Marquette Challenge
Marquette University PT students initiated The Marquette Challenge in 1989 as a fundraising effort to support physical therapy research through the Foundation for Physical Therapy.
- MUPT students challenge others at PT and PTA national programs to raise money for PT research.
- The student organization that raises the greatest amount is declared the Challenge winner and is invited to co-host the Challenge the following year.
- Prizes are awarded to the top three schools and to schools in the honorable mention category.
- All participating schools are recognized in the media and at the Foundation Dinner at the APTA Annual Conference.
- The Challenge is the second largest ongoing fund raising program for the Foundation for Physical Therapy all run by Marquette students.
In 2011, the University of Pittsburgh raised $56,800 and won 1st Place for the 15th time in challenge history.
- Sacred Heart University raised $31,560 placed 2nd.
- Emory University was 3rd and raised $23,820
62 participating schools raised a total of $264,000 in the 2011 Pittsburgh-Marquette Challenge.
Since the inception of the Challenge, students have raised over $2 million dollars for the Foundation for Physical Therapy.
The 2012 Pittsburgh-Marquette Challenge represents a well-known rivalry
- Perhaps a new winner will emerge
- The winning school co-hosts challenge with Marquette the following year
- Prizes offered for top fund raising schools
The Marquette Challenge Philanthropy Circle is a new category of awards given to top schools that have participated in the Challenge for 10 years or more.
The Cornerstone Society of the Marquette Challenge Philanthropy Circle is awarded to those schools raining a minimum of $50,000 over the years: Emory University, Northwestern University and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.
The Challenge Society award was presented to the University of Miami for donating at least $100,000 over the years since 1989.
Marquette University was awarded with the Collegiate Society award for donating $200,000 since the challenge began.
The highest level of recognition in the Marquette Challenge Philanthropy Circle is the Champion Society, presented to a school that has donated at least $300,000 and participated in the Challenge for 10 years or more: The University of Pittsburgh.
Step On Up!
Contact the following if your school wishes to step up to the challenge and raise money for PT research.
Marquette Challenge Coordinators
Mallory Fetta
Amanda Theisinger
Marquette University Faculty Co-Advisors
Sheila Schindler-Ivens, PT, Ph.D.
Lawrence J. Pan, PT, Ph.D., FAPTA
All money raised by the Challenge is donated to the Foundation for Physical Therapy.
The organization funds research grants supporting studies designed to evaluate the "effectiveness of physical therapist interventions." Each year, the money is awarded as a one-year research grant.
2010 - Scott Stackhouse, PT, MSPT, Ph.D.
Project: Combination of High Intensity Strength and Locomotor Training to Improve Walking Activity in Ambulatory Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy.
2009 - Susanne Morton, PT, Ph.D., University of Iowa
Project: Motor Adaptation: A Novel Method for Retraining Locomotion Following Stroke
2008
- Diane Wrisley, PT, Ph.D., NCS, University of Buffalo
Project: The Use of Rotational Perturbations for Balance Training
2007 – Jennifer E. Stevens, PT, MPT, Ph.D., "Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation after Total Knee Arthroplasty to Counter Quadriceps Muscle Activation Deficits."
2006 - Craig J. Newsam, DPT, "Strengthening Exercises to Reduce Shoulder Pain in Persons with Tetraplegia."
2005 - Michael C. Schubert, PT, MS, Ph.D., "Mechanisms of Gaze Stability in Recovery of Dynamic Visual Acuity."
2004 - John Childs, PT, MPT, MS, MBA, Ph.D., OCS, CSCS, FAAOMPT, "Effectiveness of an Extension-Oriented Intervention in Patients With Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial."
2003 - Neva Kirk-Sanchez, PT, MSPT, Ph.D., "Factors Related to Adherence to a Home Exercise Program After Discharge From Outpatient Therapy."
2002 - Christian C. Evans, PT, MSPT, Ph.D., ATC "Effects of Exercise Training and Unloading by left Ventricular Assist Devise on Cardiac Physiology and Functional Ability in Patients with Heart Failure."
Promotion of Doctoral Studies Scholarship (PODS I)
In 2007 the Marquette Challenge began funding a Promotion of Doctoral Studies Scholarship (PODS I) to support a physical therapist who is training to become a researcher in a Ph.D. program. The following PODS winners have been support by the Challenge and its student contributors.
2010 - Meryl Alappatty, PT, DPT, University of Florida
2009 - Stephanie DiStasi, PT, MSPT, University of Delaware
2008 - Mark Lyle, PT, MSPT, OCS, University of Southern California
2007 - Erin H. Hartigan, PT, DPT, MS, University of Delaware
