There are many people who have been invaluable to me throughout this project. I would be remiss if I did not recognize them. First, I must thank Dolores Bertoti for agreeing to co-author this text with me; she and I have seen this text’s potential from the start and have approached its development and completion with the same vision throughout the process. It has been a pleasure to work with my new friend. A special thank you goes to members of Duquesne University’s Rangos School of Health Sciences. Members of the school are a close community of professionals who are not only colleagues but also friends; without their direct or indirect contributions, this book could not have been written. Within the university, I am most grateful to Dr. Greg Frazer, Rangos School Dean, who always supports his faculty in our endeavors, and Provost Pearson, who supports and encourages all university faculty. A very special thank you is owed to my Department Chair, Dr. Paula Turocy, and my colleague Dr. Jason Scibek, who took over my teaching load, burdening themselves with an unusual overload so I could take a sabbatical to finish this text. Susan Venditti, our Administrative Assistant, has always “had my back”; she is a professional’s professional and assisted me in more ways than I can count, even when I wasn’t present in the department. Dr. Christopher Carcia, PT, created an outstanding spine chapter, made a great contribution to the hip and pelvis chapter, and is responsible for the fine ancillaries that accompany this text. Dr. Ingrid Provident, OTR/L, the author of the hand and wrist chapter and the chapter on kinesiology applications of the upper extremity in ADLs, made complex topics easily understandable. Jennifer Pine, Developmental Editor, deserves special recognition for her patience with me and Dolores for our never-ending, “Just one more change” requests, for her yeoman’s attention to detail that caught our omissions, and for her exceptional ability to maintain an even keel when I am sure all she wanted to do was strangle one or both of us. Pete Houdak and Bonnie Virag, two Duquesne University students, spent hours posing as models during a nearly week-long photo shoot; thanks to them for donating their bodies to this text. Members of Graphic World Inc. put together the final product. Two members finalized this edition: Rose Boul, Senior Art Coordinator, and Grace Onderlinde, Production Editor, provided needed persistence, perseverance, and patience in the creation of what you now hold in your hands. Liz Schaeffer, Developmental Editor and Electronic Products Coordinator for F. A. Davis, managed, directed, and coordinated with wonderful clarity and vision the creation and production of the fine digital resources that accompany this text. We believe that these resources are a marvelous and unique complement to the text, which provides students with alternatives to understanding what could otherwise be difficult concepts to grasp. Putting together a textbook requires much more than authors with an idea. An entire legion of qualified experts is necessary; we believe that we have, among the throng that has participated in this project, some of the very best.
This work would not have been possible without the support of so many friends and colleagues. I am appreciative of the support from both the administration and my fellow faculty and students at Alvernia University, including a reduction in teaching during the semester when I was buried deep in the research and writing process. My academic dean, Dr. Karen Thacker, never missed an opportunity to ask me how the book was coming, and she shared in my professional excitement throughout the long process. I am especially grateful to my faculty colleagues in Athletic Training who proofread and offered me feedback when the chapters were being developed: Dr. Tom Porrazzo, Dr. Kim Stoudt, and Mr. Jay Mensinger. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable insights my Kinesiology students offered as they read and reacted to portions of the text; they are who I wrote this book for and are my biggest support. I had images of their eager faces before me during the days of seemingly endless writing; they truly motivated me. Two students traveled to Duquesne to participate in the photo shoot, Courtney Renshaw and Mike Lloyd; Chris Burkert helped me out locally with additional photos. Our developmental editor, Jennifer Pine, was an absolute pleasure to work with and I am grateful for her continual encouragement and kind “nudging” to meet deadlines. Most importantly, I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with Peg Houglum on this text. She is an amazing scholar and surely a champion in the field. I truly have been privileged to work with her.