Barbara Sanders honored as APTA Worthingham Fellow

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
September 23, 2010

Barbara Sanders, chair of the department of physical therapy at Texas State University-San Marcos, has been recognized as an American Physical Therapy Association Catherine Worthingham Fellow.

The honor was announced during the 2010 APTA Conference and Exposition in Boston, Mass.

Sanders was honored for her efforts to advocate for the improvement of the delivery of entry-level physical therapist education. She developed a mock clinic at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and was one of the first PT professionals to present and publish about this unique approach to clinical education. Later, Sanders transitioned the PT program at Texas State from a baccalaureate program to a master’s and then to the doctorate of physical therapy. During this period, she developed a faculty dedicated not only to the didactic education of students but also to instilling the professional responsibility of being part of the PT profession.

An expert in sports physical therapy, Sanders presently serves as associate dean of the College of Health Professions. An active member of both the Sports Physical Therapy Section and the Education Section, she is a leader in the Academic Administrators Special Interest Group (AASIG) and has been instrumental in developing a proposal for the transition of the AASIG to the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy.

The American Physical Therapy Association established the Catherine Worthingham Fellows of the Association to recognize individuals whose work has resulted in lasting and significant advances in the science, education and practice of the profession of physical therapy. The late Catherine Worthingham was an assistant professor and director of physical therapy at Stanford University and director of professional education at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the National Foundation).