Dr. Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, commented in a Newsday piece, “Isn’t it time we stopped using the word ‘girl’ in a derogatory manner?,” on the firing of the PGA of America’s now-former President Ted Bishop who called a golfer a “lil girl” on Twitter and Facebook.
MNDaily article on Tucker Center features Kane and LaVoi
In a MNDaily article, “Tucker Center still producing valuable research,” the Tucker Center‘s director, Dr. Mary Jo Kane, and associate director, Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi, both faculty in the School of Kinesiology, are interviewed commenting on the inception of the center, its operations, and 20 years of cutting-edge research.
Wiese-Bjornstal guest speaker at St. Olaf College
Diane Wiese-Bjornstal, Ph.D., associate professor of kinesiology and director of the Sports Medicine Psychology Lab, spoke with the Psychology Club at St. Olaf College on Thursday, October 23 about the field of sport and exercise psychology and career and educational opportunities within the field.
RPLS undergraduate Vlaenderen featured on CEHD home page
Senior recreation, park and leisure studies undergraduate, Max Van Vlaenderen, is the featured CEHD student for October. Vlaenderen credits his passion and calling to work outdoors to the close-knit community and family he’s become apart of while in the major. Click here to read more of Vlaenderen’s interview.
LaVoi invited to contribute to New York Times’ “Room for Debate”
Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi, faculty in the School of Kinesiology and associate director of the Tucker Center, has been invited to contribute to the New York Times “Room for Debate” opinion collection, “Who Needs Football?” LaVoi’s contribution, “Now Women Are Seeing Benefits,” addresses and emphasizes the benefits of sport participation.
Tucker Center Distinguished Lecture panelist Goetz on MPR’s “The Daily Circuit,” 10:00am today, Oct 21
Tucker Center Distinguished Lecture panelist Beth Goetz, U of M Intercollegiate Athletics’ Associate Department Director and Senior Women’s Administrator, will be interviewed along with Josh Levin, Slate Magazine’s sport podcast host, at 10:00am on October 21 on “The Daily Circuit,” Minnesota Public Radio’s (MPR) live weekday news talk show with host, Kerri Miller. They will talk about the proposition of paying college athletes to play. Tuesday, October 21 evening at 7:00pm, Goetz will appear with fellow panelists Penn State Athletics Director Sandy Barbour and Erin Buzuvis at the Tucker Center’s Fall 2014 Distinguished Lecture, “Brave new world: The impact of “reform” on big time college athletics,” in Cowles Auditorium at the Hubert H. Humphrey Center on the Twin Cities West Bank Campus.
Tucker Center broadcast on concussion and female athletes tomorrow
The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport is proud to announce several new tptMN public television airings of its groundbreaking video, “Concussions and Female Athletes,” all on Friday, October 17:
- 2:00 am
- 8:00 am
- 2:00 pm
- 8:00 pm
For more information on upcoming broadcasts, click here. And to view the entire program online now, click here.
Critical issues-and unanswered questions-surrounding the impact of concussion on female athletes have been largely ignored. Are females as or even more susceptible to concussion than males? Are female athletes less likely to report a concussion when compared to their male counterparts? Through the personal stories and experiences of coaches, athletes and their families, as well as in-depth interviews with nationally recognized scholars and medical experts, this documentary examines the causes underlying concussion and offers practical solutions to help prevent and treat sports-related concussion injuries in female athletes.
Dr. Beth Lewis announces “Healthy Mom II” postpartum study
How Can a Motivational Exercise or Wellness Program Effect Postpartum Depression? October is National Depression Awareness Month and there’s a need to increase awareness for postpartum depression: Approximately 15% of new mothers experience depression and an even larger percentage report anxiety and/or depressive symptoms. Dr. Beth Lewis, an associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, a licensed psychologist, and an affiliated scholar of The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, is starting a second study examining the effect of exercise and wellness on mood following childbirth. The Healthy Mom II study is seeking women who are currently pregnant or are less than six weeks postpartum. Participants receive a motivational exercise program or a telephone-based health and wellness program beginning after the birth of their baby. (Participants must not take an antidepressant, but must have a history of depression. Participants receive $100 for their time. For more information call 612.625-9753, text 612.345-0325, or email mompro@umn.edu.) In the original study, only 8% of participants receiving the interventions developed postpartum depression, significantly less than what was anticipated. Dr. Lewis states that, “Prevention is preferable to treatment because once postpartum depression has been diagnosed, the mother has already experienced the negative consequences of postpartum depression such as a lack of infant bonding and an increased risk of depression in the future.” Press release: Healthy Mom II Press Release, October 16, 2014
Konczak invited to join ICORR 2015 international scientific committee
Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory (HSC), has been invited to join the scientific committee of the 2015 International Conference of Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR) in Singapore. ICORR is a biannual international conference on theoretical and experimental issues in the fields of rehabilitation robotics and neuroscience applied to healthcare. The conference, hosted by Nanyang Technological University, will be held in Singapore 11–14 August 2015.
Washington Post quotes LaVoi on flap over Dick’s Sport Goods’ catalog
Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi, faculty in the School of Kinesiology and associate director of the Tucker Center, is quoted in an article, “A 12-year-old complained about there being no girls in her sports catalogue. The problem was even worse,” about the paucity of images of female athletes in the media. Tucker Center affiliated scholar Dr. Janet Fink (U Mass Amherst) is also quoted.
Dengel published in the Journal of Pediatrics
Donald Dengel, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP), is a co-author on an article published in the Journal of Pediatrics. The article, entitled, “ Cardiac Autonomic Dysfunction and Arterial Stiffness among Children and Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Treated with Stimulants,” compares heart rate variability and arterial stiffness in children with ADHD who are treated with stimulants. Lead author of this article is Dr. Aaron Kelly, a graduate of the School of Kinesiology (Ph.D., ’04).
Barr-Anderson and colleagues slated to publish in Journal of Adolescent and Family Health
Dr. Daheia Barr-Anderson, PhD, MSPH, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology, and her colleagues recently had a manuscript, “Culturally-appropriate, 9-month pilot, obesity intervention for African-American middle school girls and their mothers: a feasibility study,” accepted for publication in the Journal of Adolescent and Family Health. The manuscript describes the feasibility of a physical activity, healthy eating, and social support intervention for African-American girls and their mothers.
Citation: Barr-Anderson DJ, Adams-Wynn AW, Alhassan S, Whitt-Glover MC. (in press). Culturally-appropriate, 9-month pilot, obesity intervention for African-American middle school girls and their mothers: a feasibility study. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health. Accepted for publication in October 2014.
Gao co-authors paper in BMC Public Health
Dr. Zan Gao, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL), has published a co-authored article, “The contributing role of physical education in youth’s daily physical activity and sedentary behavior,” in BMC Public Health. This study examined the contributing role of physical education in daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time among youth. Findings suggested that physical education displayed a positive contribution to increasing daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and decreasing daily sedentary time among youth. Active participation in physical education classes increases the chance to be more active and less sedentary beyond physical education among youth. Citation: Chen, S., Kim, Y., & Gao, Z. (2014). The effects of physical education on youth’s daily physical activity and sedentary behavior. BMC Public Health, 14, 110. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-110
Konczak participates in review of the University of Alberta
Jürgen Konczak, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory (HSC), has been appointed by the President of the University of Alberta in Edmonton to participate in a president’s visiting committee. The charge of this committee is to review and mentor the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation over the next four years (a faculty is similar to a college in the U.S.). This week, the committee, consisting of international academics, business leaders and members of the U of A Board of Governors, spent two days in Edmonton on a “fact finding mission.”
LaVoi panelist in Project Play national dialogue, “What Do Mothers Want from Youth Sports?”
Tucker Center associate director and School of Kinesiology faculty member Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi is one of a national panel of experts at the espnW: Women + Sports Summit co-hosted Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program on “What Do Mothers Want from Youth Sports?” held on October 10 in Dana Point, CA. The goal of the panel conversation is to “define and elevate the voices of mothers and girls in the conversation around quality youth sports.” LaVoi’s 2009 Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal article, “Occupational Sex Segregation in a Youth Soccer Organization: Females in Positions of Power” is being used as background material for the panelists.
Tucker Center research cited in Columbia Chronicle article on CBS Sports’ all-women’s sports show
A Columbia Chronicle article, “CBS Sports to air first-ever all-women’s sports talk show,” has cited research findings in the Tucker Center’s 2014 Emmy award-winning documentary, “Media Coverage and Female Athletes.” The talk show, CBS Sports’ “We Need To Talk,” debuts Tuesday, September 30 on CBS Sports Network in Primetime at 10:00 PM, ET.
Van Iterson is awarded AHA travel grant
Erik Van Iterson, a doctoral candidate in assistant professor Eric Snyder’s Clinical Exercise Physiology Laboratory, was awarded an American Heart Association (AHC) travel grant. This grant is only awarded to 12 accepted presenters for the annual AHA scientific sessions that will take place this year in Chicago, IL.
Kane in MPR radio panel on issues in NFL
MPR’s The Daily Circuit radio program featured Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, in a panel discussion of community leaders on sports issues such as concussions, corporal punishment, and domestic assault. Listen to the show: “How will NFL emerge from latest turmoil?“
Kane on NFL violence in AP Sports piece
An AP Sports.com article, “Female fans stand by NFL, if uncomfortably,” features Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, on the recent violence in the NFL.
Emmy Award goes to Tucker Center for “Media Coverage” documentary
At a gala awards ceremony on Saturday, September 13, the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport was presented with a 2014 Upper Midwest Emmy Award in the Sports Documentary category for its video “Media Coverage and Female Athletes,” an evidence-based research project co-produced with tptMN. The film is a groundbreaking documentary that uses research-based information to examine the amount and type of coverage given to female athletes.
Expert scholars and award-winning coaches and athletes discuss this timely issue from a variety of perspectives, as they help dispel the common—but untrue—myths that no one is interested in women’s sport and that “sex sells” women’s sport. The film can be viewed in its entirety here.