Announcements
Four students in the Physical Education All-Level and Physical Education Strength & Conditioning programs were recently recognized and awarded for their outstanding work.
1. Jude Pannell – 2025 College of Education Preservice Clinical Teacher of the year. He was nominated and selected by teacher education faculty and staff for his exceptional work as a clinical student teacher. A physical education major student has not been selected for this honor in 15 years.
2. Brendan Chambers – Honored as the 2025/2026 recipient of the Juanita Freemon McLean Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is for a physical education major who demonstrates involvement in activities related to teaching and is a member of the Texas Organization for Physical Education Teachers (TAHPERD).
3. McKenzie Harrison & Brandon Schuler – recognized as a TAHPERD (Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance) Outstanding Student of the Year. It is in recognition of students’ dedication and participation in developing healthy habits of physical activity and for their excellent performance in the physical education teacher prep program.
The U.S. Play Coalition awarded Debbie Rhea, professor of kinesiology, with the 2025 Joe L. Frost Award for Distinguished Research. The award recognizes a body of exceptional research that has enhanced and expanded the study of play. Rhea is the director of the LiiNK Center for Healthy Play, which began as a research intervention to bridge the gap between academics and the whole child. The inaugural Joe L. Frost Award was presented to its namesake, who was one of America’s leading experts on play and playgrounds known as the contemporary father of play advocacy. The U.S. Play Coalition is a partnership that promotes the value of play throughout life.
Caleb Voskuil ’24 has is awarded the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Challenge Scholarship.
Students conducted approximately 50 health screenings at the Special Olympics Texas Fall Classic this October and share their experience.
Internationally renowned biomechanist and physiologist Peter G. Weyand, Ph.D., has been named the new chair of the Department of Kinesiology.
Faculty Expert Robyn Trocchio, Ph.D., explains the psychology behind professional football kicker, Brett Maher, of the Dallas Cowboys.
While several other universities were recognized across the nation, there was only one accredited Division I program in Texas – TCU.