Mary Jane Rapport PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA

Graduate College of Health Sciences - Department of Physical Therapy

Graduate College of Health Sciences - Department of Physical Therapy

DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM DIRECTOR
PROFESSOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY

Education:
B.S. in Allied Health Professions (Physical Therapy), The Ohio State University
M.A. in Early Childhood Special Education, Kent State University
PhD. in Special Education and in Education Administration, Kent State University
D.P.T. in Physical Therapy, University of Colorado

Dr. Rapport lives in Denver, CO and works remotely as a Professor in the DPT education program at Hawai'i Pacific University. Prior to HPU, Dr. Rapport was faculty and Associate Program Director of the Physical Therapy Program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (Aurora, CO). Dr. Rapport was in various faculty roles, including Student Services Coordinator, Director of Admissions and Director of both a Pediatric Residency and a Faculty Residency, during her tenure as a Professor at the University of Colorado. 

During her many years as a pediatric physical therapist, Dr. Rapport has served children with disabilities and their families in the early intervention setting and as a school-based physical therapist. Her current physical therapist clinical work includes travel to a remote island in Alaska and providing physical therapy virtually (teletherapy) to students in other states. She also hopes to provide physical therapy to children in Hawai’i soon.

Dr. Rapport has served the physical therapy profession as a leader in the American Physical Therapy Association as part of the APTA Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy and APTA Colorado. She currently serves as President of APTA Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy.

Dr. Rapport is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, received the Lucy Blair Service Award, and was an Education Research Fellow in APTA. Dr. Rapport has also provided service through the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT), the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE), and the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists (ABPTS).

Dr. Rapport has served as a presenter at national and international conferences and her work appears in peer-reviewed journals including Pediatric Physical Therapy, the Journal of Physical Therapy Education, and Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation, among others. Dr. Rapport has over 60 peer reviewed articles and multiple book chapters. She serves on the editorial board of Pediatric Physical Therapy and the Journal of Physical Therapy Education.