Fierce Grant

The Programs in Physical Therapy are pleased to announce that Drs. Laurel Abbruzzesse, Clare Bassile and AshwiniRao have been awarded the Provost’s Addressing Racism Seed Grant Initiative.  Their grant, Fostering Inclusive Excellence- addressing Racism & Culture in PT Education (FIERCE) will seek to continue the work of the Social Justice Committee through a combination of faculty, student and clinician collaborations.  The aims of the grant are to:

1) Promote a bias-free culture that encourages self-reflection, constructive conversations, and equity-minded decision-making.

2) Critically evaluate classroom and clinical teaching practices in order to identify exemplars of racial diversity/ inclusive teaching principles and identify areas for improvement.

3) Work collaboratively with students, faculty, administrators, alumni and interprofessional colleagues to build inclusive practices that lead to sustained institutional change.

We look forward to collaborating with our current students and alumni. For more information, please contact Dr. Abbruzzese at la110@cumc.columbia.edu