Physical Therapy Endowment Funds

What are endowments?

Unlike a typical investment fund, the beneficiary of an endowment fund is a nonprofit organization instead of individual investors. Only a portion of the income earned is spent while the remainder is added to the principal for growth. In this respect, an endowment is a perpetual gift.

Learn more at https://twu.edu/advancement/endowments/

Dr. Peggy Blake Gleeson Physical Therapy Benevolence Endowment Houston

Dr. Peggy Gleeson completed BS in Physical Therapy from St. Louis University in Missouri in 1975 and both an MS and PhD in Physical Therapy from Texas Woman's University in 1983 and 1988 respectively. Dr. Gleeson’s clinical practice included orthopedics, acute care and geriatrics. She joined the faculty of TWU on the Houston campus in 1990 as the Assistant Director of Clinical Education and assumed the role of Director of Clinical Education in 1998. She became the Associate Director of the School of Physical Therapy in Houston in 2014 and retired in 2022.Dr. Gleeson has served as the President of the Academy of Education (AoE), Chair of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools International (CGFNS) for Physical Therapists, Chair of the Texas Consortium for Physical Therapy Clinical Education and Chair of the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). Clinical education has been her passion for over 30 years. Prior to her retirement, Dr. Gleeson established the Dr. Peggy Blake Gleeson Physical Therapy Benevolence Endowment-Houston Center.

This endowment is specifically earmarked for Doctor of Physical Therapy students from the Houston campus who are experiencing unexpected/emergency financial need.

Ann Lewis Medley Scholarship Endowment in Physical Therapy

Dr. Ann Medley completed her BA in Biology from the University of Texas, a BS Physical Therapy from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas (now UTSW), and a post-professional MS in Physical Therapy from Texas Woman’s University. She earned a PhD in Cognition and Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Dallas. As a clinician, she worked primarily with older people and individuals following stroke. She began her career at TWU in 1990 serving in the Supplemental Learning lab. Ann joined the School of Physical Therapy faculty in 1992 teaching entry-level physical therapist and PhD students for 30 years. She rose through the ranks to Professor, served as the Coordinator of the Professional Program in Dallas (2000-2012) and Associate Director of the School of Physical Therapy Dallas (2012-2014). In 2014, she was appointed Director of the School of Physical Therapy and served in this role until she retired in 2022. Her research interests included functional assessments for older individuals and individuals following stroke. Ann, along with Dr. Mary Thompson, developed the Sitting Balance Scale to assess sitting balance ability in frail older adults.

Upon her retirement, she established the Ann Lewis Medley Scholarship Endowment in Physical Therapy to provide a scholarship for DPT students on the Dallas campus in the final year of the DPT program. First preference is given to students who have a special interest in a career in geriatric physical therapy with second preference given to students who have a special interest in a career in neurological rehabilitation.

Janice & Tim Go Endowment Houston

Mrs. Janice Shen Go is a retired physical therapist. She received a BBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and a master’s of science in Physical Therapy (PT) from Texas Woman’s University, Houston campus. She began her PT career working at St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston, and practiced in the Houston and Dallas areas before retiring. Mr. Timothy Go has more than 30 years of experience serving in executive-level roles at leading companies operating in petroleum refining and specialty products markets. Mr. Go received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. As a business undergraduate, Janice fell in love with physical therapy after volunteering in the PT department at the UT Student Health Clinic. She feels blessed to have found a career that she enjoys so much and that significantly impacts and improves the lives of people. Both Janice and Tim were scholarship recipients at UT and benefitted from the kindness and generosity of donors. They are now in a financial position to give back to their alma mater and profession that Janice loves. They hope that financially investing in the lives of worthy graduate students will help to develop physical therapists who will become leaders in their professions and communities.

To be eligible, the student(s) must be a Physical Therapy major enrolled at the graduate level with a minimum grade point average of 3.3 at TWU’s Houston campus. Student(s) must demonstrate financial need as defined by the University. The scholarship can be renewed as long as the above requirements are met.

Sharon Olson Endowment 

Dr. Sharon Olson first came to TWU as a student in 1981 to complete her advanced master’s degree in physical therapy. Seeing the value in continuing her education, she went on to pursue her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Physical Therapy at TWU. During her time as a student, she worked in the supplemental learning lab helping to train new PT students. That’s where she caught the teaching bug.

Soon after she earned her PhD, Dr. Olson signed on to become a faculty member. She spent 30 years teaching new entry-level and post-professional PT students. When the university sought a new program director of the school, Dr. Olson was an obvious choice. Her love for the students, the profession and TWU carried over to her new role and under her direction the program continued to grow.

In 2014, wanting to spend more time with her family, Dr. Olson announced her retirement. She used her own financial resources to lay the foundation for an endowment fund that could be used by the school in any way that might benefit the students, faculty and program in general. An initial fundraiser was held to increase the base of the fund and many of the school’s greatest supporters, including alums and faculty, have contributed since the creation of the fund. However, more is needed in order for the school to be able to rely on the earnings from the base donation.

Dorn Long Endowment in Physical Therapy

The Dorn Long Endowment in Physical Therapy was established by the faculty of Texas Woman’s University’s School of Physical Therapy (Dallas and Houston), and includes contributions from numerous friends and students, in honor of Professor Dom Louise Williams Long on the occasion of her retirement from TWU in 2000. Mrs. Long completed a BS in Physical Education from the North Texas State University (now UNT) and a certificate in Physical Therapy from the Dallas Baylor University Medical Center. She also earned a MEd in Education from North Texas State University. In 1974, she accepted the position of Associate Professor and Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education at Texas Woman’s University, Dallas and retired from TWU in 2000. Mrs. Long passed away on March 4, 2004, and, through her estate, made a generous contribution to the Endowment. The Endowment provides awards for students majoring in Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University.

The purpose of the award is to provide a stream of income to support students, with priority given to students who have excelled in clinical education. Award recipients are nominated by the School’s Directors of Clinical Education from both the Dallas and Houston campuses and approved by the School of PT faculty.

Sheila K. Kellagher Endowment

Dr. Sheila Whitaker-Kellagher completed both her BS in Physical Therapy from Texas Woman’s University in 1981 and her DPT in 2017. Dr. Kellagher’s professional career has spanned many clinical settings including acute care hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled rehabilitation centers, assisted living centers, and home health. She established her first outpatient clinic in 1982 in Dallas, TX and steadily expanded to open twenty-four clinics in Texas and New Mexico over the following 15 years. Her passion for seniors inspired her in 1984 to expand her company to include providing contracted rehabilitation teams with a specialty in Geriatric Care, to over 350 skilled nursing facilities throughout Texas and the mid-west over the following 33 years. Dr. Kellagher established her company under the name TruCare Rehabilitation, however she often referred to it as “TWUcare,” due to enormous amount of support and encouragement she has always received from her TWU network of Faculty, Administrators, and Alums. Dr. Kellagher was awarded the TWU Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995, was a member of the TWU Foundation Board from 1988 to 1994 and was appointed by Governor George W. Bush to the TWU Board of Regents in 1994, where she served as Chair of the Board of Regents from 1999-2000. She was named the TWU Woman of Distinction in 2000 and reinstated back on the TWU Foundation Board in 2017. Dr. Kellagher established the Dr. Sheila Whitaker Kellagher Endowment for Physical Therapy to provide a stream of income which will support the priority needs or projects of the School of Physical Therapy as assessed by the dean of the School.

How to contribute

Please follow the steps below for your donation.

• Go to https://giving.twu.edu/
• For AMOUNT: Choose an amount  or choose “Other” and type your desired amount
• For GIVE TO: Select “Other” from the drop down and type in one of the Endowment names above
• Additional Information: Complete your billing information

Page last updated 5:04 PM, July 26, 2022