Last modified: Tuesday, April 26, 2011
IU's Kathryn Bayless named 2011 NIRSA Honor Award winner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Kathryn G. Bayless, executive director of Campus Recreational Sports in Indiana University Bloomington's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, has been named the recipient of the 2011 NIRSA Honor Award by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. Bayless has been a NIRSA member for more than 39 years and has served both the association and the profession with distinction.
The NIRSA Honor Award is the highest honor awarded by the association. Each year, through the presentation of the Honor Award, NIRSA honors one member for outstanding achievements in the profession and exemplary service to the association.
Bayless was lauded by the selection committee as a visionary, strategic leader and a pioneer associated with identifying and creating what is needed for the advancement of the profession. She has been recognized with other awards for her extensive university and community leadership and service, including two NIRSA National Service Awards in 1979 and 2008, and the 2001 Region III Award of Merit. Bayless helped establish, served on or chaired numerous NIRSA committees. They include committees on affirmative action, professional preparation, professional development, standards, participant development, quality assurance, and long range planning. Her commitment and passion have made significant and sustained impact within the association, said comittee members.
Besides serving as executive director of Campus Recreational Sports at IU, Bayless also is assistant dean of the School of HPER. She is the author of CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education; contributed to the book Campus Recreation: Essentials for the Profession; and co-authored Recreational Sports Management, now in its 4th edition.
Bayless is a member of the Campus Master Plan Task Force at IU and served as chairperson of the subcommittee on recreational sports, athletics and wellness from 2008 to 2009. In February 2007, the IU Office for Women's Affairs presented her the Outstanding Staff Award for contributions to advancing opportunities for women in sport.
For more about Bayless go here .
The mission of Campus Recreational Sports is to connect, inform and inspire people to lead active, healthy lifestyles. RS is a division of Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. To learn more, visit recsports.indiana.edu, or call 812-855-7772.
About NIRSA
NIRSA is the leading resource for professional and student development, education and research in collegiate recreational sports. The organization was established in 1950, when William Wasson convened a meeting of 22 African-American men and women from 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities at Dillard University in New Orleans.
Headquartered in Corvallis, Oregon, NIRSA now includes nearly 4,000 highly trained professional, student and associate members throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. Serving an estimated 5.5 million students who regularly participate in campus recreational sports programs, NIRSA members are actively engaged in many areas of campus life: student leadership, development and personnel management; wellness and fitness programs; intramural sports; sport clubs; recreation facility operations; outdoor recreation; informal recreation; and aquatic programs.
