Bill Marquardt (1945 –) was President of the American Academy of Physician Assistants during the AAPA’s 25th Anniversary year in 1992-1993. Prior to that, he served as a Director-at-Large and for two, two-year terms as Secretary.
During his twenty-four-year military career, Mr. Marquardt served as an Air Force pharmacy technician for eight years prior to being accepted for PA training in 1974. He completed his didactic instruction at the USAF School of Health Sciences at Sheppard AFB in Texas, and his clinical training at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. Mr. Marquardt graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Medicine with a Bachelor’s Degree as a physician assistant in 1976. He earned a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration from Central Michigan University in 1979. Serving as an enlisted PA for the initial 18 months of service, he received his commission on the same day Air Force PAs were made a part of the Biomedical Sciences Corp in 1978. His subsequent assignments as a PA included postings at Bolling AFB, DC, the Pentagon, and as an Instructor Supervisor at the Air Force’s PA training program from 1984-1986. He retired with the rank of Major in 1990.
Mr. Marquardt has been actively involved within his profession since completing his training. He was an officer of the Society of Air Force Physician Assistants for ten years, serving as President in 1988. As a PA educator, he served a three-year term as the Secretary / Treasurer of the Association of Physician Assistant Programs (now PAEA) and on the Board of Directors of the Student Academy of the American Academy of Physician Assistants as an APAP liaison. He served for several years on committees of the Physician Assistant Foundation and on the Board of Trustees of the Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History, including a term as President from 2009-2011. He was a founding officer of the Alpha Eta National Honor Society chapter at Nova Southeastern University in 2008, and served nine years as the National Secretary for Alpha Eta from 2013-2022.
Mr. Marquardt retired in January 2024 after serving fifteen years as Associate Dean for Physician Assistant Education and PA Department Chair at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was responsible for the overall supervision of NSU PA training programs on the four Florida campuses. Joining the faculty in 2002, he served for six years as PA Program Director for the Ft. Lauderdale campus before assuming his most recent positions. Now an Adjunct Associate Professor, he continues to support the Nova Southeastern PA programs as well as the College of Health Care Sciences.
Mr. Marquardt had earlier served as Director of Clinical Education at the Shenandoah University Physician Assistant Program in Winchester, Virginia and was Director of the Clinical Curriculum at the George Washington University Physician Assistant Program. Prior to his full-time involvement with PA education, he was the Clinic Director for the Department of Neurology at the George Washington University Medical Center.
A long-time advocate for improving access to primary and preventive healthcare services, Professor Marquardt has created several endowed scholarship programs. At Nova Southeastern, the Community Health / Collaborative Service Initiative supports clinical year students who have a strong interest in working in underserved communities. He supports a similar scholarship within the Physician Assistant Foundation (PAF), the William H. Marquardt Community Health Access Scholarship. Also, within the PAF, he supports several William H. Marquardt Community Health Access Fellowships recognizing graduate PAs serving as clinical preceptors / mentors to students and involved in expanding access to primary and preventive health care services.
Mr. Marquardt resides in Davie, Florida.
Acknowledgments: This biography was updated in January of 2024.. The photographs are courtesy the PAHx Society, Johns Creek, GA.
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