Eligibility Requirements

• Nominees must be physical therapists who have been actively engaged in teaching physical therapist students (entry or advanced level) or physical therapist assistant students in formal education for at least five years.
• Nominees must be clinical or academic educators and have a faculty appointment of any rank (part time or full time) or receive compensation for their teaching responsibilities.
• Nominees must be in an academic setting with one or more accredited physical therapist or physical therapist assistant education programs, or advanced level programs for physical therapists, from which students earn an academic qualification.

Criteria for Selection

Nominees for this award must demonstrate:

• Exceptional teaching effectiveness in the academic setting.
• Distinct expertise in at least one subject area to which the academic teaching has been directed.
• Excellence as a role model for academic teaching for students, faculty, and clinicians.

A strong application should demonstrate the following:

Exceptional teaching effectiveness in the academic setting.

• Creativity of learner-directed strategies.
• Student engagement in the learning process.
• Consideration of the variety of learning styles.
• Feedback from objective and subjective measures.

Distinct expertise in at least one subject area to which the academic teaching has been directed.

• Use of expertise to generate knowledge in the area.
• Use of expertise to nurture future clinicians in the area.
• Continued clinical practice in the area of expertise.

Excellence as a role model for academic teaching for students, faculty, and clinicians.

• Service at various levels of the academic institution.
• Involvement at various levels of the association.
• Mentorship and advisement of students and faculty.
• Scholarly activities including, but not limited to, publications, presentations, etc.

Letters of support that are positive, cite specific examples of professional accomplishments, and provide additional information on depth, scope, and quality in a convincing manner.

What Recipients Receive

An award will be presented to the recipient by APTA's Board of Directors at an APTA national event, and an official announcement will appear in an association publication.

Submission Requirements

During the online process, the following documents will be required for upload:

• Current curriculum vitae or resume of the nominee.
• A letter of nomination that specifically focuses on the strengths of the nominee in relation to the award criteria, not to exceed three pages. Letters of nomination cannot serve as one of the required letters of support.
• Two letters of support, not to exceed two pages each, one from each of the following: a physical therapist colleague from the nominee's institution, and a current or former student who is representative of an academic level of teaching in which the nominee has been engaged. The academic experience of the student should include attendance through at least one entire course taught by the nominee. (Note: If more than two letters of support are received, only two will be considered. The nominator will be asked to remove additional letters.)

Submit a Nomination

The nominations call for the Honors & Awards Program is open from Sept. 1- Dec. 1. Nominations must be submitted through our online portal by Dec. 1. Late submissions will not be considered. Selected recipients and their nominators will be notified in May.

Additional Resources

For questions regarding the nomination process or the award, please contact honorsandawards@apta.org.