{"id":246568,"date":"2026-05-27T07:29:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=246568"},"modified":"2026-05-27T07:29:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:29:45","slug":"doctor-of-physical-therapy-students-receive-white-coats-as-program-celebrates-75-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/05\/doctor-of-physical-therapy-students-receive-white-coats-as-program-celebrates-75-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor of Physical Therapy Students Receive White Coats as Program Celebrates 75 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UConn Doctor of Physical Therapy program<\/a> celebrated its 75th anniversary this year as students in the Class of 2027 received their white coats during the program\u2019s annual White Coat Ceremony.<\/p>\n

\"UConn<\/p>\n

Student speaker Evans Payen thanked family members, friends, and faculty for supporting students throughout their time in the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to the friends and the families that allowed us to practice on them, examine them and move them in ways they didn\u2019t know they could,\u201d Payen says. \u201cYou encouraged us every step of the way and reminded us to keep going even when we felt like we couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payen also reflected on the close bonds formed within the cohort.<\/p>\n

\u201cPT school is many things; it teaches you how to learn again, it teaches you how to listen, how to connect with others,\u201d he said. \u201cI expected to learn a lot about physical therapy, but I did not expect to grow so close in that same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Class
Class Speaker Evans Payen delivers his remarks to the class (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eric Kopp, associated faculty member and lead for the PT CARES Student Oriented Learning Experience, encouraged students to approach the next stage of their education with humility, compassion, and curiosity.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe humble and kind,\u201d Kopp says. \u201cListen first and talk second. Let the patient tell their story. Treat the entire patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kopp also reminded students of the importance of continuing to learn throughout their careers and maintaining the personal connections that supported them during the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank the people who helped you get here,\u201d he says. \u201cTwo years ago you were a group of strangers with a drive and passion to help people. Look at the bonds you have created in just two years. Keep connected with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lori
2026 Recipient of the Joseph Smey Award, Lori Quinn, PT, PhD (L) and Past Recipient of the Joseph Smey Award, Roland Perreault, PT, DPT (R) (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ceremony also recognized Dr. Lori Quinn as this year\u2019s recipient of the Joseph Smey Excellence in Physical Therapy Award.<\/p>\n

Quinn serves as professor of Movement Sciences and Education and Kinesiology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she directs the Program in Motor Learning and Control and chairs the Department of Biobehavioral Sciences.<\/p>\n

“Dr. Quinn’s impact on the physical therapy profession is extraordinary. Through decades of research, publications, invited presentations, and international collaborations, she has helped shape how we understand and support individuals living with neurological conditions such as Huntington\u2019s disease and Parkinson\u2019s disease,” says Maryclaire Capetta, director of UConn’s physical therapy program.<\/p>\n

Quinn was also recognized for her leadership as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy and her recognition as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association.<\/p>\n

This work relates to CAHNR\u2019s Strategic Vision area focused on\u00a0<\/u><\/em>Enhancing Health.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Follow\u00a0<\/em>UConn CAHNR<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on social media<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the program marks 75 years, this year\u2019s White Coat Ceremony celebrated both the accomplishments of the Class of 2027 and the continued legacy of the UConn Doctor of Physical Therapy program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":246670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2429,2224,2231,2299,2712,2225],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2140],"class_list":["post-246568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-awards-scholarships","category-cahnr","category-health-well-being","category-kinesiology","category-student-success","category-uconn-storrs"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-03 12:49:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246568"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246673,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246568\/revisions\/246673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/246670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246568"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=246568"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=246568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}