Moving Up

Georgia Southern’s Department of Kinesiology has been elevated to the status of School. The move represents the dramatic increase in the number of undergraduates and faculty interested in the academic unit and its focus on the interdisciplinary study of athletics training, coaching, exercise science, nutrition and food science, pedagogy, physical activity/healthful living and sport psychology.

Professor of Exercise Science Jim McMillan, the School’s interim chair, says the change also indicates that the School has become more competitive with other regional kinesiology programs. “Our School has experienced much growth over the last several years,” said McMillan. “We now have 46 faculty and four staff, and employ more than 50 graduate students and have more than 1,500 majors.”

Although students are unlikely to notice any differences due to the name change, McMillan says the improved status will give faculty and staff more flexibility in organizing the program’s content areas.

Effective July 1, 2014, the elevation of the School of Health and Kinesiology means the College of Health and Human Sciences now houses three units, which also includes the School of Nursing and the School of Human Ecology.