Dr. Joshua Cleland Recognized with Highest Honor in Physical Therapy Profession
May 1, 2018
Franklin Pierce University is pleased to acknowledge Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) faculty member, Dr. Joshua Cleland for his two most recent awards. Dr. Cleland is recognized as a recipient of both the Catherine Worthingham Fellows of American Physical Therapy Award and the Dorothy Baethke- Eleanor J. Carlin Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching. Both of these prestigious awards recognize Dr. Cleland’s dedication to both teaching in academia, practice and research in the field of physical therapy.
“Dr. Cleland is a prolific scholar who contributes to the advancement of the physical therapy profession in many ways,” said Dr. Maria Altobello, Dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. “He publishes over 20 peer-reviewed pieces per year, he mentors students and faculty in our Physical Therapy program, and travels often to deliver lectures in other institutions in the United States and abroad. He is well respected by our faculty, many of whom he has mentored since he joined our program.”
Dr. Cleland’s excellence is Physical Therapy has been demonstrated in a multitude of ways during his career at Pierce. During the last two years Dr. Cleland received the 2016 David Lamb Memorial Award, International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists, and was ranked as the 6th leading Medical Expert in the world on Management of Neck Pain based on his publications with in the past 10 years. In 2015, Dr. Cleland received the Rothstein Golden Pen for Scientific Inquiry Award. American Physical Therapy Association, the Rose Award in Research three consecutive years, Orthopaedic Section, from the American Physical Therapy Association and the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy Excellence in Research Award.
“The APTA is the pinnacle of awards given out by the profession,” said Dr. Cleland. “I am honored and humbled by receiving these awards, but especially touched at receiving teacher of the year since my nomination comes from the students.”
The Dorothy Baethke-Eleanor J. Carlin Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching is for clinical or academic educators who have been actively engaged for a minimum of five years in entry and/or advanced levels of formal education for upcoming physical therapist professionals. Qualifying teaching expertise must occur within at least one accredited program from which students earn an academic qualification upon graduation. The individual selected for this award demonstrates the following: exceptional teaching effectiveness in the academic setting; a distinct expertise in at least one subject area to which the academic teaching has been directed; and excellence as a role model for academic teaching for students, faculty, and clinicians.
