HARRISBURG, PA — Harrisburg University of Science and Technology’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program was featured as a “model for innovation” at the 2026 Disruptive Innovation in Physical Therapist Education Virtual Summit, hosted April 10–11 by the Physical Therapy Learning Institute (PTLI).
Tonya Miller, PT, DPT, PhD, HU’s Program Lead for Physical Therapy, and Interim President Dave Schankweiler co-presented during the summit’s “Abundance in Action” session on April 11. They joined fellow educators Mary Blackinton, PT, EdD, and Kendra Gagnon, MPT, PhD, to examine how DPT programs can move beyond rigid traditional structures and design pathways that work for a broader range of learners.
The summit — themed “Rethinking Return on Investment, Access, Affordability, and Abundance in DPT Education” — convened academic leaders, program directors, clinicians, and accreditors to confront one of the profession’s most urgent challenges: how to keep the DPT a high-value, financially sustainable degree as tuition rises, federal loan caps tighten, and equity gaps widen.
The event drew on the work of keynote speaker Michael D. Smith, PhD, the J. Erik Jonsson Professor of Information Technology and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College and author of “The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World.” Smith argues that current higher education models are financially and morally unsustainable, and that institutions must use new delivery models and technologies to expand access rather than ration it.
“Presenting this work at the 2026 Innovation Summit was a meaningful opportunity to reflect on what ‘abundance’ truly means in physical therapy education,” said Dr. Miller. “The Harrisburg University DPT model was intentionally designed to redefine who can thrive in DPT education by creating pathways for working adults, PTAs, career changers, and learners from diverse geographic and professional backgrounds.”
Miller said the program’s hybrid delivery, flexible admissions process, coaching frameworks, industry partnerships, and intentional curricular design are working to “translate abundance into action in tangible and practical ways.”
The presentation was timely, given growing national concern about the physical therapist workforce. The American Physical Therapy Association’s 2025 supply-and-demand forecast projects a national shortfall of physical therapists through 2037, driven in part by a rapidly aging population and rising demand for rehabilitation services. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects physical therapist employment will grow approximately 14% between 2023 and 2033 — much faster than the average for all occupations.
Interim President Schankweiler said the summit reinforced the case for the kind of program HU and Select Medical launched earlier this year: a hybrid DPT program designed to bring new candidates — including practicing physical therapist assistants and career changers — into the profession without requiring them to step away from their lives and communities.
“The future of physical therapy education must be shaped by the people who practice it, teach it, and lead it,” said Schankweiler at the March kickoff of HU’s inaugural DPT cohort. “Our physical therapy program was built on that conviction, and the conversations at the summit confirmed how urgent and necessary that approach has become for the profession’s future.”
The HU DPT program is housed within the Select Medical Institute of Physical Therapy and Movement at the UPMC Health Sciences Tower at Harrisburg University. Launched in partnership with Mechanicsburg-based Select Medical, which committed $5 million over five years to support the program and HU’s undergraduate Exercise Science offerings, the program was granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) effective October 29, 2025.
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ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) is an independent, nonprofit university offering degrees in advanced manufacturing, engineering, robotics, nursing, cybersecurity, and other critical fields. Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, HU serves a diverse student body through bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs that link learning and research with practical applications. For information about HU’s affordable STEM degrees and professional development programs, call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Stay in the know by following Harrisburg University on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
MEDIA CONTACT
Do you have questions about this story? Interested in lining up an interview? Please contact Dan Wilhelm, Communications Manager for Harrisburg University, at DWilhelm@HarrisburgU.edu or 717.901.5100×1724.
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