May 1 2003

CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine (724) 738-4854;  e-mail: gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

SRU DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENT RECEIVES NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

           SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Abigail Ellsworth, a doctor of physical therapy student at Slippery Rock University, has been selected to receive the national Gary L. Soderberg Doctor of Physical Therapy Scholarship. The Soderberg Scholarship recognizes a student who shows leadership on campus.

           The scholarship will be awarded to Ellsworth in June at the annual meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association held in Washington, D.C. The amount varies from year-to-year and will be announced at the awards ceremony.

           It is the third time since 1998 that a Slippery Rock University DPT student has received the Soderberg Scholarship. Ken Hurd received it in 1998, Tamara German in 1999. Slippery Rock University, 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, was the first university in Pennsylvania and third in the country to offer a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.

Strong credentials

Ellsworth, of Cooperstown, N.Y., entered SRU’s program in 2000 after receiving a bachelor of science in biology at State University of New York (Oneonta). She has been an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association. Ellsworth served as a graduate assistant in SRU’s College of Health, Environment and Science.  She has also been active in research and has one research article and is finalizing another for review by the Physical Therapy Journal.

           The Soderberg award was established in 1995 to recognize the leadership, dedication and vision of Dr. Gary Soderberg in advancing the profession of physical therapy. For more than 34 years, Soderberg promoted and elevated the body of knowledge of physical therapy through research and education.

Cooperstown Freeman’s Journal

Cooperstown Town Crier

PT Magazine

American Physical Therapy Association

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