Pitt Physical Therapy alumnus, Pete Zulia, with his wife Linda at the award ceremony
Pitt Physical Therapy had reason to celebrate at the 2023 APTA conference in San Diego. In a ceremony in front of his many friends and colleagues, Peter S. Zulia (BS ‘85) was inducted into the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapists Turner A Blackburn Hall of Fame/Lifetime Achievement Award as one of 29 members. This award is one of the highest and most prestigious awards of the Academy, dedicated to honoring members who have been nominated by their peers for making a lasting contribution to the specialty of sports physical therapy over their career.
In 1993 Zulia co-founded Oxford Physical Therapy Centers, which has served the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area for the past 30 years. His former Pitt Clinical Instructor Mary Ann Wharton remembers Zulia well. "Every now and then, a faculty member will have the privilege of interacting with a student that you know will make a difference. Pete was one of those students," she says. “I have had the privilege of following Pete’s career for over 30 years. I have seen him build a successful practice of excellence in sports physical therapy and contribute to our professional association through the Academy of Sports Physical Therapy. He hires and mentors his employees and encourages their professional development. He demands excellence in their work. In short, Pete is an exemplary physical therapist, husband, father, friend and mentor who has never lost sight of his vision and has used his talents for the betterment of the physical therapy profession and beyond. I am proud to say that he was ‘my student’ and has become ‘my colleague and friend.’”
“It is such a privilege to be recognized by your peers,” says Zulia. “The profession of physical therapy has given me so much, but I realize none of it would be possible without the support of so many. No one does it alone, and that is the case for me. It is my great honor to receive the Turner A. Blackburn Hall of Fame/Lifetime Achievement Award. And I am proud that my physical therapy journey had its foundation here at the University of Pittsburgh.”
Professor Sue Whitney and Zulia at the 2023 APTA conference in San Diego
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Published May 19, 2023