Jean Irion

Jean Irion was inducted into the inaugural 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 2014 and was named the College’s Outstanding Alumna in 2017.

Irion earned a Bachelor of Science from West Virginia University in 1979 in physical education, general science education, and athletic training. She later completed a Bachelor of Science in physical therapy and a Master of Education in physical education with a concentration in athletic training from Temple University, and a Doctor of Education in higher education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

A licensed physical therapist and certified athletic trainer, Irion is board-certified as a clinical specialist in sports physical therapy and has held leadership roles over her 20-plus years with the American Physical Therapy Association. Her national service includes chairing the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties and serving as the inaugural chair of the Women’s Health Specialty Council.

In higher education, Irion’s academic leadership includes service as chair and program director of the Physical Therapy Program at Emory & Henry University, where she helped launch the program’s first cohort and guided its early development. Her teaching has focused on professional issues in physical therapy, and her clinical practice has emphasized women’s health, aquatic therapy, sports physical therapy, and occupational health.

Irion has co-authored a women’s health physical therapy textbook and contributed scholarly papers, textbook chapters, and presentations at local, state, regional, and national meetings.