Alumni/Donor Spotlight
The Sudha Agrawal Memorial Endowment
The Sudha Agrawal Memorial Endowment has been established in memory of Sudha Agrawal (1956-2016) through a generous gift from her family and friends for the benefit of the Division of Physical Therapy.
Sudha received her MPT from Ohio University in 1998, but her path to physical therapy was non-traditional. She had a degree in architecture from Bhopal, India and worked as an architect in New Delhi and Syracuse, NY. In 1983, she moved with her two young sons to Athens, Ohio where her husband accepted a faculty position at Ohio University. In Athens, she worked with a local architect firm on a part-time basis for about 8 years.
Her interest in physical therapy began in 1986 when she crushed her femur in a car accident and was in the hospital under traction for 10-weeks. She had intensive physical therapy treatment almost for a year. Having benefitted from physical therapy, she wanted to help others. She began taking pre-PT courses with students half her age at Ohio University in 1992 while taking care of her family. It was not easy, but she was determined. She was admitted to the physical therapy program at Ohio University in 1995. There were days when she almost quit the program, but she persevered and graduated with her MPT in 1998. She was 42. After graduation, she worked at local clinics in Athens for 15 years. She was passionate about physical therapy and her enthusiasm as a caring therapist is acknowledged by her the many patients who still remember her fondly today. She took early retirement in 2013 to be able to travel and spend time gardening. Unfortunately, ovarian cancer cut her life short and she passed away in 2016.
The Sudha Agrawal Memorial Endowment is her legacy to the students and faculty of the Division of Physical Therapy at Ohio University. It will provide funds to the Division of Physical Therapy to invite annually one or more prominent researcher(s) or practitioner(s) in the field as guest speaker(s) to organize lectures, symposia, workshops, seminars, or colloquia for the benefit of research and professional development of faculty and students. May it assist in educating the next generation of therapists who are as passionate about the field as she was.
Inaugural Sudha Agrawal Memorial Endowment Lecture & Symposium is April 14, 2021
Inaugural Sudha Agrawal Memorial Endowment Lecture/Symposium will feature Adriaan Louw, PT, Ph.D. Adriaan earned his undergraduate degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in physiotherapy from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa. He is an adjunct faculty member at St. Ambrose University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, teaching pain science. Adriaan has taught postgraduate, spinal manual therapy, and pain science classes throughout the US and internationally for 25 years and has presented at numerous national and international manual therapy, pain science, and medical conferences. He has authored and co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed articles, books, and book chapters related to spinal disorders and pain science. He is the director of the Therapeutic Neuroscience Research Group—an independent collaborative initiative studying pain neuroscience. He is senior faculty, pain science director, and vice-president of faculty experience for Evidence in Motion.
The Lecture/Symposium will be held on April 14 in a virtual format.
Additional information will be sent to all alumni soon.