TRAVIS ROY’S DREAM of playing Division I hockey ended in 1995 when he crashed into the boards 11 seconds into his first game at BU. But Roy, who was paralyzed from the neck down in the accident, soon discovered a new dream—helping others with spinal cord injuries and funding research. Today, 30 years after Roy (COM’00, Hon.’16) was injured and 5 years after his death at 45, his philanthropic legacy lives on at Sargent College.
This fall, two doctoral candidates, one in physical therapy and the other in occupational therapy, were the inaugural recipients of the Travis M. Roy Endowed Scholarship, funded with a $1 million gift from the Travis Roy Foundation to Sargent. The fund will provide annual scholarships, starting with the 2025–2026 academic year, to one or more graduate students studying occupational or physical therapy at the college. Preference for scholarships is given to students studying paralysis and spinal cord injury and who have demonstrated interest in a patient-focused career. The foundation also prefers that recipients make their careers in New England.
Marybeth Surratt (’27) and Luke Willett (’25,’27), each in the second year of their programs, will collaborate on a yearlong scholarship project focused on enhancing the quality of life of people who have experienced a spinal cord injury (SCI). The pair will also lead one or more public forums about best practices in physical or occupational therapy.
“Travis’ highly impactful legacy was built on his genuine desire to help people after SCI and raise awareness about and support research to optimize the health and well-being of those impacted by SCI,” say the program directors, Jen Kaldenberg, a clinical associate professor of occupational therapy, and Diane Heislein, a clinical associate professor of physical therapy, in a statement.
The Roy scholarships are the latest example of good emerging from an accident. Since Roy’s passing in 2020, his foundation has facilitated a partnership between Sargent and the Shepherd Center in Atlanta—the world leader in spinal cord rehabilitation where Roy received care—to build out the center’s capacity to care for people with spinal cord injuries. The foundation provided a year’s support for a Sargent postdoctoral fellow embedded at the Shepherd Center to conduct learning health systems research, with additional support coming from the Jack Trottier Foundation.
“The beautiful thing about learning health systems is that the work is never done,” says Emily Evans, an assistant professor of physical therapy who has been overseeing the Shepherd Center collaboration.
“This is a cyclical process focused on continuous improvement—always getting better and improving care for individuals with paralysis—so by providing support for this partnership, the Travis Roy Foundation is supporting the start of this and many future improvement cycles to come.”
In addition to its gifts to institutions, the Travis Roy Foundation has donated more than $7.2 million to people living with paraplegia and quadriplegia to purchase adaptive equipment like wheelchairs, mattresses, and home and vehicle modifications.
Arthur Page, chair of the board of trustees at the foundation, says Roy loved BU, and Sargent in particular.
“He saw firsthand the skills and compassion of Dr. Terry Ellis [professor and chair of physical therapy], her Sargent colleagues, and its students,” Page says. “As was typical he wanted to give back. During his life, a professorship was endowed in his name; after he passed, his life work funded a doctoral scholarship, and now is forging a collaboration with the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, to study and spread best practices in care and rehabilitation throughout the country. The people of Sargent College are carrying Travis’ legacy forward.”
LaDora Thompson, the Travis M. Roy Professor in Rehabilitation Sciences, focuses her research on cellular changes in muscle, such as those following a spinal cord injury. She met with Roy several times each year during his life, saying Roy “lived with a sense of quiet elegance,” maintaining “grace and composure in the face of adversity.” She points to several direct research advancements stemming from Roy’s influence and generosity.
“There are numerous exciting advancements,” Thompson says, “including the opportunity to develop new research initiatives, such as interventions to prevent muscle deterioration, and make innovative strides in experimental research, like reverse-translating human assessment tools to preclinical animal models. I am also able to support postdoctoral fellows and students, explore new avenues for collaboration with engineers and experts in musculoskeletal systems, and gain invaluable resources to pursue scientific projects that I might not otherwise have the means to undertake. Above all, this [Roy Professorship] provides me with the unique chance to build a legacy of exceptional scholarship and leadership in Travis’ name.”
STORY BY STEVE HOLT