Dr. Kirk Nelson

T. Kirk Nelson, PT, PhD, is the inaugural program director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University. Dr. Nelson is a Louisiana native who got his Masters of Physical Therapy from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and his PhD in Education from the University of New Orleans. Dr. Nelson has been a practicing physical therapist in the state for over 20 years in a variety of practice settings including acute care, wound care, and outpatient orthopedics. He has been an educator in physical therapist preparation for 18 of those years. Dr. Nelson joined FranU in 2016, tasked with the job of creating and implementing Louisiana’s third physical therapy education program. The program enrolled their first students in 2018 and are on target to receive full accreditation this upcoming spring.