Published Month April 14, 2021
ULM will unveil the Lucy Shackelford Human Movement Center and Kitty DeGree Neuromuscular
Lab to the public at 10 a.m., Monday, April 19, in Walker Hall in the Physical Therapy
Department, first floor, room I-64.
The University of Louisiana Monroe’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the College
of Health Sciences will soon offer specialty services in physical therapy and provide
clinical education courses for PT practitioners.
These services and more will be provided in the new Lucy Shackelford Human Movement
Center and Kitty DeGree Neuromuscular Lab at ULM.
ULM will unveil the center and lab to the public at 10 a.m., Monday, April 19, in
Walker Hall in the Physical Therapy Department, first floor, room I-64.
Lucy Shackelford, Ph.D., (1948-2000) was a professor of Kinesiology at ULM. In 2003,
the Dr. Lucy Shackelford Endowment in Kinesiology was established by her family.
Thanks to a gift of more than $200,000 from the endowment, the DPT program secured
treatment tables, exercise equipment, supplies, and materials for the Lucy Shackelford
Human Movement Center.
The Kitty DeGree Foundation bequeathed $50,000 for the DPT program in 2019 to create
the Kitty DeGree Neuromuscular Lab. In 2020, the program received a state-of-the-art
Bertec Station thanks to another generous donation from the foundation of $160,000.
The Bertec Station assesses a client’s neuromuscular needs, particularly balance and
mobility issues. The equipment will be available for members of the community to use
with their physical therapists.
“This is something Kitty DeGree would have loved, doing something for the university
which also benefits the community,” said Cindy Rogers, president of the Kitty DeGree
Foundation. The foundation is ULM’s largest benefactor.
Lisa VanHoose, Ph.D., director of the DPT program, said the legacies of Shackelford
and DeGree are “ … crucial in the development of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
We are excited to offer an innovative curriculum, learning spaces, and equipment for
our future doctors of physical therapy who will start in August 2022.”
For more information, contact the ULM Foundation, 318-342-3636 or visit https://www.ulm.edu/foundation/.
