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Janet Tankersley

Interim Dean of the College of Health Sciences, Physical Therapy Program Director

Department(s)
College of Health Sciences, Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
Credentials

PT, DPT, PhD, FHEL

jtankersley@csuniv.edu 843-863-7186

About Janet Tankersley

Dr. Janet Tankersley serves as Interim Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Chair and Program Director of the Department of Physical Therapy at Charleston Southern University. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Pediatric Science from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, a Doctor of Physical Therapy from A.T. Still University, and Bachelor and Associate of Science degrees in Physical Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia. She is a Board-Certified Pediatric Clinical Specialist and a Fellow of the APTA Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership.
Dr. Tankersley has over thirty-six years of physical therapy practice experience, twenty-eight years of physical therapy education teaching experience, and fifteen years of progressively responsible academic leadership experience. Her scholarship focuses on pediatric populations with chronic and complex conditions, including children with sickle cell disease and patients with hemophilia.

A dedicated servant leader, Dr. Tankersley has led annual international mission trips to Costa Rica with CSU Doctor of Physical Therapy students, serving underserved geriatric and pediatric populations and training local healthcare providers. She is committed to advancing academic excellence within a distinctly Christian environment and to developing the next generation of health sciences professionals who lead with both competence and compassion.

Dr. Tankersley has two children; Will, who is a Certified Aviation Mechanic and a graduate of CSU’s Aviation Maintenance Management Bachelor of Technology program, and Ethan, who is a current student and proud Buccaneer. She enjoys biking and surf fishing around Edisto Island.

"In health sciences education, students arrive with a sense of calling. They want to heal people. They want to serve. They want their work to matter beyond a paycheck. That is purpose in its deepest form. My role as interim dean and department chair is to meet that purpose where it lives and to build an educational environment that honors it, develops it, and sends it into the world fully formed. CSU's mission, promoting academic excellence in a Christian environment, provides the framework that makes that possible. When faith and learning are genuinely integrated, students don't just become competent clinicians. They become healers who understand why they serve, who they serve, and what it costs to serve faithfully. That is the difference between a graduate who can do the work and a graduate who is called to it."
Janet Tankersley
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