Jessica Scholl, PTA, EdD

We congratulated and celebrated our PTA Class of 2026 this spring and look forward to welcoming in our new 2028 cohort this fall.  As I reflect on the past academic year, the word that comes to mind is collaboration.  Our students, DPT and PTA faculty, and departments across the University have engaged in meaningful collaboration over the past academic year.

Students: Our strong PTA Class of 2027 recently finished 2 weeks of collaborative learning with the 1st year DPT students in preparation for their community engaged learning experiences this fall.  Together the students engaged in learning about identity, culture, values, privilege, bias, racism, and social change.  New this year, was their participation in a blended learning program from the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) called Perspectives.  This program introduced students to important mindsets and skills for engaging across differences and disagreement.  Our students will continue collaborative learning this summer with the current 2nd year DPT class as we prepare for an educational session focused on the healthcare needs of the LGBTQIA+ community.  I have been working closely with DPT assistant professor, Becky Horton, in planning the session and inviting guests from the LGBTQIA+ community to come and share their lived experiences, as patients, with our students. 

Faculty: Prior to introducing the CDI Perspectives work with our students, all DPT and PTA faculty and staff engaged in the online learning and partnered up to practice the skills with structured peer-to-peer conversations.  Faculty and staff from both programs also spent time this past year reading The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace and we identified our individual preferred languages and brainstormed strategies for enhancing the department’s culture by showing meaningful appreciation for one another.  Finally, we continued our ongoing “Belonging in Rehab” series by reading and discussing The Inclusive Leader by Dr. Artika Tyner with colleagues from the OT and OTA departments.

Departmental: Over the past year, faculty and staff have collaborated with Dean Sean Fitzpatrick in his efforts to better align and utilize current resources within the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health Sciences (HSSH).  One outcome of this work is a new organizational structure that grouped departments with similar interests and needs into new divisions.  Our division includes the PTA, DPT, Exercise and Sport Science (EXSS), and grad OT programs. 

We look forward to the next academic year and finding new ways to collaborate and strengthen our program. 

(pictured Holly Clynch, Jessica Scholl and Jon Duellman)