In celebration of APTA’s centennial year, we have invited members to offer fresh insights on themes introduced by past presenters of the Mary McMillan Lecture. 

In her 1965 Mary McMillan Lecture, “Complementary Functions and Responsibilities in an Emerging Profession,” Catherine Worthingham referred to a “teacher-practitioner” relationship strain, or the “town-gown” problem in physical therapy. She described an ever-widening gap between the academic and clinician members of the profession and emphasized a disconnect between the priorities of the academy and those of the clinician:

"One senses an increasing variance between the teachers in the university and the practitioners in the clinical facilities. One factor which contributes to this lack of solidarity is the misunderstanding of the vital but differing roles of each."