A celebration of the life of UB faculty member Susan M. Nochajski will be held at 4:30 p.m. May 1 in Butler Auditorium, 150 Farber Hall, South Campus.

A reception will follow.

Nochajski, clinical associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and director of the Occupational Therapy Program, died March 5.

She is survived by her husband, Thomas Nochajski, a research professor in the School of Social Work.

Those attending the service are asked to RSVP by April 24 to Kristen Celeste at kcelesta@buffalo.edu.

A fund has been established at UB in Nochajski's memory. Donations can be made online to the Dr. Susan Nochajski Memorial Fund.

An occupational therapist with more than 20 years of clinical experience working primarily with persons with developmental disabilities, Nochajski is being remembered as a great teacher, excellent mentor and compassionate friend.

She joined UB’s OT faculty in 1995 after serving as project coordinator for an interdisciplinary graduate program focusing on assistive technology for persons with developmental disabilities at the Center for Assistive Technology.

She taught graduate courses on the impact of the physical and social environments on persons with disabilities.

A prolific scholar, she was an investigator on more than 10 grants totaling more than $5.5 million and published extensively in her field. She was on the editorial board of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Therapy in Health Care, and was a grant reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education.

Nochajski was a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and a member of the New York State Occupational Therapy Association.

She earned a BS and MS in occupational therapy and a PhD in special education, all from UB.

In her spare time, she enjoyed traveling with her husband — they made several cross-country road trips and visited more than 20 countries — as well as reading novels, sipping wine, photographing her vacation trips, spending time with family and attending Bruce Springsteen concerts.