For Paula Ludewig, a lifelong passion for learning and helping to improve people’s everyday lives are the cornerstones of her career in physical therapy.

That intersection of care and continuous improvement is what drew Ludewig to a career in academic medicine. After finishing her PhD in 1998, she joined the faculty in the University of Minnesota Medical School. In 2017, she was named interim director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine’s Division of Physical Therapy, a position that became permanent for her in 2019. 

“I got into the profession wanting to make a difference in terms of people’s physical function,” Ludewig says. “It’s really a cool opportunity as a faculty member to integrate research, education, and practice.”

The future of physical therapy

Another fulfilling part of her career: Working with students. 

“I really enjoy working with the students, seeing them develop and hearing from them years down the road,” Ludewig says. “Having these new, fresh people coming in, their enthusiasm, their excitement, their wanting to learn and grow—it makes time fly.” 

But for many students, there is a cost barrier to pursuing advanced degrees. Ludewig says as students move through their schooling, they accumulate more debt, and salaries aren’t rising to meet the increasing cost of their education. 

“That brings in the real need for scholarships and for support, and I wanted to be part of that,” she says. “Particularly in my director role, I really see the level of need that there is.”

That’s why Ludewig established the Judy Ludewig Memorial Fund, named in honor of her mother, who passed away in 2016. As a young adult, Judy was unable to afford a college education, until a physician scholarship donation allowed her to attend nursing school. Later in her life, Ludewig’s mother, who had Parkinson’s disease and other general health issues, benefited from numerous rehabilitation services like physical therapy and speech therapy, which allowed her to maintain some independence in her final years. 

Seeing firsthand the impact of scholarships on learners and the power of rehabilitation services in improving her mother’s quality of life, creating a fund in her mother’s honor as part of her estate plan was an obvious choice for Ludewig. 

“All those things put together, it just seemed to make sense to build an endowed scholarship that could continue on,” Ludewig says. “Any little bit helps in terms of giving the students a little bit of a break on their tuition and the ability to get started with a little bit less debt.”

Support the U of M’s Department of Physical Therapy.