January 2013 Dear Colleagues and Friends: As we begin another new year, I look back over the University

of Colorado Physical Therapy Program accomplishments of 2012 with great satisfaction. Individual faculty, students and the program, as a whole, had numerous accomplishments. Because of your support and interest in our program, I am taking this opportunity to share some of the high points of 2012. CU PT students won the Student Advocacy Challenge Award from the American Physical Therapy Association, which award is designed to inspire students to be involved in advocacy on the state and federal levels. It is great that our students have been recognized in this way and it is the second year in a row they have won this honor. For the sixth consecutive year, our students and faculty traveled to the University of Nicaragua in Managua, where they provided instruction on current physical therapy practice for clinicians and faculty and donated medical supplies for individuals and groups in need. Faculty and students continue to provide physical therapy service through the Stout Street Clinic for homeless individuals in downtown Denver. And for the 12th year, we hosted students and faculty from our sister school, Yamagata Prefectural University, for a week on campus in the fall. We have initiated a concerted effort with the CU Foundation and the Office of Alumni Relations to build and enhance our scholarships for students in the PT Program. To this end, we have developed our strategy and have already begun to receive both large and small donations toward this initiative. Over the next few years, we anticipate building a robust scholarship fund to support students in this trying financial time. We are deeply involved in the development of a new curriculum for the entry-level program, encompassing a year-long paid internship that will begin before graduation and culminate approximately eight months following graduation from the PT Program. The addition of a paid internship has necessitated revisions to the entire entry-level curriculum, which are well underway. The transition will take place with the class entering in 2014. The final group of students in the transition DPT Program registered for their last course. We look forward to their graduation in the spring. At the same time, we are in the final stages of approvals for a Residency in Pediatrics and anticipate beginning that program in the summer. In addition, we have enrolled four students

PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM th School of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation | Mail Stop C244 | 13121 E. 17 Ave, #3108 | Aurora, CO 80045 Phone 303 724 9144 | fax 303 724 9016 | pt.admissions@ucdenver.edu | www.medschool.ucdenver.edu/pt

into the PhD Program in Rehabilitation Science. We welcome the opportunity to discuss this program with our graduates who are considering embarking on a PhD. It was terrific to reconnect with graduates from across a wide range of classes when we celebrated the 65th Anniversary of the PT Program in April. Because this was such a positive experience, we will highlight specific class years at annual alumni reunions. Faculty and graduate students continue to be highly productive, publishing in a wide range of professional areas, successfully competing for grants from the National Institutes of Health and Foundations, and serving in leadership positions both within the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and other professional organizations. I am particularly pleased that Robyn Gisbert and I, along with two other colleagues, completed a text, Neuroscience for Rehabilitation, which was published in July. Among important faculty and administrative notes: o Katie Meyers, PT, DPT joined the program as Assistant Director of the Clinical Education Program. She is a tremendous addition to the faculty and is an excellent resource for our clinical partners. o Aleta Cadwallader, Administrative Assistant, departed to travel the world and journal about her experiences; Kristen Karlik, Administrative Assistant, left the Program to return to coaching volleyball, her love; and David Weil, Educational Technology Manager, accepted an excellent opportunity at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities. We wish each of them the best. We welcome to our administrative team Mary Teel and Lauren Wahlquist, Program Assistants, and Rachelle Waller, Grant and Contract Specialist. We look forward to continued collaborations in 2013 with you, as colleagues and friends of the program. Please know there is always an open invitation to talk with me about any aspect of the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program, and I welcome your thoughts and questions. You can reach me by phone at (303) 724-9375 or by email at margaret.schenkman@ucdenver.edu. Please know there is always an open invitation to talk with me about any aspect of the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program. Stay tuned for more about our efforts to improve availability of student scholarships, alumni events, and successes of our faculty and students. With best wishes for 2013,

Margaret Schenkman, PT, PhD, FAPTA Professor and PT Program Director Associate Dean for Physical Therapy Education Encl. (1)