THE DIRECTOR a letter from

The 2022-2023 academic year marks the 75th anniversary of the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program (CU PT). Our yearlong recognition of this milestone reflects the program’s initial accreditation in 1947 through the graduation of our first class in 1948. The nationally ranked program of today has been shaped by the major accomplishments of our past. These highlights include moving to the Anschutz Medical Campus in 2007 and graduating our first DPT class the same year, establishing the PhD Program in Rehabilitation Sciences in 2011, beginning the Pediatric Physical Therapy Residency Program and the Scholarship and Endowment Advisory Board in 2012, and graduating our first DPT students who completed the yearlong internship in 2016.

In reflecting on our most recent accomplishments, the program has much to be proud of as we continue to celebrate our 75th year of operations. During the 2022-2023 academic year alone, we have created a new DPT-MPH dual degree track, completed our on-site accreditation visit for our Faculty Development Residency, attained #5 in the PM&R Blue Ridge rankings for federal research grant funding, received a record number of CU PT student applications, established multiple new scholarships through our generous benefactors, and gained approval for a hybrid campus with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs to enhance healthcare training in Central and Southern Colorado. These achievements mark a banner year for the program by any measure. Fulfilling our mission and completing key program objectives this year was only possible through the expertise and dedication of our valued faculty, staff, and program partners.

Many faculty members have distinguished themselves over the past year in their service to our program and the profession. Our Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency in partnership with UCHealth attained accreditation through the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education thanks to the contributions of David James, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS. In addition, Dawn Magnusson PT, PhD helped to launch our anniversary celebration by guiding our sponsorship of the Colorado Health Promotion Symposium in partnership with the Colorado School of Public Health, and championed the dual DPT-MPH degree track. Regarding our research efforts, both Cory Christiansen, PT, PhD and Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, PT, PhD, FAPTA earned American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) awards, and Mark Manago, PT, DPT, PhD, NCS and Andrew Smith, PT, DPT, PhD secured major training grant awards through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and National Institutes of Health, respectively. Paul Mintken, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT retired from CU PT after 25 years of service and he will remain connected to the faculty as a Clinical Professor. Finally, I had the great honor of serving as an invited participant of the National Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission summit, and being named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA during our profession’s Leadership Congress Award & Honors Ceremony in 2022.

The ability of our faculty and staff to be innovative and meet our program’s mission during a period of immense change cannot be overstated. The rapid transformation impacting healthcare and higher education has been met by our ongoing efforts to address the needs of the modern learner in both entry-level and post-professional education, support the research training of future physical therapy academicians, and do our part to build a more inclusive profession through our program initiatives and community engagement activities. CU PT has done more than simply survive the years that followed the campus pandemic lockdown in March 2020. Rather, our sense of mission has never been clearer and our recent accomplishments are evidence that we are leading the way for physical therapy education in the Mountain West Region and beyond.

Michael Harris-Love, PT, MPT, DSc, FGSA, FAPTA Associate Dean for Physical Therapy Education Director, Physical Therapy Program

Joanne Posner-Mayer Endowed Chair in Physical Therapy