“…our program should continue to thrive”
Alumnae and institutional support freed Bouvé administrators to expand the offerings of the physical therapy program. In 1972, the department launched an eighteen month cooperative education program, the first of its kind in the nation. As the department’s network of institutional partnerships grew to include private practices and rehabilitation centers, specialized learning opportunities opened for students in areas such as respiratory physical therapy and sports medicine. Continued emphasis on practical education, coupled with advanced facilities and training in the demands of a comprehensive health care system, attracted a record number of students. The department laid claim to another milestone in physical therapy education when it graduated 94 students from its five-year program in 1977, the largest ever class in the country.
Students inherited new traditions through the School’s merger with Northeastern to accompany the rich body of Bouvé customs and attitudes. Recollections of camp and blue-white competitions shared by alumnae and older students had cultivated strong student allegiances throughout the generations. Physical therapy students shared these traditions with the Northeastern community and extended an ethos of civic responsibility into the neighborhoods around the University by volunteering at community health agencies. Whether fundraising on the quad or organizing events such as a charity wheelchair basketball game, the physical therapy club folded the cares of their profession into the life of the University.
