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Kinesiology Today Fall Issue 2016 Volume 9, No. 4 www.americankinesiology.org Table of Contents If Physical Education Is Good Enough for If Physical Education Is Good Enough for Harvard, Is It Good Enough for You?. 1 Harvard, Is It Good Enough for You? By Penny McCullagh, PhD, KT Editor President’s Column AKA Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary in 2017. 3 ithin the last month, numerous high- Wprofile news sources (including NPR Olympic Tidbits . 5 and the Washington Post) have featured The Pierre de Coubertin Medal . 7 information about a Harvard professor’s Give Yoga and Peace a Chance on International suggestion that all students be required Kinesiology Should Be a Leader in Walking Meetings! . 10 We Are Not As Strong As We Used To Be . .11 to take physical education classes. The Report: Physical Education in United States Falls Short of September 26 issue of USA Today ran National Standards . 12 a story with the following information: At The Launching of National Biomechanics Day . 13 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Intra- or Interdisciplinary Research, Teaching, and students are required to take four physical Service in Kinesiology: Another Example . 16 activity classes to graduate; but at nearby WHO: Political Leaders Must Spearhead Reduction Harvard, this has not been a requirement in Health-Related Social Inequities . 18 since the faculty of arts and sciences elimi- Daniel Lieberman is chair of the depart- Exciting Times in Kinesology. .19 nated it in the 1970s. The stance at MIT ment of human evolutionary biology at B.S. in Basketball? Why Not? . 20 is that although it is difficult for students Harvard; he is investigating how evolu- Pop Warner Football and US Soccer Heeding the to exercise when they are so busy with tion has honed a propensity to laziness. American Kinesiology Association News . 21 high-intensity schoolwork, physical activity An excellent article by Jonathan Shaw in classes give students the health benefits of the September–October issue of Harvard exercise and also serve as a springboard magazine reviews much of Lieberman’s to lifelong activity so that these students work, which argues that, in terms of evolu- have the potential to serve as role models tion, humans exercise only as much as they in their future careers. must—and in today’s world, that means not Continue on Page 2 Click on the KT button at the end of each article to return to the Table of Contents www.americankinesiology.org Page 2 very much. Recognizing Harvard’s research popular press article claimed that Oregon to provide data specific to the Penn State that shows reduced rates of mortality and State did not have a physical activity require- program. morbidity among their alumni who exercise, ment, but indeed it does. All students must If your campus is in the process of redefin- Lieberman suggests that it may be time take the Lifetime Fitness for Health class ing its mission, developing vision statements, to bring back physical education. Lieber- for two credits as well as one activity class and then instituting learning outcomes, I man recognizes that this may not be easy for a credit. Oregon State offers about 250 would highly suggest you examine some and that his ideas may cause a “firestorm” activity courses per quarter and, according of these reports to assist in your rationale. at Harvard. High-achievement students to the Synergies article by Dani Douglass, are busy pursuing their studies, but data about 18,000 students take activity classes Cardinal, B.J., Sorensen, S.D., & Cardinal, M.K. (2012). Historical perspective and current status of physical education graduation suggest that the time invested is worth it each year. requirement at American 4-year colleges and universities. since those who exercise may have higher Penn State University has also done Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 83, 503-512. cognitive functioning and lower anxiety and an excellent job of ensuring that physi- depression than those who do not exercise. cal activity is required of students in the Douglass, D. (2016, Sept. 21). Back to school: Activ- ity with purpose. Synergies. http://synergies.oregon- Brad Cardinal and his colleagues at general education curriculum. Part of the state.edu/2016/back-to-school-activity-with-purpose Oregon State University published a 2012 mission statement of the university states study in Research Quarterly for Exercise that Penn State “improves the well-being Penn State Department of Kinesiology. (2014, April). Physi- and Sport that examined physical activity and health of individuals and communities cal activity & the GHA: Evidence for inclusion in general requirements in 354 random institutions. through integrated programs of teaching, education reform. http://gened.psu.edu/wp-content/ uploads/sites/7232/2013/10/GETF-Physical-Activity-GHA.pdf The article provides an excellent overview research, and service.” With such a mission of the history of physical activity courses in statement, it is clear that physical activity Weintraub, K. (2016, Sept. 26). MIT has Harvard on the universities, starting in 1861. The study found should be an integral portion of the general mat when it comes to exercise. USA Today. www.usatoday. that in the 1920s and 1930s, 97 percent education requirements. During an aca- com/story/life/2016/09/25/colleges-teach-benefits-phys- of higher education universities required demic year, the kinesiology program offers ed/90246182 physical activity classes. However, by 2010, approximately 300 sections of courses and only about 40 percent of universities had serves about 8,000 students. A thorough such a requirement. They suggested that justification for the importance of physical given the importance of physical activity activity was developed to justify inclusion in maintaining health, not requiring activ- in general education, and considerable ity may be inconsistent with the National evidence about the importance of physical Physical Activity Plan. activity was developed based on evidence Oregon State University also highlighted from the research literature. A well-defined their own program of physical activity. One assessment program has been developed Kinesiology Today Fall 2016 Volume 9, No. 4 www.americankinesiology.org Page 3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE AKA Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary in 2017 By Mary Rudisill, AKA President he American Kine- We are also pleased to announce adopted because of its importance and Tsiology Associa- that AKA will deliver a second preworkshop relevance to our members. We will have tion is celebrating its for graduate coordinators titled “Kinesiol- three outstanding keynote speakers at 10-year anniversary ogy Graduate Programs—Improving Our the workshop. Dr. Fran Ascione, director at our AKA Leader- Practices and Developing Leaders.” This of the Center for Interprofessional Educa- ship Workshop in preworkshop was proposed by the AKA tion, will describe interprofessional edu- Dallas this coming executive committee to promote strategies cation at the University of Michigan and January. Over the to improve our graduate programs and to how students enrolled in one of the health Mary Rudisill past 10 years, our promote diversity, inclusion, and equity in sciences schools (i.e., dentistry, kinesiol- association has grown kinesiology through leadership development ogy, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public dramatically and has at the graduate level. Increasing diversity health, and social work) gain the neces- worked diligently to support our members among our leadership in kinesiology is a sary knowledge, skills, and dispositions to and promote our academic discipline. In primary objective of AKA, and the execu- become effective members of collabora- celebration, this year’s AKA Leadership tive committee created this preworkshop tive health care teams. Keynote speaker Workshop is going to be filled with exciting opportunity with that goal in mind. The Dr. Gail Hutchinson, who is the president experiences and opportunities for those workshop will cover topics on recruitment, of California State University–Chico, will attending. admissions, student success, professional present on cross-campus relationships Thanks to the recommendations of development, laboratory safety training, from a university president’s perspective. the future directions committee, AKA will be assistantships, and funding for graduate Our third keynote, Dr. Timothy Moore, vice offering a preworkshop on athletic training programs. We are confident that this pre- president of research from Florida A&M, education. In this preworkshop, the CAATE workshop, also delivered January 26-27, will introduce opportunities for collabora- curricular standard and the transition to will serve our graduate coordinators in tions with historically black colleges and an entry-level master’s degree in athletic kinesiology and promote positive outcomes universities, including strategies to avoid training will be reviewed and discussed. within our discipline. unsuccessful partnerships. Dr. Russ Richardson from the University Advantages and Challenges of Partner- There was a great response from our of Montana Western will be leading this ships and Relationships will be this year’s AKA members when a call for workshop preworkshop, January 26-27, prior to the workshop theme. This topic was proposed presenters was sent out earlier this fall. start of the AKA Leadership Workshop. by our future directions committee and The AKA workshop planning committee Continue on Page 4 Kinesiology Today Fall 2016 Volume 9, No. 4 www.americankinesiology.org