At the Combined Sections Meeting (CSM), Dr. Laura Lee “Dolly” Swisher was selected as the 2021 recipient of the Polly Cerasoli Lectureship Award by the Academy of Physical Therapy Education (APTE). The purpose of this award is to acknowledge an individual who has distinguished himself/herself as an educator, administrator, practitioner and/or mentor as exemplified in the professional career of Pauline “Polly” Cerasoli, PT, EdD.

Polly Cerasoli was the chair of the physical therapy program at the University of Colorado when she was attacked and critically injured by a still-unknown assailant while attending CSM in Atlanta in 1996. The idea for the lectureship was generated by a group of Cerasoli’s friends and colleagues to recognize her commitment and contributions to the profession. Recipients of the lectureship have distinguished themselves, as Cerasoli did, as esteemed educators, administrators, practitioners, and mentors. Cerasoli’s family directed that proceeds from the Pauline Cerasoli Fund, originally created to support the family, be used instead to fund the annual lecture.

As a recipient Dr. Swisher will deliver her lecture during the American Physical Therapist Association (APTA) Combined Sections Meeting 2021 in Orlando, Florida, next February.

To learn more about the APTA Cerasoli Lecture Polly Cerasoli Lectureship visit: https://aptaeducation.org/awards/cerasoli-lecture.cfm