Is Excellence in the Cards?

Thomas G. McPoil, PT, PhD, FAPTA, is Emeritus Professor of Physical Therapy at Regis University, Denver, Colorado, and Emeritus Regents' Professor of Physical Therapy at Northern Arizona University. He has served as an Adjunct Honorary Professor in the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and currently serves as a consultant to the Physical Therapy Orthotics Clinic at Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colorado. Dr. McPoil is known nationally and internationally for his scholarly contributions that have systematically examined foot and ankle function from both scientific and clinical perspectives. Dr. McPoil is an author or coauthor of 130 publications in peer-reviewed journals, coeditor of 2 books, and coauthor of 6 book chapters. His work reaches beyond the profession of physical therapy, as he served on the editorial boards of Foot and Ankle International, the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, and Research in Sports Medicine and is currently on the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association and The FOOT. Dr McPoil received his PhD in kinesiology with a specialization in biomechanics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds an MS in physical education with a specialization in athletic training from Louisiana State University and a BA in physical education from the California State University, Sacramento. During his career, he has held faculty appointments at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northern Arizona University, and Regis University. Dr McPoil's clinical practice has focused on the management of chronic orthopedic foot and ankle disorders for the past 38 years. Dr McPoil is the founding president of the Foot and Ankle Special Interest Group of the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. He has served as Vice President of the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy and as the Treasurer of the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. He has received numerous teaching awards, including APTA's Dorothy E. Baethke & Eleanor J. Carlin Award for Excellence in Academic Teaching and the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy's James A. Gould Excellence in Teaching Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Award. He is a recipient of a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, the William J. Stickel Award for Research in Podiatric Medicine, the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy's Stanley Paris Distinguished Service Award and was elected a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of APTA in 2007.