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By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-4314
Posted 4-7-09
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Department of Exercise and Sport Science has a new name: the Department of Kinesiology.
Similar departments can be found under a variety of names, but a consensus in favor of kinesiology has emerged throughout the field. In 2006, the National Research Council weighed in by including kinesiology in its classification of research-doctoral programs.
“Most departments comparable to ours are now called kinesiology. We feel that now is the time to change our name to one that is more universally recognized,” said Dr. Joseph Starnes, head of the department. “While our department is highly respected for its rigorous program, the name Exercise and Sport Science may have put us at a disadvantage in some academic and professional settings.”
The word kinesiology is derived from the Greek words kineis and logos. Kineis means to move; and logos means to study. From its early years as a profession devoted almost exclusively to the preparation of physical education teachers and coaches, kinesiology has grown into a multi-faceted academic discipline centered on the study of physical activity.
The American Kinesiology Association – www.americankinesiology.org – has taken a broad view of kinesiology as “the academic field that studies physical activity and its impact on health, human performance, society, and quality of life.” Kinesiology is the name now used for similar departments at Pennsylvania State University, the University of Texas, the University of Michigan and dozens of other institutions across the country.
“This new name reflects our focus on the study of human movement,” Starnes said. “Whether our scholars describe themselves as exercise physiologists, sociologists or pedagogiests, we are united in our efforts to enhance the quality of individuals’ experiences with movement, sport and exercise.”
The department, like UNCG itself, has had a series of names that reflect its evolution. In the decades that followed the institution’s founding in 1891, the department’s antecedents were known at different times as physical culture, physical training and physical education.
In 1971, when UNCG created a new school, now known as the School of Health and Human Performance, physical education was one of its four original divisions. The Department of Physical Education was renamed the Department of Exercise and Sport Science in 1989.