USF Health announced that Douglas Haladay, DPT, PhD, has been appointed director of the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences (SPTRS) and associate dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM).
Dr. Haladay, who joined SPTRS in 2013 and had most recently served as associate director and associate professor of physical therapy, assumed the new role as director on March 2, 2020. Laura Lee “Dolly” Swisher, PT, PhD, a founding faculty member of SPTRS who has served as its director and associate dean of MCOM since Dec. 2017, will be retiring this summer after a remarkable career at USF Health over the past 21 plus years.
Previously, Dr. Haladay served as the chair of the SPTRS DPT Program Curriculum Committee, and co-coordinator of Physical Therapy Professional Education. Dr. Haladay was extensively involved with the preparation and assessment process of SPTRS successful reaccreditation by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) in 2015. In addition to his academic appointments, he has secured federal research funding as a principal investigator for his work in the evaluation and management of patients living with low back pain and mentored junior faculty in the process. Dr. Haladay currently has an RO3 grant testing the feasibility of goal attainment scaling as an outcome measure and optimal intervention for patients with chronic lower back pain receiving physical therapy. Also, he has extensive health care administration knowledge in previous roles as a program manager and clinical director of multisite, interprofessional neurological and spine clinical services.
Dr. Haladay is a physical therapy graduate of the University of Scranton. He received a Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Indianapolis, a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Temple University, and a PhD from Penn State University. He is an author of multiple peer-reviewed publications and is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Clinical Practice Guideline Workgroup, and the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Specialization Academy of Content Experts. Dr. Haladay has been appointed to the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy Blueprint for Excellence – Essentials for a DPT Program Task Force.
Most recently, he was named a fellow of the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education Leadership Institute. He also received fellowship awards from the U.S. Bone and Joint Initiative, and the American Physical Therapy Association. Furthermore, he has earned awards from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, and Pennsylvania State Hazleton for his excellence in teaching with technology.
