The Ben and Marcia Atchison Endowment to support OT treatment for children who have experienced trauma was initiated in 2017. This fund is intended to support access to OT services at the WMU Teaching Clinics for children that have a history of adverse experiences and are economically disadvantaged. 
Dr. Ben Atchison and his wife Marcia have made many impactful contributions to the Kalamazoo community since 1999. Dr. Atchison’s distinguished career as an occupational therapist and professor has spanned four decades. Throughout his career, he has been a dedicated advocate for disadvantaged children and families. As a professor in occupational therapy, he has mentored thousands of OT students and empowered them to provide sensitive, client-centered care to vulnerable children.
In the year 2000, he co-founded the Southwest Michigan Children’s Trauma Assessment Center (CTAC) which has grown to become a beacon for evaluating the impact of abuse, neglect and prenatal exposure on a child’s developmental functioning. CTAC has completed more than 3600 evaluations and has changed the life trajectories for many at risk children, their families and by extension, the communities in which they live and work. CTAC is a prime example of the scope and focus of Dr. Atchison’s work, the impact of which extends across the thousands of individuals seen at CTAC, the students under Dr. Atchison’s supervision and countless colleagues inspired by his passion to help children in vulnerable circumstances.