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 reaching the honorable mention category.
- All participating schools are recognized in the media and at the Foundation Gala during APTA’s NEXT Conference.
- The Challenge is the largest ongoing fundraising program for the Foundation for Physical Therapy completely run by students.
In 2013, the University of Miami raised $28,807 and won 1st Place for the 6th time in Challenge history and in doing so earns the right to co-host the Challenge next year with Marquette as the 2013-14 Miami – Marquette Challenge.
- The University of Pittsburgh raised $28,450, taking the second place prize.
- New York University placed 3rd and raised $16,275.
80 participating schools raised a total of $222,008 in the 2012-2013 Pittsburgh-Marquette Challenge. . In celebrating the first 25 years of the Marquette Challenge, PT and PTA students nation-wide have now raised over 2.5 million dollars for physical therapy research over the life of the Challenge.
The Marquette Challenge Philanthropy Circle is a category of awards given to top schools that have participated in the Challenge for 10 years or more. It recognizes cumulative giving through the annual Challenge by schools.
The Cornerstone Society of the Marquette Challenge Philanthropy Circle is awarded to those schools raising a minimum of $50,000 over the years: Emory University, Northwestern University, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Washington University in St. Louis.
The Challenge Society award includes the University of Miami for donating at least $100,000 over the years.
Marquette University belongs to 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 Crest Society, for a school that has donated at least $400,000 and participated in the Challenge for 10 years or more: The University of Pittsburgh is the sole member of the Crest Society.
Get On the List!
Contact the following if your school wishes to step up to the 2013-14 Miami – Marquette Challenge and raise money for PT research in kicking off the second quarter century of the Challenge. You can also check out the Foundation’s website on the Challenge to learn more.
Marquette Challenge Coordinators
Meredith Loveless
Lisa Miller
Lindsey Olsen
Jenna Wolf
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.
2012 – Laura Prosser – Project: “Motor Outcomes and Neural Correlates of Asymmetrical Gait Training in Children with Acquired Hemiplegia”
2011 – Cory Christiansen –Project: “Improving Function after Total Knee Arthroplasty with Weight-Bearing Biofeedback”
2011 – Jill Heathcock - Project: “Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) on Children With Hemiparesis”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.
Complete listing of awarded projects.
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
