When accounting for the number of faculty members in a department, the University of Minnesota School of Kinesiology doctoral program is ranked #10 by the National Academy of Kinesiology (NAK). From the period of 2020-2022, NAK evaluated 35 kinesiology doctoral programs based on data on faculty and students, previous doctoral program evaluation, NAK fellows, and research on doctoral education. Congratulations to the faculty, staff, and students for the School’s continued excellence in graduate education!
Victoria Johnson, PhD student, receives APA Division 15 Student Poster Award
Victoria Johnson, a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Psychology’s psychological foundations of education program, has been awarded the APA Division 15‘s Student Poster Award for her poster on Perceptions of Scientists: The Influence of Trust and Expertise on Source Credibility.
Johnson, whose advisor is Panayiota Kendeou, submitted a poster about the influence of trustworthiness and expertise on source credibility judgments about health and climate scientists at the 2023 APA conference and was one of two Student Poster Award winners.
Congratulations, Victoria!
Dengel to offer spring course on impact of 2028 Olympics on LA
Don Dengel, PhD, exercise physiology professor in the School of Kinesiology, will offer a first-of-its-kind course in spring 2022 exploring how the 2028 Olympics stand to impact the nation’s second-largest city. KIN 4028: The Impact of the Olympic Games on Los Angeles will engage students in discussion and analysis of the history of Los Angeles and the Olympics (Los Angeles joins London, England and Paris, France as the only cities to host the summer Olympics three times), whether the 2028 Olympics will be as successful as the previous two summer Olympics the city has hosted, potential impact of the Olympics on Los Angeles and the U.S., and other questions. Part of the course includes travel to Los Angeles to visit the site of the 2028 Olympics.
Researchers, McDonough and Liu, receive positions at top Universities
Daniel McDonough 
Wenxi Liu
The School of Kinesiology’s Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory (PAEL) researchers, Daniel J. McDonough, PhD, and Wenxi Liu, PhD, recently secured positions at top research universities. McDonough landed a NIH T-32 post-doc position in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Meanwhile, Liu will be an assistant professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University in Shanghai, a top-notch research university (ranked number 4) in China.
Both researchers defended their dissertations and received their doctoral degrees in the summer of 2021 under the mentorship of the lab director, Zan Gao, PhD.
Masten receives award for distinguished leadership from APA Committee on Socioeconomic Status
Ann Masten, PhD, a Regents Professor and Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development in the Institute of Child Development, received the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2019 Committee on Socioeconomic Status (CSES) Award for Distinguished Leadership.
CSES Leadership Awards honor psychologists, students of psychology, and organizations that have made significant advancements in the field to understand socioeconomic status (SES) and its impact. Recipients are recognized for:
- promoting scientific understanding of the impact of poverty and SES on health, education, and human welfare;
- developing applications that address the effects of SES on psychological development and well-being; and
- advocating for policies that reduce disparities among SES groups.
Recipients receiving the Distinguished Leaders Award have more than 15 years of achievement beyond their terminating degree and a long-standing influence on SES-related issues.
Konczak and colleagues are breaking new ground with Neurorobotics Research Consortium
A multidisciplinary consortium at the U of M is doing groundbreaking work in the emerging field of neurorobotics.
Kinesiology professor Jürgen Konczak, PhD, director of the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory, is one of three leaders of the Neurorobotics Research Consortium. Each has a distinct but compatible view of the application of robotics to neuroscience, and they gather regularly to discuss advancements in the new field and identify projects to work on. One of their goals is to make the U of M a leading epicenter for research and development in the field.
The group’s founder, Andrew Grande, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, is also involved in the Brain Aneurysm Research Consortium at the U of M. The other member is Tim Kowalewski, PhD, assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering.
Potential projects range from exploring the use of robots that assist with neurosurgery to using robotic devices for neurological rehabilitation. The Consortium has the potential to bring together academics whose paths normally would never intersect.
The Consortium recently invited Jeff Krichnar, PhD, professor of Cognitive Sciences at University of California-Irvine, to speak. He heads the Cognitive Anteater Robotics Laboratory at UCI. “I like to get opportunities to talk about what we do and learn about what others are doing,” he said. “Seeing the integration of the medical school with engineering on campus was wonderful.”
Read more about the Consortium here.
In search of the ‘good life’ on spring break
While many college students flocked to southern destinations on spring break in March, a class of 18 in OLPD 5080, Examining the Good Life in Denmark, took their search for the good life to Copenhagen.
Denmark is consistently ranked among the top countries for quality of life, well-being, and happiness, but the class also explored contentious current issues including immigration trends, taxation models, and media coverage of political tensions affecting the country. It built on eight weeks of reading and exploration prior to the journey using a multidisciplinary lens to ask questions, such as What exactly is the good life? Who has access to it and who does not? How do Danish children perform in school compared to other children? What are the guiding philosophies of the education system?
With play and creativity as central components, the itinerary included a day trip from Copenhagen to the International School of Billund, referred to as LEGO School since its funding comes from the LEGO Foundation. Opened in 2013, the school enrolls approximately 400 students today, including kindergarten, primary, and middle schools. One of the school’s primary goals is to demonstrate the power of playful learning. It has managed to become extremely popular among children and their parents in the local Billund, Denmark, region and also among other teachers, policy-makers, educators, and scientists who are interested in exploring how play, learning, and education integrate in new creative strategies to improve children’s skills. The OLPD class had the opportunity to visit the Lego House, too, where they got to play and have fun themselves before coming home to finish their projects.
Using qualitative research strategies, students learned how to act as social scientists and completed projects on a range of topics such as urban design, transportation, and education.
The class is taught by Mike Stebleton, an associate professor of higher education in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development.
Kinesiology Ph.D. student publishes article in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Michelle Harbin, Ph.D. student in the School of Kinesiology and member of the Laboratory of Integrative 
Human Physiology (LIHP), is the lead author of an article published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “Validation of a three-dimensional body scanner for body composition measures” highlights the inaccuracy of infrared 3D body scanners in determining total body fat among males and females. Co-authors of the article include Donald R. Dengel, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of LIHP, along with Alex Kasak, current Ph.D. student, and Joe Ostrem, Ph.D. graduate of the School of Kinesiology.
Kane speaks with MPR News on gender pay equity in pro sports
Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology, was interviewed on “MPR News” about why female 
athletes continue to earn less than male athletes in professional sports. The discussion took place with Gigi Marvin, U.S. Women’s National hockey team player, and Kerri Miller, MPR host, on August, 15th, 2018. Listen to the full audio here.
Weiss’ Girls on the Run study shows program builds girls’ confidence
The West Milford Messenger—“Team hopes to build preteen girls’ esteem through running 
program“—describes Girls on the Run, an after-school physical activity program developed by Maureen Weiss, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology. Dr. Weiss’ program aims to increase confidence, camaraderie and build life skills among young girls. The full report is available at this link.
Pioneer Press quotes Kane re success of girls’ sports participation in Minnesota
Mary Jo Kane, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and Director of the Tucker Center, was 
quoted in a Pioneer Press article, “Minnesota vaults to No. 1 in girls sports participation,” about Minnesota’s success in girls’ sports. According to the study by the National Federation of State High School Association, Minnesota has the highest rates of girls’ participating in high school sports in the nation. “This absolutely is a victory for Title IX,” Kane said. Experts attribute rates of success to positive role models—such as the Minnesota Lynx—a diverse range of sports, and encouragement by coaches and teammates.
Stoffregen speaks at Winona State University re transforming communities through Perception-Action Principles
Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., Kinesiology professor, was invited to speak to inter-professional Blandin Leadership Program participants, as well as Winona State University (WSU) faculty and staff on August 7, 2018, at 
WSU.
The title of Dr. Stoffregen’s presentation was “Affordance Learning in Dynamic Settings” and regarded applying perception-action and self-organization principles to transform communities and build resilience personally and institutionally.
Supporting good financial decision-making
Joyce Serido, associate professor of Family Social Science, discussed her scholarship on financial behaviors of young people in the spring/summer issue of Connect, the magazine of the College of Education and Human Development. Read the full story on the Connect website.
Gunnar elected to membership in the National Academy of Education
Megan Gunnar, Ph.D., director of the Institute of Child Development, has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Education (NAEd).
The NAEd aims to advance high-quality education research and its use in policy and practice. The academy consists of 209 U.S. members and 11 foreign associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship related to education. Gunnar was one of 14 new members elected to membership this year.
As an NAEd member, Gunnar will play a role in NAEd’s professional development programs and serve on expert study panels that address pressing issues in education.
Gunnar will be inducted during a ceremony for new members at the 2017 NAEd Annual Meeting in November.
Family Social Science launches new M.A. in prevention science
Family Social Science (FSOS) has launched a new master’s degree program in prevention science that will help prepare family science practitioners to prevent or moderate major human dysfunctions before they occur.
The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Prevention Science will equip students to confront many of the daunting challenges facing today’s families and communities, including trauma and drug addiction. The M.A. in Prevention Science will also help students develop strategies to promote the health and well-being of families.
Core coursework for the M.A. in Prevention Science gives students a solid foundation in statistics and research methodology, family conceptual frameworks, and ethics. Students can choose the Plan A which includes a thesis, or the Plan B which includes a project and a paper.
The M.A. in Prevention Science is intended for individuals who would like to build a career that supports families and works to redirect maladaptive behaviors.
The program is currently accepting applications for Fall 2017. The application deadline is March 1, 2017.
Students spend winter break in Jamaica, Singapore, and Kenya
Students earned credit over winter break for learning experiences in three locations far from the snow.
In Jamaica, ten students studied colonization, slavery, black identity, and education. They heard lectures by local faculty and served at Blessed Assurance, a home for severely disabled youth, and Alpha Boys School, a vocational and life-skills school for young black men. They also got to celebrate an indigenous people’s emancipation day in the historical Maroon village of Accompong. The course was led by Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD) associate professors Muhammad Khalifa and Na’im Madyun.
In Singapore, nine students learned about cultural intelligence with OLPD professor Michael Goh. To experience the rich diversity of Goh’s former home, they interacted with vendors in local markets, visited places of worship, met with eighth-graders at a first-day-of-school assembly, conversed with Singapore’s “invisible” population of migrant construction workers, and observed the consequences of an oil spill on a marine nature preserve. They were also able to visit a youth-led environmental club in nearby Malaysia.
In Kenya, ten undergraduates and assistant professor of kinesiology Daheia Barr-Anderson attended a global seminar focusing on girls’ empowerment in sports and athletics. They enjoyed homestays and traveled to urban and rural locations to learn how physical activity impacts Kenyan youth, especially girls. In Nairobi, they spent time with organizations that teach sports and life skills to youth in need. In the city of Iten—home to many high-altitude training camps—they heard the personal stories of athletes and participated in a training session with an Olympian.
Returning home, Barr-Anderson’s students collected donations to support one of the Kenyan organizations they visited. The response was overwhelming—465 items, from youth cleats to sports bras, that filled 18 boxes, enough to distribute to three more organizations!
“Well done, students!” said Barr-Anderson. “Our lives were made better because of the hospitality and courtesy the Kenyan people showed us.”
Read more about students’ experiences in Kenya on their travel blog.
FSOS Ph.D. student awarded grant
FSOS Ph.D. student Renada Goldberg was recently awarded a grant from the Minneapolis Foundation. Renada will work with the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy to conduct a community-based participatory research project in partnership with African American parents, caregivers, and leaders of nonprofits to study and ultimately help shape state and municipal public policies such as the new paid leave policy in Minneapolis.
FSOS profs offer post-election commentary
FSOS professors Abi Gewirtz and Bill Doherty offered post-election thoughts in local and national media outlets, respectively.
Local NBC affiliate, KARE 11 featured Abi Gewirtz and her thoughts on talking to kids regarding the current mood in the country.
The Wall Street Journal featured Bill Doherty and his thoughts on moving forward in familial relationships when parties disagree on the outcome of the election. Independent.co.uk also featured Doherty’s thoughts.
See Gewirtz on KARE 11 here. Learn more about her and her research interests here.
Read Doherty’s comments in WSJ here. Read his comments in Independent here. Learn more about him and his research interests here.
Solheim, Wieling, and Ballard publish new textbook
Department of Family Social Science faculty members Cathy Solheim and Liz Wieling, along with FSOS Ph.D. student Jaime Ballard, recently published a breakthrough textbook titled, Immigrant and Refugee Families: Global Perspectives on Displacement and Resettlement Experiences.
While they were preparing to teach “Global Perspectives on Immigrant and Refugee Families,” Solheim and Wieling noticed that while there was a wealth of information regarding the immigrant experiences of individuals, very few textbooks focused on immigration experiences as it pertained to the family as a whole.
With the help of Ballard, Solheim and Wieling created a text that discusses current theoretical frameworks and synthesizes current research specific to immigrant and refugee families.
Read the textbook, which is available for free through University of Minnesota Libraries.
Learn more about Solheim, Wieling, and Ballard on their respective profile pages.
Boss: “No such thing as ‘closure’ in relationships”
In an interview with NPR, Department of Family Social Science professor emeritus Pauline Boss said there is no such thing as “closure” when relationships end.
This month NPR featured Boss in a segment of On Being with Krista Tippett titled “The Myth of Closure.”
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Boss placed emphasis on the importance of remembering loved ones, and that actively trying to “get over” a death or failed relationship often prevents people from being able to do just that.
Boss also praised CNN anchor Anderson Cooper for putting “closure” in its proper place in the media when interviewing survivors and family members after tragedy.
“I know from his own biography that he knows what loss is, and he understands that there is no closure. He’s the only reporter I’ve ever heard explain that in the line of his work, and I think the rest of us have to do a better job of it, too.”
Boss coined the term “ambiguous loss” for her pioneering research on what people feel when a loved one disappears. However, she says, “We have to live with loss, whether clear or ambiguous, and it’s okay.”
Listen to “The Myth of Closure” on NPR here.
Read the Orlando Sentinel article here.
Learn more about Pauline Boss and her research interests here.