| NEWSLETTER Volume 26, No. 1, Autumn/Winter 2004-05 Table of Contents |
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President's MessageT. Gilmour Reeve, |
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The 2004 Academy meeting in Chicago was excellent. The conference theme "Movement and mobility: Essentials for daily living" was timely and informative. Dick Magill, in his role as our Past-President, is congratulated for organizing a stimulating conference. The presenters are thanked for their contributions to the quality of the meeting. The Academy Papers resulting from these presentations will make a significant addition to the literature.
Jim Morrow is now planning our 75th anniversary meeting. The conference will address our history and our future as an organization. The conference theme "Pass it on" captures the linkage between our past and our future. Each Fellow of the Academy is encouraged to attend the conference and to be part of our commitment to pass on our rich heritage to our future colleagues. Additional information regarding the meeting is included in this newsletter.
Congratulations to Robert N. Singer who received the Hetherington Award at our recent conference. Bob has had an outstanding career and joins the distinguished list of Hetherington Award winners. Fellows are encouraged to nominate individuals for the Hetherington Award. Please send nominations to Allen Jackson at the University of North Texas (jacksona@coe.unt.edu).
Nominations are also sought for President-elect and Member-at-Large. Jane Clark, as the current President-elect, is chairing the Standing Committee on the Nomination and Election of Officers. Please send the names of Academy Fellows to Jane (jeclark@umd.edu) for consideration for nomination to these positions.
Perhaps our most important ongoing activity is the nomination of individuals for induction as new Fellows in the Academy. One purpose of the Academy is "to honor by election to its membership persons who have directly or indirectly contributed significantly to the study of and/or application of the art and science of human movement and physical activity." Please nominate our outstanding colleagues to membership in the Academy. Penny McCullagh (pennymc@csuhayward.edu) is chairing the Standing Committee on Membership.
In addition to these ongoing activities of the Academy, we are engaged in two special projects of significant importance. Since 1996, the Academy has worked to promote a national evaluation of doctoral programs in Kinesiology. This effort has resulted in a two-pronged approach. One approach is to achieve recognition as an academic discipline that would be included in the National Research Council's evaluation of doctoral programs. After several, often frustrating, years, we may finally get an opportunity to make our case for inclusion in the NRC's evaluation. Jim Morrow is serving as our liaison with the NRC, coordinating our presentation to their national board.
The other approach has been to develop and conduct our own evaluation of doctoral programs. We have now completed a pilot study, a national invitational preliminary study in which 26 doctoral programs participated, and are moving ahead with a comprehensive national evaluation. Jerry Thomas is chairing the Academy's doctoral program evaluation committee. The recent issue of Quest (see Thomas, Morrow, & Stevermer, Quest, 56, 361- 376, 2004) includes an article on the role of the Academy in the evaluation of doctoral programs. We believe that both of these approaches are important. The Academy's evaluation will be conducted this year, whereas the NRC's evaluation would not occur for several years. Even if Kinesiology ultimately is included in the NRC evaluation, the Academy's evaluation still will serve an important purpose in advancing the preparation of our graduate students and the national recognition of our discipline.
The other special project relates to recent attempts to develop program accreditation in exercise science and exercise physiology. These attempts were discussed during the business meeting at the Academy meeting in Chicago. The issues surrounding the accreditation of programs in exercise science and exercise physiology are whether academic disciplines such as exercise science should be accredited in the same manner as professional programs and whether the standards for program accreditation that have been established truly represent the field of exercise science. I have appointed a Presidential Committee on the Accreditation of Programs to present our concerns in discussions with the American College of Sports Medicine regarding these issues. Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko is chairing the committee and the other members are Jane Clark, Phil Martin, Roberta Rikli, and Jack Wilmore.
I want to thank the members of these committees and all other standing committees of the Academy. Without the active involvement of our members, the important work of the Academy will not be achieved. I want to encourage each member of the Academy to actively participate in the work of the Academy. Please contact me (Gilmour.Reeve@ttu.edu) if you have comments or suggestions regarding the work of the Academy. I look forward to seeing each of you at our 75th anniversary conference.
Contact AAKPE c/o Human Kinetics: P.O. Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-2200, U.S.A., phone (800) 747-4457 or (217) 351-5076, fax (217) 351-2674, or email: humank@hkusa.com
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