Passing the Torch: Dr. Tevald Begins Service as Chair of Physical Therapy Department
Dr. Michael Tevald, an associate professor of Physical Therapy, has been named the new Chair of the department. He assumed the role on June 1.
“It’s been a great experience,” said Dr. Tevald of his nine years as a faculty member at Arcadia. “The culture of our department really values innovation and collaboration, and that is reflected in everything we do. Our team-taught, integrated curriculum, for example, forces us to get out of our silos and think creatively about how we construct our learning experiences. I sometimes joke that it is a good thing that we like each other, because our curriculum doesn’t give us any choice but to work together!”
Dr. Tevald is taking the reins from Dr. Phil McClure, who served as Chair for more than 10 years. Dr. Maggie Longacre, dean of the College of Health Sciences, notes the leadership of both Drs. McClure and Tevald has helped the College continue to be a regional and national leader in its respective areas, while remaining focused on student development and success.
“It has been wonderful to work with Drs. McClure and Tevald over the past two years,” said Dr. Longacre. “They are incredibly dedicated, connected, and student-centered professionals, and they keep a keen eye on student success while being mindful of faculty and staff support and resources. I very much look forward to the future of the department and ongoing collaborations in the College of Health Sciences and with the greater University.”
Dr. Tevald is looking to build on Dr. McClure’s successes.
“We’ve grown a lot in the past five or six years,” he explained. “We now offer an entry-level DPT program in residential and hybrid formats, residency programs in both orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, a transitional DPT program, a PhD in Movement Science, and a forthcoming master’s in Rehabilitation Science. Rather than developing more programs, I think we need to focus on continuing to improve the quality of what we offer and to expand our impact with respect to scholarship and leadership within the profession.”
Dr. Tevald points to a publication in the journal Physical Therapy, to which nine members of the Physical Therapy department contributed, as an example of how he would like to continue to inspire collaboration and impact.
“Physical therapists have talked about the ‘movement system’ for years, but in an abstract way that didn’t really guide practice,” he said. “A group of us worked together to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing movement that we have found very valuable as a teaching tool. It has been well received in the field, and has been adopted by other programs.”
Looking back, Dr. McClure used a few words to describe his time leading the department.
“Challenging, gratifying, and a wonderful privilege.”
He continued, “Following Dr. [Rebecca] Craik as Chair was somewhat intimidating, as she had an outstanding reputation and had achieved so much. Department faculty and staff were incredibly supportive, dedicated, competent, and passionate.”
Like Dr. Tevald, Dr. McClure also touched on the collaborative nature of the department.
“There were several accomplishments that were all team efforts, among them including:
- Starting a Pro Bono Clinic, which is now fully embedded as a part of our curriculum;
- Establishing the Hybrid DPT pathway while maintaining the residential program during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required nearly doubling our faculty and staff;
- And developing a state-of-the-art Motion Analysis and Human Performance research laboratory.
“The beautiful thing about our accomplishments is that they were not mine, they were achieved by teams of highly competent, dedicated people, and I mostly just had to cheer them on and guide the process. Our department culture has been highly collaborative and supportive through some very challenging times and ambitious projects, and I am proud of playing a part in creating that culture.”
Dr. McClure is looking forward to being able to focus again on teaching and research – “the parts of the job I love the most” – while also being a resource for younger faculty.
“I want to commend and congratulate our incoming Chair, Dr. Tevald, who has proven himself to be a highly competent and thoughtful professional leader,” Dr. McClure said. “Additionally, Dr. Brian Eckenrode will be assuming the role of Residential Program Director, and Dr. Julie Skrzat will assume the role of Hybrid Program Director. Both are experienced, dedicated, and highly competent leaders as well.”
Arcadia’s Physical Therapy program is the top DPT program in the Philadelphia area, according to the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings. The program is also second in Pennsylvania, and among the top 15% of all physical therapy doctoral programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.
