Last modified: Thursday, October 14, 2010
IU School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation recognizes outstanding alumni
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 14, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) will honor seven distinguished alumni on Friday at 5:30 p.m. during an awards ceremony at the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at IU Bloomington.
"These alumni have been chosen by a committee that has looked at how each of these individuals has utilized their knowledge and skill to make a difference in their chosen field, or in the community," said School of HPER Dean Robert M. Goodman.
Each award winner will receive a plaque and will be added to an honor wall at the School of HPER.
Mobley International Distinguished Alumni Award
Frank Pyke will rceive the Mobley International Distinguished Alumni Award. This annual award, named in honor of former School of HPER Dean Tony Mobley, recognizes outstanding professional achievement outside of the United States. One recipient is selected each year.
Pyke received a bachelor's and master's degree in physical education from the University of Western Australia in 1962 and 1967. He received a Ph.D. in exercise physiology and human performance in 1970 from the School of HPER's Department of Kinesiology.
Between 1967 and 1972 he taught at Illinois State University and Dalhousie University in Canada, and then at the Universities of Western Australia, Canberra and Wollongong, before being appointed professor and head of the Department of Human Movement Studies at the University of Queensland, where he still holds an adjunct professorship. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia.
Pyke became the inaugural executive director of the Victorian Institute of Sport in 1990 and held the position until his retirement in 2006. During this time, the Institute provided coaching and support services and the daily training environment for many athletes who became Olympic, Paralympic and World champions. He also pioneered an athlete career and education program, which was adopted nationally and by several overseas countries. This initiative was reflected in the Institute's motto "Success in Sport and Life".
Throughout his career, Pyke has also served on and chaired a wide range of Boards and Committees associated with sporting organizations, professional associations and universities. He has written and edited 10 books on scientific training, coach education and elite athlete development, has published many articles in scientific journals and magazines and is an experienced and well known international presenter. He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000, Life Membership of the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation in 2002, and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2003.
Recipients of the John R. Endwright Distinguished Alumni Service Award
This annual award, given to three recipients, recognizes outstanding service and contributions by a School of HPER graduate. As a measure of accomplishment in service to the school and/or profession, the award is a reflection of former School of HPER Dean Endwright's commitment to strong ties between the school and its graduates. It was Endwright, who early in his career as an assistant to Dean Willard Patty, suggested a school's foundation would only be as strong as the relationship it established with its alumni. Each year a recipient is selected from three HPER academic departments.
Nick DiGrino has a bachelor's degree in recreation from Kent State University, a master's degree in Recreation and Park Administration from IU, and Ph.D. in Recreation Resources Development from Texas A&M University. He currently serves as Dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Western Illinois University -- the largest academic college at WIU. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor of recreation in 1976 and was named chair of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration in 1986. DiGrino was named associate dean for administration in 2004 and dean in 2009. Reporting directly to the provost and academic vice president, DiGrino is responsible for the administration of the college.
DiGrino is well known nationally in the area of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies. Along with presenting his research at state, national and international conferences and symposia, he has authored or co-authored numerous articles central to the recreation and leisure services field in research journals and professional magazines. His organizational involvements have included Illinois Park & Recreation Association Board of Directors, National Park & Recreation Association Publications Committee, Society of Park and Recreation Educators Board of Directors and Registration Committee Chair, and Illinois Community Educators Association Board of Directors & President. His awards and honors include Kent State University's School of Exercise, Leisure, and Sport Distinguished Alumni Award; Indiana University's Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies Garrett G. Eppley Distinguished Alumni Award, American Leisure Academy and Senior Fellow for the American Academy for Park & Recreation Administration.
Andrew Kanu received three degrees from IU, including a bachelor's degree in general studies in 1989, a master's degree in public health in 1993 and a Ph.D. in health and safety in 1997. Prior to his education at IU, he attended the University of Sierra Leone in West Africa where he studied chemistry and biology. Kanu has also completed post graduate studies at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Oxford University.
Upon receiving his doctorate, Kanu joined the faculty at Virginia State University working for both the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and the Graduate School. He currently serves as interim dean for the School of Liberal Arts and Education. Kanu has received professional awards and has been active in a number of professional organizations including National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, Council of Colleges of Arts & Sciences, American Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and American Association of Health Education.
Harrison B. Wilson is a native of Amsterdam, N.Y. He served in the United States Navy from 1945-1947, when he enrolled at Kentucky State University at the age of nineteen. There he received his bachelor's degree, was an honor student and a star athlete in basketball, football, baseball and track. In the early 1950's, he enrolled at IU, where he received his master's degree in Physical Education and Ph.D. in health science and administration from the School of HPER.
Wilson worked as a professor, administrator and coach at Jackson State College (now Jackson State University). He was the head basketball coach from 1951-1960. He then became chairman of the Department of Health and Physical Education as well as chairman and professor of health and physical education at Tennessee State. Wilson briefly worked at Fisk University as the assistant to the president of Fisk before being named president of Norfolk State University in 1975.
During his term at Norfolk, which spanned more than three decades from 1975 until 1997, Norfolk State University's annual budget increased from $14 million to $86 million, enrollment increased from 6,700 students to 8,100 students, and the number of faculty and staff grew from 377 to 412, with a student-faculty ratio of 22 to 1. The university also added 14 new buildings and acquired 51 acres of land. Upon his retirement in 1997, Wilson was honored by Old Dominion University as one of their Strong Men and Women Excellence in Leadership series. He has been active in a number of boards and organizations, including the board of directors of Virginia National Bank, the lay advisory board of DePaul Hospital, the Virginia State Advanced Council on Vocational Education, and the board of directors of the Virginia Health, Welfare, and Recreation Planning Council. He is also a member of the Alpha Kappa Mu fraternity.
Recipients of the W.W. Patty Distinguished Alumni Award
This award, given to three recipients, is the oldest and most prestigious alumni recognition bestowed by the School of HPER to a graduate who has demonstrated outstanding personal and professional achievement in his or her career. Since the award's inception in 1976, recipients have characterized the ideals set forth by the school's first dean, Willard W. Patty. Under his leadership, the school rose to national stature and produced some of the finest professionals in the fields of health, physical education and recreation.
Jeffrey Clark began his career as a public school health education teacher. He served as a classroom teacher and health education program coordinator for 13 years. After completing his Ph.D. in Health and Safety at IU, Clark was hired as an assistant professor at the University of Louisville. Currently, he is a professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Health Science at Ball State University. His academic career has been spent teaching undergraduate and graduate classes in community and school health education methods, program planning and evaluation. He has published numerous manuscripts on evaluating school and community health education programs using qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Clark has given several national presentations on the evaluation of health education programs delivered in various professional settings. He served as a consultant to the Indiana American Stop Smoking Intervention Study and was project director for Smokefree Indiana for 10 years as well as the project director for the Indiana State Department of Health's Hepatitis C Surveillance Project and project director for Marion County's Alliance for Health Promotion. Clark is the current president-elect for the American School Health Association, served as the National Secretary/Treasurer for Eta Sigma Gamma for the past eleven years, and is a board member for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance's Research Consortium. He is also a member of the Indiana Public Health Policy Center Advisory Board.
Fran Cleland received a bachelor's degree in physical education from Purdue University and spent several years teaching physical education at the K-12 level in Indiana, Virginia and Oregon. She went on to earn a master's degree and doctorate in physical education from IU. Cleland taught at the University of New Hampshire and East Stroudsburg University and is currently at West Chester University where she is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology. She also serves at assistant chair of the Health and Physical Education Teacher Certification Program.
Cleland has distinguished herself as an excellent academic and tireless champion of developmental physical education. Currently, she is serving as lead author on the fifth edition of Developmental Physical Education for All Children. This well-recognized textbook has been published in Japanese, Portuguese, Greek and Chinese. Cleland just completed a term as president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, one of the largest and most influential organizations within the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She lectures nationally and internationally and has become one of the nations' most recognized and respected pedagogical experts.
Tony Mobley received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown College in Kentucky and a master's degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He then attended IU where he received a master's degree in recreation in 1960 and an doctorate in recreation 1965. He joined the faculty and later became dean in 1976, a position he then held for 26 years before retiring. During this period the school more than doubled its enrollment, increased its research productivity and visibility, and expanded its influence in virtually all areas of its instructional, scholarly and public service missions.
Fundraising initiatives resulted in the establishment of eight endowed chairs and professorships, and the disbursement of more than $100,000 in student scholarships each year. International exchange agreements were forged with 17 universities around the globe. He has held leadership positions, including presidencies, of numerous national associations, including the National Recreation and Park Association, the Society of Park and Recreation Educators, the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the North American Society of Health, Physical Education, Sport and Dance Professionals. He led the effort to establish a national accreditation program for academic park and recreation departments that was recognized by the Council on Post-Secondary Accreditation. He also was instrumental in the establishment of the National Institute for Fitness and Sport, located in Indianapolis.
About the School of HPER
IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) encompasses a broad spectrum of academic interests and professional fields. The School of HPER offers nearly 50 undergraduate and advanced degree programs through its departments of Environmental Health, Applied Health Science, Kinesiology, and Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies. To further its health and wellness initiative, Campus Recreational Sports provides sport and fitness services for the IU community and the public. More information can be found at www.hper.indiana.edu.
