CEHD News Jonathan Sweet

CEHD News Jonathan Sweet

Boucher discussed equal pay on SiriusXM Business Radio

portrait image of Courtney Boucher
Courtney Boucher

Courtney Boucher, PhD, assistant director for research and programming at the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport in the School of Kinesiology, joined Randi Zuckerberg live on “Randi Zuckerberg Means Business” on SiriusXM Business Radio on SiriusXM132 to talk about the Women’s World Cup, equal pay, and women in sport leadership, and to highlight the Tucker Center’s work on behalf of girls and women in sport.

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The Advocate Channel features doctoral student Anna Goorevich on World Cup

Portrait of Anna Goorevich

Anna Goorevich, MSc, doctoral student (Dunja Antunovicc, PhD, advisor; Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, co-advisor) in the School of Kinesiology and research assistant in the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, was featured on The Advocate Channel video discussing the 2023 Women’s World Cup, media representations of women in sports, and the gender pay equity gap in sport.

Antunovic interviewed on representations of women’s sport in Serbia

Dunja Antunovic smiling

Dunja Antunovic, PhD, assistant professor of sport sociology in the School of Kinesiology, was interviewed for Suboticke.rs, an online media outlet based in Subotica, Serbia.

In the interview, Antunovic talked about media representations of women’s sport, opportunities for women in professional sport, and what to expect from the FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage in Europe. 

In addition, Antunovic talked about her path as an athlete from Subotica and her academic career in the United States. The full interview is available in Serbian on YouTube.

Goorevich presents at 2023 Society for Menstrual Cycle Research Conference

Portrait of Anna Goorevich

Anna Goorevich, MSc, doctoral student (Dunja Antunovicc, PhD, advisor; Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, co-advisor) in the School of Kinesiology and research assistant in the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, attended the 2023 Society for Menstrual Cycle Research Conference in Washington, DC, and presented their master’s thesis research entitled “‘They seem to only know about bleeding and cramps’: Understanding menstruation experiences in sport and the coach-athlete relationship.” Goorevich co-presented with Dr. Sarah Zipp (Mount St. Mary’s University).

Tucker Center research team publishes article on WNBA advocacy

A research paper conducted by scholars at the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport entitled  “‘To build a more just society’: WNBA teams’ uses of social media for advocacy” has recently been published in the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal (WSPAJ).

The paper examines how WNBA teams communicated about social issues during the 2021 season. The authors found that teams posted about women’s empowerment, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ rights in ways that take a stand. Social media posts reflected advocacy stances in teams’ community outreach initiatives, game-day promotions, and amplification of stakeholders’ voices (e.g., athletes). The posts ranged from recognitions of a historical event to calls for legislative action and/or political transformation.

The paper’s lead author is Dunja Antunovic, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and affiliated scholar in the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport; co-authors include Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, senior lecturer and director of the Tucker Center, Kim Soltis, former Tucker Center research assistant and incoming Master’s student in sport sociology, as well as external collaborators Ceyda Mumcu, PhD (University of New Haven), and Tucker Center external affiliated scholars, Katie Lebel, PhD (University of Guelph)Nancy Lough, PhD (UNLV), and Ann Pegoraro, PhD (University of Guelph).

The article is a part of a larger research project titled “Communicating for Justice and Equality: Women’s Sport and Corporate Social Advocacy,” which received a grant from The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University.

Dunja Antunovic smiling
Dunja Antunovic
Kim Soltis
Kim Soltis
Nicole M. LaVoi
Nicole M. LaVoi

Tucker Center director emerita Kane quoted in SELF.com article

Mary Jo Kane, PhD

Mary Jo Kane, PhD, School of Kinesiology professor emerita and director emerita and founder of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, is mentioned in a SELF Magazine piece, “Women in Sports Are Literally Changing the Game. This Book Takes a Look at How—And Why.” The article excerpts a portion of Macaela Mackenzie’s best-selling Money, Power, Respect: How Women in Sports Are Shaping the Future of Feminism, SELF’s July pick for their Well-Read Book Club. Kane’s comments are relative to the viral 2010 Sports Illustrated cover featuring Olympic great skier Lindsey Vonn.

Antunovic and students publish article on Olympic media in US and Australia

Dunja Antunovic smiling
Dunja Antunovic

Dunja Antunovic, PhD, assistant professor of sport sociology in the School of Kinesiology, and School of Kinesiology undergraduate students Meg Messer (Sport Management) and Sam Dreher (Kinesiology) published an article entitled “‘Time to award some medals’: A comparative analysis of Olympic coverage in the United States and Australia” in the International Journal of Sport Communication (IJSC). The article is a collaboration with Kelsey Slater, assistant professor of sport management at North Dakota State University. This is the first publication of Antunovic’s newly formed research group, Media Analysis Research in International Sport (MARIS). MARIS research projects focus on the relationship among sport, media, and society from international, global, and transnational perspectives. One of the primary purposes of the group is to engage undergraduates in research.

LaVoi gives keynote and workshop at 2023 North American Coach Development Summit

Nicole M. LaVoi
Nicole M. LaVoi

Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, will give a keynote and workshop at the 2023 North American Coach Development Summit sponsored by the United States Center for Coaching Excellence (USCCE) on June 14 in Birmingham, AL. In her keynote, LaVoi will discuss and outline a new, evidence-based and tested online tool for coaches of girls, Coaching HER.

Gender impacts every aspect of coaching, as well as every aspect of girls’ sport experiences. Coaching HER tackles the most central, yet unaddressed issue which negatively impacts girls’ performance, self-perceptions, sport choices and experiences: coaches’ unconscious gender biases and stereotypes. Coaching HER is designed to help get and keep girls in sport through critical drop out ages.

In her post-summit workshop, LaVoi and others will dispel false narratives with data, share data on the barriers and supports for women coaches evidence-based approaches for recruiting, hiring, and retaining women coaches, as well as strategies to help women feel safe, valued, and supported.

Kinesiology’s LaVoi on panel with Tucker Center Affiliated Scholars in Las Vegas

Nicole M. LaVoi
Nicole M. LaVoi

Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, participated in a plenary panel entitled “Professional Women’s Sport” at the 14th International Conference on Sport & Society in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 8, 2023. The panel also included Ceyda Mumcu, PhD (University of New Haven) and Nancy Lough, PhD (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), who discussed disruptions in women’s sport.

Antunovic gives plenary talk, PhD student workshop at conference

Dunja Antunovic smiling
Dunja Antunovic

Dunja Antunovic, PhD, assistant professor of sport sociology in the School of Kinesiology, gave a plenary talk at the European Association for Sociology of Sport Annual Conference in Budapest on May 31, 2023. The talk was entitled, ““What is still ‘new’ about social media? The importance of sociology of sport research on mediatization” and utilized data from various countries in North America and Europe to explore the theoretical and practical aspects of conducting research on social media in the field of sports.

In addition to the talk, Antunovic also held a workshop for doctoral students entitled “Preparing for the Academic Job Market” and moderated two sessions.

LaVoi and Tucker Center research associates publish

Nicole M. LaVoi
Nicole M. LaVoi
portrait image of Courtney Boucher
Courtney Boucher
Portrait of Anna Goorevich
Anna Goorevich
Hannah Silva-Breen portrait image
Hannah Silva-Breen

The Journal of Applied Sport Psychology recently published the research article, “Body confident coaching: a pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating the acceptability of a web-based body image intervention for coaches of adolescent girls.” The article is authored by Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, Tucker Center Assistant Director for Research & Programming Courtney Boucher, PhD, research assistant and School of Kinesiology doctoral student Anna Goorevich, and Tucker Center research associate alumna Hannah Silva-Breen, MA, along with several others.

This study aimed to evaluate a new web-based program called “Body Confident Coaching” (BCC) designed to help coaches address body image concerns among adolescent girls in sports. The program consisted of five 20-minute modules and was found to be easy to follow, useful, and enjoyable by coaches. Preliminary results showed that coaches who completed the program reported higher self-confidence in body image, lower levels of fat phobia, and less gender essentialist beliefs compared to coaches who did not participate in the program.

Savannah Gilmore, Administrative Student Intern

Portrait image of Savannah Gilmore in gray hoodie
Savannah Gilmore

Savannah Gilmore joined our administrative office team just under a month ago and will be holding down the front desk duties this summer. We had a chance to interview Savannah to let you know a little more about her…

What is your work background? What is your educational background?

I am currently a freshman with an intended major in kinesiology. I went to high school about ten minutes away (St. Anthony Village), which is when I worked as the supervisor of the Life Cafe at LifeTime Fitness for two years. Presently, I coach the Vibe Minneapolis club volleyball team as well as my position here.

What are the responsibilities of your current position?

The responsibilities for this job vary day by day. Some days I’m printing things out for TAs and professors, others I’m moving things around Cooke Hall. There are a lot of things that I haven’t had the chance to do here yet, so I’m excited to experience them.

What do you like best about working here?

I love the environment that the people who work here create. Everyone I have met has been extremely kind and welcoming towards me. I was expecting to feel some discomfort or uneasiness starting this job, but once I was introduced and got a chance to talk to everyone I knew that there was nothing for me to be nervous about. I now know that I can approach just about anyone in Cooke Hall with a question and they would be more than happy to help me out. I also enjoy the flexibility that this position offers, like being able to work on my homework after I have finished everything I need to do for the job.

What are you looking forward to learning in your position?

I hope to learn how to better communicate with the faculty here as well as with whomever might come visit the building. I am mostly excited to get to know more people and get more experience under my belt in a more professional environment.

Tell us about you!

I have always been super active and have played just about every sport. Volleyball, basketball, track & field, cross country, soccer, tennis, golf, dance, and swimming, you name it. My favorite by far, though, was volleyball and I played both school and club volleyball throughout high school. I now coach volleyball at the same club that I played at, so it’s cool to experience the game from a new angle. I also love to travel and have been all around Europe, including Barcelona, Amsterdam, Edinborough, and the Scottish Highlands. I have one brother, Greyson, a dog named Pablo, and my cat named Misty. My favorite color is blue, and I love bubble tea!

Do you have a special talent or interest that might surprise someone?

I can do a backflip! I am also interested in sports cars and the history of ancient Egypt.

Any final words of wisdom?

Instead of looking at a negative experience in a bad light, I like to take something from it. Thinking about everything as being bad and something that you screwed up can really start to weigh on you. Try to learn something about yourself or the world when something negative is happening so that you’re better prepared for it next time.

LaVoi keynotes Barcelona conference on women’s sport

Nicole M. LaVoi
Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD

Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, gave a keynote address, “Women in Sport Coaching,” at the Congress Equality on the Move conference on April 28 in Barcelona. The Congress Equality on the Move is “a platform for the transfer of knowledge, interaction and learning in order to promote women’s sport in Catalonia, organized by the General Secretariat of Sport and Physical Activity through the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC), and with the coordination of the Presidency and Equality and Feminism departments of the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya).”

Antunovic’s book “Serving Equality” reviewed in the Nordic Sport Science Forum

Dunja Antunovic smiling
Dunja Antunovic, PhD

In an online book review, titled “Women’s sports in the media: From ‘sex sells’ to ‘feminism sells’,” the Nordic Sport Science Forum has reviewed Dr. Dunja Antunovic and Dr. Cheryl Cooky‘s (Purdue) groundbreaking book, “Serving equality: Feminism, media and women’s sport,” published by the Peter Lang Group in the fall of 2022. Antunovic is an assistant professor of sport sociology in the School of Kinesiology, and an affiliated scholar in the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport.

The reviewer discusses the authors’ argument that traditional ways of analyzing media coverage of men’s sports result in missed opportunities to examine how feminism shapes women’s sport media narratives. It is noted that the authors seek to explore where feminism occurs in media spaces and they call for new methodological and theoretical approaches that do not just focus on inequalities in sports media but also look for where feminism occurs in these spaces. Using case studies, the book explores the articulations of feminism in sports media, sports broadcasting, coverage of the Olympic Games, athlete activism, promotional culture, women’s sports films, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s sports. Antunovic and Cooky explore how academic narratives shape how the media discuss issues and inequalities and challenge readers to view the topic differently. Finally, the book seeks to tell stories differently and provide a more critical feminist narrative that investigates persisting gender inequality.

Quotes from the review include:

The book achieves its goal of ‘telling stories differently’ and provides a comprehensive review of the literature in the field.

It challenges us all to think differently about how we approach analysing media narratives of women’s sports and being more critical in our approaches.

Dunja Antunovic smiling
Dunja Antunovic, PhD
Dr. Cheryl Cooky
Cheryl Cooky, PhD
Serving equality book cover showing shadow of woman serving in tennis game
“Serving Equality”

See also previous post on this publication: “Antunovic’s book featured at annual North American Society for the Sociology of Sport conference

Kinesiology’s Antunovic quoted on rise of interest in women’s sports

Dunja Antunovic smiling
Dunja Antunovic, PhD

Dunja Antunovic, PhD, assistant professor of sport sociology in the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in a Twin Cities Business piece titled “Women’s Sports Sponsorships on the Rise.” A local affiliated scholar with the U of M’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, Antunovic correlates the increase in sponsorships noted by several examples in the article to an overall increase of interest in women’s sport.

Kinesiology Grad Seminars: “Exercise & Experiments of Nature” with Dr. Michael Joyner

Dr. Michael Joyner

Dr. Michael Joyner
“Exercise & Experiments of Nature”

April 28, 2023 (Friday), 1:30pm – 2:30pm
This is an in-person only event.
Location
: University Recreation and Wellness Center, Multipurpose 6
Host: Dr. Don Dengel

Dr. Michael Joyner has broad-based interests related to integrative physiology in humans, and he also practices clinical medicine as an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic. His specific areas of expertise include autonomic control of circulation, muscle, and skin blood flow, as well as exercise, oxygen transport, and metabolic regulation in humans. Joyner’s work has been continuously funded by the NIH since the early 1990s. During the COVID-19 pandemic he repurposed his lab and led the U.S. Expanded Access Program for Convalescent Plasma and has an emerging interest in passive immunity and antibody therapy for infectious diseases. In addition to his funded work, Dr. Joyner also has significant expertise in the physiology of human performance, including the original work that led to the sub-2-hour marathon.

Kinesiology Grad Seminars: “Women’s World Cup Fandom” with Dr. Rachel Allison

Dr. Rachel Allison

Dr. Rachel Allison
“Women’s World Cup Fandom: Identities, Expressions, and the Pursuit of Gender Equality”

April 17, 2023 (Monday), 1:00pm – 2:00pm
This is a remote-only event.
Zoom link
: https://umn.zoom.us/j/92509778808?pwd=TldPYXlSTmlIWGFWZUVpWXpTbXFIdz09
Meeting ID: 925 0977 8808 | Passcode: vM9DA5
Host: Dr. Dunja Antunovic

Dr. Rachel Allison joined the faculty at Mississippi State University in 2014 after receiving her PhD from the Department of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a scholar of gender and sport, and has focused primarily on the selling and marketing of women’s professional sport in the United States. She is the author of Kicking Center: Gender and the Selling of Women’s Professional Soccer, published in 2018 with Rutgers University Press. More recently, she received a FIFA Research Scholarship to study the perspectives and experiences of fans attending the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

KARE-11 interviews LaVoi on popularity of women’s college basketball

Nicole M. LaVoi
Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD

Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, was interviewed for a KARE-11 piece, “Women’s college basketball sees higher TV ratings than NBA; women’s sports leaders aren’t surprised.” The video segment features LaVoi commenting on the huge increase in viewership of women’s college basketball. With 2.5 million watching last Sunday’s Iowa vs Louisville game, LaVoi notes that the increase is due to the athletes themselves taking a more active role in marketing the game, the Big Ten Conference investing in women’s basketball, and fans realizing that women’s sports are exciting.

LaVoi co-author on most downloaded paper

Nicole M. LaVoi
Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD

A paper co-authored by Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, has been cited as among the most downloaded papers published in the journal Gender, Work & Organization. “Elite women coaches negotiating and resisting power in football,” a paper exploring 10 elite women coaches of NFL teams, is co-authored with Annelies Knoppers (Michigan State), Donna de Haan (The Diversity Doctor), and Leanne Norman (Leeds Beckett University).

Kinesiology Grad Seminars: “Graduate Student Mental Health” with Dr. Lisa Kaler

The School of Kinesiology Graduate Studies Office proudly its 2023 Spring Graduate Seminars lecture series.

Dr. Lisa Kaler

Dr. Lisa Kaler
“Graduate Student Mental Health: Collective Action in the School of Kinesiology”

March 29, 2023 (Wednesday), 3:00pm – 4:00pm
This is an in-person only event.
Location
: University Recreation and Wellness Center, Multipurpose 6
Host: Dr. Sarah Greising

Lisa S Kaler, PhD, is an expert in student mental health and wellbeing. Dr. Kaler integrates her background in student affairs, academic success, and critical research paradigms to advocate for systemic and sustainable support for positive graduate student mental health. She is an expert on undergraduate and graduate student mental health, courses related stress, and suicide in higher education. Dr. Kaler currently lectures in the College of Education and Human Development’s Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD) and the Leadership Minor here at the University of Minnesota. Kaler earned her PhD in Higher Education from OLPD in 2021.