Paula Briggs

Paula Briggs was inducted into the College of Applied Human Sciences Hall of Fame in the fall of 2025. She was previously inducted into the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Hall of Fame in 2008.

Briggs earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Frostburg State College in 1984 and a master’s degree in exercise physiology from West Virginia University in 1988. Early in her career, she coached swimming and directed Red Cross aquatics programs in Garrett County, Md., and taught physical education in the county’s public schools before joining WVU for graduate study.

She later held appointments in the WVU Health Sciences Center and served as Aquatics Director at MountainView Regional Rehabilitation Hospital, where she established therapeutic aquatics programs and developed treatment protocols across inpatient and outpatient settings. Concurrently, she taught in WVU’s Department of Human Performance and Applied Sciences and introduced an aquatic therapy curriculum in 1999. Her work contributed to WVU’s nationally recognized specialization in aquatic therapy. 

At the state and national levels, Briggs served on committees of the Aquatic Therapy & Rehabilitation Institute and the Aquatic Exercise Association; the Committee of Disability International Foundation; boards of the American Diabetes Association (local chapter) and the Mountain Laurel Chapter of the American Red Cross; and as liaison to the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health’s Chronic Disease and Physical Activity coalitions. Her recognitions include the ATRI Tsunami Spirit Award (1996) and the ATRI Aquatic Therapy Professional of the Year (2000). She has published articles and presented nationally and internationally on aquatic therapy and rehabilitation, including a 2000 article on fibromyalgia and exercise.