 2018-2019
Faculty advisor for OT Student Pre-Conference networking events – 2019 and 2020
Additional Information
Awards:
2025 – Received Inspiring Excellence Award from College of Saint Mary for “exemplary service to the CSM Community”.
2025 – Received a CSM Presidential Innovation Grant to develop a day camp for children with special needs to be hosted at CSM. Developed a proposal with three other faculty members and collaborated with OTD students to build the project.
2022 and 2023 – Received ASHT’s Gold Award for volunteerism with the Education Division.
2020 – Received ASHT’s Gold Award for volunteerism with the Awards Committee.
2018 – Received CSM’s Student Senate Faculty Job Well Done award after being nominated by students.