To help extend the legacy that Kornelia Kulig and Rob Landel have made on generations of students, the Division has launched a fundraising campaign to establish a scholarship in their honor.

BY MICHELLE McCARTHY

THE INFLUENCE OF A GREAT EDUCATOR doesn’t end when students leave the classroom. It lives on in every patient they treat, every student they teach, and every discovery they help advance.

That ripple effect is the enduring legacy of Professor (Clinical Scholar) of Physical Therapy Kornelia Kulig and Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Rob Landel MS ’84, DPT ’96.

After nearly three decades at USC for Kulig and almost four for Landel, the two distinguished faculty members recently retired, leaving behind careers defined not only by groundbreaking research and clinical innovation, but by generations of students whose lives and careers they helped shape.

Drawn to a Community of Excellence

Both were drawn to USC by its reputation as a leader in physical therapy education. Kulig joined the faculty in 1998, seeing USC as a place to grow as an educator and researcher.

“It was its prominence in professional education,” Kulig says. “And, of course, at that time, the leadership of Dr. Helen Hislop.”

Landel’s connection to the university began even earlier. A graduate of USC’s master’s of science in physical therapy program, he returned two years later when an adjunct faculty position became available and eventually earned his doctor of physical therapy degree from USC in 1996.

What kept both at USC was the community.

Kulig found a rare combination of motivated students, accomplished faculty and abundant research opportunities.

Landel describes it more simply.

“Everybody’s pulling on the same end of the rope,” he says. “Everyone’s on the same bus together.”

That collaborative culture became the foundation for careers devoted to excellence in education, research and patient care.

Building a Stronger Profession

Over the decades, each left a distinct mark on physical therapy education.

An internationally recognized biomechanist, Kulig helped advance the science of musculoskeletal rehabilitation through research that deepened understanding of tendon disorders, low back pain and human movement. Just as importantly, she mentored researchers and educators who now lead programs across the country.

Landel helped the Division establish its own faculty practice — USC Physical Therapy — which has since grown to multiple locations across the Southland — while also establishing the division’s first residency program, the orthopedic physical therapy residency program.

“When I first came here, it was just me,” he recalls, with a laugh, about his establishing the faculty practice. “Now, there are clinics across the Los Angeles area with dozens of clinicians and staff.”

Together, they also collaborated on research that helped shape the future of musculoskeletal rehabilitation.

RELATED: A TRIBUTE TO DRS. KORNELIA KULIG AND ROB LANDEL UPON THEIR RETIREMENT

A Legacy Measured by Students

Despite careers marked by influential research, innovative programs and national recognition, both professors found their greatest reward in the students they helped launch into the profession.

“Being here so long, I was able to observe what they have done with their education,” Kulig explains.

Landel believes the true measure of a teacher is what their students do after they leave USC.

“You hope you leave things a little bit better than you found them,” he says. “You hope students go out there and become change agents.”

Their colleagues and students say they did exactly that.

Many credit Kulig with nurturing the curiosity and confidence that defined their careers. Associate Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Erica Sigman DPT ’09, ORTHO ’10 says Kulig taught her to let each patient’s anatomy — not simply a textbook — guide her practice. Assistant Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Patrick Huang DPT ’18, ORTHO ’19 recalls that “whenever she spoke, the whole room stopped what they were doing and listened.” Associate Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Kimiko Yamada DPT ’06 describes Kulig’s mentorship as “drawing out what is somewhere within us and helping it grow into itself.”

Landel’s students say his passion for teaching is “contagious,” and his mentorship is career-defining. To many, he is simply “PT Dad,” reflecting the personal investment he made in generations of students and colleagues.

Those reflections paint a portrait of two educators whose legacy is measured not by research discoveries or academic programs alone, but by the clinicians, educators and researchers who carry their lessons into classrooms, clinics and laboratories around the world.

Looking Ahead

Neither expects retirement to mean stepping away from the profession. Both joke that they’re taking a “gap year.”

Kulig plans to remain intellectually engaged as she explores what’s next. Asked what she’ll miss most about USC, her answer is immediate: “The richness of the intellectual environment, that’s for sure.”

Landel will continue teaching nationally, remain active with the American Physical Therapy Association and pursue a long-term goal of creating clinical opportunities for USC students in Kenya.

Their advice reflects the principles that guided their own careers. Kulig says the profession must never lose sight of the patients at the center of education and research. Landel offers a challenge to keep learning.

“Never be satisfied,” he says. “Don’t be afraid to experiment or to take things apart if you think there’s a better way.”

On June 20, colleagues, alumni, and friends celebrated both educators during Provoking the Future: Rethinking Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation. Proceeds from the symposium will support the new Kulig-Landel Endowed Scholarship, ensuring their commitment to educating future physical therapists continues for generations to come.

The patients they will never meet, the students they will never teach, and the discoveries they will never make will all carry traces of their influence. Their legacy is measured not simply by what they accomplished themselves, but by the generations they inspired to carry the profession forward.

If you’d like to help us establish an endowed scholarship in Kulig and Landel’s honor, please visit our webpage to learn more.