Official message: Ross Arena stepping down as PT department head
Introduction
It is with mixed feelings that I am writing to inform you that Ross Arena has notified me that he will be stepping down from his role as head of the Department of Physical Therapy and returning to his full-time faculty position within the department. This change will take effect on December 11, 2025.
For more than a decade, Dr. Arena has leveraged his robust scientific accomplishments and extensive collaborative relationships to create a strong, internationally recognized department with three successful degree programs: the Doctor of Physical Therapy, the Doctor of Clinical Exercise Physiology and the MS in Rehabilitation Sciences and Health Span Promotion.
Together with key faculty and staff leaders, he has partnered to create the department's first clinical research enterprise, which provides an avenue for scientific discovery to inform everyday clinical practice.
His commitment to serving local communities is marked not only by his clinical, scientific and educational contributions, but also by the establishment of the UIC Health and Wellness Academy at Altus Academy. This collaboration allows UIC students at all levels to enter a middle school environment to provide wellness education.
Dr. Arena will leave a lasting imprint on our college for many years to come, and I want to personally thank him for shepherding the growth of the department in these (and many other) ways since his arrival at UIC.
More information about the appointment of an interim department head will be forthcoming.