Catherine Worthingham, former president of APTA and pioneer in the field of physical therapy.
In the early 20th century, Catherine Worthingham was a pioneer in the field of physical therapy and in academia, an effective leader who motivated others to make an impact within the physical therapy profession. At Stanford University in 1939, she was an assistant professor and director of physical therapy. During World War II, she served as president of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) for two terms and later became director at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Her accolades continued as the first physical therapist to receive a PhD, which she obtained in anatomy.
To honor Worthingham’s achievements and recognize those who have followed her, the APTA created the Catherine Worthingham Fellow Award (FAPTA). It is bestowed on a physical therapist whose leadership, influence and achievements demonstrate frequent and sustained efforts to advance the profession. Other than the Mary McMillan Lecture Award, being named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow is the highest award that one can achieve in the physical therapy profession.
Pitt Physical Therapy Fellows By the Numbers
Since 1985, there have been 285 Fellows elected by the APTA. Twenty-six Fellows have received a degree from or taught in Pitt’s Department of Physical Therapy (PT). That’s 9% of the total Fellows who have received this recognition!
Nineteen of Pitt PT’s 26 Fellows received degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, with 11 receiving a Pitt entry level degree and 10 receiving their PhD degrees. Sixteen of the 26 Fellows have been on the faculty at Pitt PT.
Pitt PT’s first Fellow was Associate Professor and Program Chair Rosemary Scully in 1992, followed by SHRS Dean and Professor Tony Delitto (2000), alumnus Robert Richardson (2004), alumnus David Guy Greathouse (2006) and Professor Susan Whitney (2007) with 21 more Fellows named in the years since. Pitt PT’s most recently elected Class of 2023 Fellows include Assistant Professor Christine McDonough and Professor Emeritus Debora Miller who retired this past spring.
All Fellows associated with Pitt PT have made a lasting impression on our profession. The Fellows have made significant contributions to pain science, electrophysiology, alternative care, rheumatology, leadership, clinical teaching, pediatrics, back pain, knee and shoulder pain, biomechanics, vestibular disorders, gait, health services research and geriatrics. Our group of Fellows has generated over 2,200 publications on Medline with 11 of them having over 100 publications each and three of them having over 200 publications!
Three of our Pitt alumni Fellows have been presidents of the APTA including Robert Richardson, Jan Richardson and Pitt PT Instructor Paul Rockar. Department Chair James Irrgang, Professor Joseph Schreiber and Professor Whitney have been Academy Presidents of Orthopedics, Pediatrics and Neurology, respectively. The founding dean of SHRS (then the School of Health-Related Professions in 1967), Anne Pascasio, was the one of the first women in the country to serve as a university dean. And David Guy Greathouse achieved the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army.
We congratulate all our past FAPTA awardees and hope to have many more graduates and faculty in the future receive this accolade. Pitt has a long legacy of excellence which we hope will continue to flourish and make us all proud to be Pitt Physical Therapy graduates.
Pitt PT Catherine Worthingham Fellows 1992-2023
In parenthesis is the year of their award as a Fellow.
Rosemary Scully (1992), Anne Pascasio (1996), Anthony Delitto (2000), Robert Richardson (2004)
David Guy Greathouse (2006), Susan L. Whitney (2007), Jessie M. VanSwearingen (2008), James J. Irrgang (2009)
G. Kelley Fitzgerald (2009), Jan K. Richardson (2011), Karen A. Paschal (2012), John D. Childs (2014)
Julie M. Fritz (2014), Steven Z. George (2017), Gregory Hicks (2018), Kim Nixon-Cave (2018)
Mary Lou Galantino (2018), Jennifer Brach (2019), Janet Freburger (2020), Paul Rockar (2020)
Sara Piva (2020), Joseph Schreiber (2021), Patrick J. Sparto (2021), T. George Hornby (2022)
Debora Miller (2023), Christine McDonough (2023)
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Written by:
Susan L. Whitney, DPT, PhD, NCS, ATC, FAPTA
Co-Director and Professor, Physical Therapy Post-Professional MS Program
Department of Physical Therapy