At Your Leisure
I hope that you are enjoying life in 2009 and that you are taking advantage of opportunities for leisure this summer. Many of our alumni, faculty, staff and students have worked this winter and spring to make us Penn State proud! This edition of At Your Leisure will summarize some of our important accomplishments over the last few years as well as catch you up on activities that have occurred thus far in 2009.
RPTM will be experiencing a change next month; Garry Chick has agreed to assume the role of department head. I believe that Garry will do a terrific job. I will be staying at Penn State in RPTM to focus on my research and teaching. I hope to thank many of you individually for your incredible support but, for now, I want to express more generally my appreciation for all the kindness that has been shown to me these past five years. The thoughtfulness I have encountered from alumni and friends has been wonderful.
RPTM has experienced a variety of personnel transitions over the past five years including five faculty retirements, six faculty hires, 10 staff hires four of which were administrative assistants, three Professors-In-Charge of Graduate Studies, and five faculty sabbaticals. We have successfully navigated these transitions during a time in which the College has had three different deans. In addition, we moved offices and research laboratories into Ford building and soon the Golf Teaching and Research Center will be located in Keller building. The upcoming transition offers an opportunity to reflect on some important developments that occurred within RPTM over the past five years. I would like to share with you some of what I consider to be highlights.
• Becoming a “Department” again. Having been granted department status in 2004, we worked closely with the School of Hospitality to create two distinct units containing unique budgets, personnel, organization, governance, and space. It was a pleasure to work with the newly hired director of Hospitality, Bert Van Hoof, who was refreshingly forthright and fair in our deliberations about allocation of various resources. This monumental task required creation of over 20 RPTM policies that continue to help organize our efforts.
• Focusing on Undergraduate Issues. We worked to place people into roles that facilitate the best possible service to our undergraduates. Burch Wilkes, who completed his Ph.D. in 2008, seamlessly assumed the role of Director of the Golf Management Program vacated by the retired program founder, Frank Guadagnolo. Patty Kleban agreed to be our Undergraduate Coordinator and has effectively addressed student issues by working with Alan Graefe, our Professor-In-Charge of Undergraduate Studies, and our helpful Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Tony D’Augelli. We also shifted academic advising responsibilities primarily to our Academic Advisor, Angela Rothrock, as well as some of our instructors.
• Transforming the Graduate Program. We enhanced the graduate program by establishing and adhering to higher admission standards. Also, we now have clear guidelines about graduation requirements and we are diligent about requiring students to actively progress toward degree completion. Since we are one of a select group of programs in the world to offer a RPTM doctoral degree at a Research One University, we prioritize allocation of resources to support students pursuing their Ph.D. while holding students accountable for high performance and progress.
• Connecting with Alumni and Retired Faculty. Five years ago we initiated the RPTM Recognition Banquet that brought alumni, students, faculty, and staff together in celebration of achievements both past and present. The banquet evolved into an RPTM Super Weekend which now includes networking and formal mentoring sessions between our students and alumni. RPTM and PGM Affiliated Program Groups as well as retired faculty and alumni have made tremendous financial and professional development contributions to RPTM. We now consistently have receptions at our state and national conferences, invite alumni and recruiters to campus, and send electronic and paper newsletters to keep connected with our alumni and friends.
• Supporting and Mentoring Faculty. We have an excellent group of new faculty eager to learn how to make important contributions to our field. It has been fantastic to work with Duarte Morais, Andy Mowen, and Careen Yarnal as I witness them successfully making a positive difference in areas of instruction, research, and service, and, as a result of their success, they all received promotion and tenure. RPTM is fortunate to have five faculty hires including Christine Buzinde, Shawna Doerkson, Eric Handley, Ben Hickerson, and most recently, Brian Soule’ who each add to the positive energy of our department. We were also successful in making positive salary adjustment for all our staff and instructors as well as several tenure-track faculty members so that their salaries are now more consistent with other units in our College.
• Expanding and Coordinating International Efforts. To help RPTM expand our international reach, the position of Professor-In-Charge was established and held by Duarte Morais. Under his direction we developed and currently offer faculty-led RPTM courses in Australia and New Zealand and co-teach and/or give RPTM credit to programs in Brazil, England and Spain. We also led the creation of official institutional cooperation agreements between Penn State and Universities in Tanzania and Namibia. RPTM now holds a reputation on campus for providing valuable international experiences for our students and for conducting meaningful service and research abroad.
• Organizing our Scholarship. When I began as Department Head, clusters of teaching expertise and research being conducted by RPTM faculty appeared to be present. In the ensuing years we organized ourselves into five research laboratories including: Leisure, Culture and Diversity; Leisure and Disability; Leisure and Health; Outdoor Recreation; and the Tourism Research Lab. Later, we added the Golf Teaching and Research Center. These laboratories and the center have helped create a sense of identity and focus to our scholarship.
• Creating a Positive Space. One important task for creating our new department was the acquisition and design of our physical space on the top two floors of the Donald H. Ford Building. Our wonderful location was worth the 100 or so blueprint versions and consistent onsite hardhat visits – I do not know of any RPTM program that has better facilities! We now have space for our research laboratories that are interspersed among faculty offices. We worked with Craig Gruneburg and the Information Systems and Services staff to create a first-class technology enhanced classroom. We enlarged faculty offices and created space for students and faculty to interact casually and in formal contexts all with an inspiring view of Happy Valley and surrounding mountains. This fall we will dedicate the Golf Teaching and Research Center located in the nearby basement of Keller Building. We have patiently shepherded development of this center which has evolved over many years and changed location several times.
• Supporting Initiatives. We have worked to expand ways in which RPTM generates resources that support our instruction, research, and service. One way we have increased our resources is through development initiatives with help from the HHD Development Office, most notably the efforts of Bob Crusciel. We launched the first ever RPTM fundraising campaign to acquire $120,000 to purchase start up equipment for the new Golf Teaching and Research Center. Through the generosity of over 100 alumni and friends, we exceeded our goal. Also, given the escalating costs of tuition, we have made inroads with alumni and friends to establish scholarships for our deserving students.
• Generating Resources. In addition to fund raising, we have expanded our summer school and continuing education offerings. Increasing options for our students and professionals also provides support for our graduate students and instructors. After several years of working closely with Mark McLaughlin, Director of Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center (SCNC), we completed a novel agreement that generates additional resources for both SCNC and RPTM. Since grants that support faculty research are important, we developed policies offering incentives to faculty to fund graduate assistants and generate salary savings.
• Clarifying our Future. Many organizations develop strategic plans that are not used; however, we developed an innovative plan readily available on our web site that is used to provide clear guidance in making decisions in areas such as curriculum, resource allocation, and personnel. We focus our efforts on examining and facilitating equity and disparities in recreation, park and tourism and the role of our field on developing whole communities within sustainable environments. We also address the impact of leisure services on individuals’ health and well being across the life span and effects of these experiences on health of communities. Recently, we completed our first year progress report on the strategic plan that is now posted on our website. We are ready to move forward successfully into the future.
Well, there you have it, some of the important highlights that have occurred during my time as Department Head. It has been an honor for me to serve my alma mater in this way. I appreciate the extraordinary support from so many different people. I am humbled by the experience and appreciate the opportunity to work with all of you.
Warm regards, John
In the Summer 2009 Issue of At Your Leisure:
- Congratulations Alumni
- Congratulations Students
- Congratulations Faculty
- Congratulations Staff
- Departmental Happenings
- In the News
- Notable Quotes
Most recent edition of At Your Leisure: Fall 2008