Story by Cheri Ghan, ghanc@health.missouri.edu

Kyle Gibson, teaching professor and chair of the Department of Physical Therapy, has been named chair of the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences (CDS) effective with the June retirement of Kathy Myers. Gibson will continue to serve as chair of Physical Therapy.

College of Health Sciences Dean Kristofer Hagglund said Gibson’s tenure as chair has seen the PT program demonstrate continued excellence in educating and preparing new physical therapists to enter the field. Under Gibson’s leadership, the department has maintained full accreditation and added faculty representing more care specialty areas.

Gibson calls the new appointment an exciting honor.

“I am dedicated to providing each department with the leadership, support and attention needed to thrive,” Gibson said. “The two departments will remain distinct and independent, and I am optimistic that we can create new opportunities for collaboration that will make both even stronger.”

Under Myers’ leadership, CDS has matured and grown its five clinical programs: Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound, Medical Laboratory Science, Nuclear Medicine, Radiography and Respiratory Therapy. In addition to increases in student enrollment and graduation, the department has added clinical sites, modernized and improved teaching laboratory facilities, and developed and launched a new interdisciplinary Master of Health Sciences in Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences.

“Dr. Myers’ legacy is a department with a rich tradition and a high level of success, and I am excited to see that expand and broaden with Dr. Gibson’s leadership,” Hagglund said.

Gibson has been at the University Missouri for 30 years, beginning his service in 1995 as an unpaid lab assistant in the Department of Physical Therapy. He was the first College of Health Sciences faculty member to be named a Kemper Fellow, receiving the honor in 2009. Gibson was named chair of the Department of Physical Therapy in 2011.

Both Myers and Gibson are among a handful of College of Health Sciences faculty who have been with the college since it became an autonomous academic unit, the School of Health Professions, 25 years ago.

In his new role, Gibson is eager to build upon the CDS department’s remarkable legacy of preparing outstanding clinicians through a strong commitment to teaching.

“I look forward to helping advance that mission,” he said. “I am honored to support the faculty, staff and students who have made CDS so successful, and I am excited to be part of its continued growth.”