VCU news

By Carrie Carroll

Otto D. Payton, Ph.D., former faculty member and chair of the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Physical Therapy in the School of Allied Health Professions, died Sept. 4, at age 84. He was a member of the department’s faculty for 28 years and served as chair from 1982 to 1987.

Payton was regarded as an exceptional physical therapist, teacher and researcher. He was internationally known as a lecturer and author, as well as for his expertise in geriatrics, the psychosocial aspects of patient care and higher education.

Payton earned his bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Kansas in 1956, his master’s degree in education from Indiana University in 1964 and his doctorate in higher education from the University of Maryland in 1971.

He came to VCU as the director of the Department of Physical Therapy’s master’s program in 1971. During this time, he organized the Master of Science program and began two combined doctoral programs with the departments of Anatomy and Physiology that were nationally recognized for producing strong graduates in the teaching and research fields of physical therapy.

Payton wrote several books, including “Research: The Validation of Clinical Practice,” which has been used for many years as a textbook and reference on research techniques for students and practitioners around the world. He served as an editor of many other publications, such as the clinical series “Manual of Physical Therapy.” He received several awards from the American Physical Therapy Association including the Golden Pen Award, the Lucy Blair Service Award and was recognized as a Catherine Worthington Fellow, the association’s highest honor.

In an interview with the alumni publication, Scarab, Payton was asked what he loved most about his profession. “I enjoy helping people live at the highest level of functioning of which they are capable,” he replied. “And physical therapy students are fun to teach because they are truly interested in what they are doing.”

The Otto D. Payton Professorship of Physical Therapy was created at VCU in 2004 by an anonymous donation from a former student. Daniel L. Riddle, Ph.D., assistant chair and department coordinator in the School of Allied Health Professions’ Ph.D. distance-learning program, was the first appointed Otto D. Payton endowed professor in 2005 and still holds the position today.

VCU’s Department of Physical Therapy, established in 1945, was the first accredited physical therapy program in Virginia and one of the first in the country. U.S. News and World Report ranked the program as No. 19 in the United States in 2014.

 

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