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ASHTABULA, OHIO (JUNE 6, 2019) –  The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) had never selected a physical therapist assistant for its Education Leader Institute Fellowship – until now.  �鶹ӰԺ Physical Therapist Assistant Technology Program Director Tiffany Kiphart, M.Ed., ATC, PTA, will be the first certified PTA to participate in the program beginning in July.

“I’m honored and excited to be selected to participate in the Education Leader Institute program,” Kiphart said.  “This is an opportunity to expand my professional portfolio and leadership skills as well as making connections that will benefit our program as a whole. For Deans (Susan) Stocker and (David) Dees to recognize and recommend me for this is awesome. I’m grateful for the faith they have in what I can offer.”

The Education Leader Institute (ELI) is a year-long fellowship designed to help educators improve their leadership skills to facilitate change, think strategically and engage in public discourse to advance the physical therapy profession. Only 18 individuals nationally were selected. 

Intended to develop innovative and influential leaders in physical therapy education, ELI features intensive leadership training, nine different program modules and pairing and face-to-face meetings with higher education mentors.  

“There are skills and leadership abilities required outside of the PT world that are very beneficial to tie into the things we’re learning and doing in physical therapist assisting,” Kiphart said.  “Part of my responsibility as the program director is to look beyond what we’re doing and establish where the program needs to be to better help students in the future. The ELI fellowship will go a long way in helping that directive.”

Kiphart will also be responsible for a complex strategic project during the fellowship – one that she’s not ready to share with the public just yet.

“It’s top secret right now,” she joked. “But it is something that will trigger exciting opportunities for graduates of both the Ashtabula and East Liverpool programs and lead to possible national recognition.” 

The Physical Therapist Assistant Technology program at �鶹ӰԺ launched on the East Liverpool Campus in 1989 and was expanded to the Ashtabula Campus in 1996.  In 2009 �鶹ӰԺ State Ashtabula began offering the nation’s first accredited PTA transition program specifically for certified athletic trainers (ATC).  

For more information about the PTA program at �鶹ӰԺ State Ashtabula, visit www.kent.edu/ashtabula/pta. For information on the PTA program at East Liverpool, visit www.kent.edu/columbiana/physical-therapist-assistant-technology.

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