Roane State Community College professor receives 2021 Outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant Educator of the Year Award

Associate Professor Emily A. DeLozier has been with Roane State Community College since 2012, earning tenure in 2018. This May, the Tennessee chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA Tennessee) recognized DeLozier for her work with students and for her leadership role at APTA Tennessee. DeLozier is the 2021 recipient of the Outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant Educator of the Year Award. She was nominated by a clinical instructor at Roane State.

In a press release from the college, DeLozier emphasized that her work as an instructor and as the academic coordinator of clinical education for the PTA program at Roane State is shaped by teamwork within the department. "It's a great honor, and I'm very humbled to receive it. Every opportunity I've had has been as part of a team," DeLozier said. 

DeLozier made special mention of Associate Professor Beth Vowel, who is also the director of the Physical Therapy Assistant program at Roane State Community College, saying that Vowel "deserves as much credit as I do."

DeLozier is active with the APTA Tennessee, serving as chair of the Special Interest Group and representing Tennessee PTAs at the national level in 2001 and 2002. APTA Tennessee awards the Outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant Educator recognition to "an APTA TN member who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to the education of PTA students. Recipient must be a full time academic educator in the PTA curriculum in Tennessee and demonstrate exceptional ability to impact the lives of the student with whom in they come in touch, and demonstrate the ability to go above and beyond what is expected as an academic educator and a commitment to classroom education of future physical therapist assistants," according to their published awards document.

DeLozier received an associate degree from Roane State, a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, and a master's degree from Tennessee Tech University. Her experience includes positions in a variety of settings, including hospitals, schools, and private clinics.