Adelphi University Ruth S. Ammon School of Education
Curriculum and Instruction
Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management
Communication Sciences and Disorders
December 2017
Dear Alumni and Friends of the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education,

I am very pleased to introduce our first electronic newsletter dedicated solely to one of our three different departments—the Department of Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management. 

We are housed in historic Woodruff Hall, which is a state-of-the-art building after being completely renovated. The department has grown and changed through the years. We offer degree programs in Community Health Promotion, Exercise Science, Health Education, Physical Education, Physical Activity Studies and Sport Management. We also added specializations in Collegiate Athletic Administration, Sport-Based Youth Development, Sport Marketing and Teaching Adapted Physical Education.

Our team of 19 full-time and 48 part-time, passionate, excellent and well-qualified faculty with a strong network of community and professional partners is working to prepare almost 600 major students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The student population growth is due to an increase in the undergraduate Exercise Science students in the Pre-Physical Therapy and Allied Health track, growth in the number of graduate Sport Management students—a fully online program—and the expansion of our offerings to the Manhattan Center, supported by the Sport-Based Youth Development Fellowship program.

We are focused on expanding our Teacher Education programs in Health and Physical Education to prepare for the teacher shortage anticipated to be coming soon on Long Island and in New York.

I invite you to read about our work, come visit us and/or get in touch with us.

In the coming months, look for editions of the newsletter for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Cordially,

Emilia Patricia T. Zarco, M.D.
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management
First International Conference Held at Adelphi's Manhattan Center

The Ruth S. Ammon School of Education hosted the 2017 Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) Alliance Conference , from June 28 through July 1. Scholars and educators gathered to discuss teaching methods and problem solving. The biggest success came from the youngest and most engaged attendees: high school students from all over Long Island.
Camp Abilities: Accessible Fun
Lisa Inella Santos ’08, M.A. ’11 , started Long Island’s first Camp Abilities chapter, and every summer the group holds its annual event to give kids with visual impairments or other disabilities a chance to get involved in adaptive sports. Think beep baseball, goalball, tandem biking, basketball and yoga. The camp also allows Adelphi students an opportunity to volunteer in an area that complements their major. The ultimate objective: fun!
Is Cupping Supported by Science?
Adelphi University’s 37th annual Exercise Science Human Lab Research Symposium discussed practical applications of various exercise-related research studies and even delved into the ancient practice of cupping therapy. Cupping is a practice that involves bell-shaped cups being placed on the body to effectively withdraw air from between muscle and skin to improve blood flow in the area, which supposedly increases athletic performance. This method was used by Michael Phelps in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Did our research debunk the myth?
HealthNets: Teaching Those Who Teach
The HealthNets conference, a professional development event that promotes the exchange of ideas in teaching and research among health educators, held its 16th annual event at the Ruth S. Harley University Center on November 7, 2017.
Catch up on what happened at the general and breakout sessions this year and last year . 
The Most Physically Educated
Twenty-nine athletes from 15 high schools across Long Island competed in the second annual Most Physically Educated Competition in January 2017; 18 phys ed teachers and seven athletic directors were also involved. Students went head-to-head in a series of games and endurance tests, including a pacer test, a push-up test, a basketball game and a badminton game. They also participated in an essay contest describing why fitness is important to them. Catch their passion for fitness here .
Program Spotlight
Sport-Based Youth Development
Want to prepare to work with young people outside of the traditional physical education or intercollegiate sports setting? Sport-Based Youth Development offers an alternative program to teacher education and utilizes innovative teaching, coaching and administrative approaches to offer coaches, recreation leaders, teachers, administrators, youth development workers and others a holistic option to develop youth through sports and physical activity.

The specialization, approved by New York state, can be completed as part of our M.A. in Physical Education or M.S. in Sport Management . And better yet, the course is offered at our downtown Manhattan Center and qualified students can take advantage of a tuition-free graduate fellowship .

Interested or have additional questions? Contact Meredith Whitley, Ph.D. , assistant professor and Sport-Based Youth Development specializations coordinator, at [email protected] or 516.237.8671.
In the News
Sport Management Master's Program Gets National Ranking
SR Education Group, an education research publisher based in Kirkland, Washington, ranked Adelphi's Master of Science in Sport Management program No. 20 on its list of the 2018 Top Online Colleges for the Master’s in Sport Management. Inclusion on this list shows our high academic standards and our commitment to affordability.

Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management Faculty and Student Recognized at SHAPE America Event
Kevin Mercier, Ed.D. , promoted this fall to associate professor, was presented the SHAPE America Young Scholar Award in March 2017 at the SHAPE America National Convention & Exposition in Boston. At that same event, Ciere Corcoran , Physical Education and Health Education major, was awarded the Robert M. Pate Student Scholarship, which is awarded annually by the SHAPE America Eastern District. In addition, Corcoran received the Ruth Abernathy Presidential Scholarship from the national SHAPE America organization— an award that is given to only three students nationwide.

Four Alums Receive Praise
Kevin Mercier, Ed.D. , recently took his Secondary Methods in Physical Education class to visit the innovative Academy of Wellness Education Showcase at Long Island City High School—where Jeff Engel , assistant principal, praised the four Health Education and Physical Education alums who teach there: Tristian DeSimone '15 , Joelle Hecht M.S. '15 , Stephanie Rude, M.S. '13 , and Kara Fiorillo, M.S. '14 .

Christmas-Kelly: Balancing the WNBA and Grad School
Dallas Wings guard Karima Christmas-Kelly is taking Adelphi’s online M.S. in Sport Management course. Due to graduate in 2018, she catches up on her coursework during plane trips between WNBA franchise cities. She’s hoping to enter sports administration when her WNBA career is over. Christmas-Kelly was featured in a SportsDay story in August 2017.

Dr. Harris a Brown and Gold Award Nominee
Jean Harris, Ph.D. , Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management associate professor, was nominated for 2017 Professor of the Year Award at the 14th Annual Brown and Gold Awards Ceremony in May 2017. A year earlier, Clinical Assistant Professor Cynthia Proscia, M.A. '92 , was the Ammon School nominee. The ceremony is an annual event hosted by the Center for Student Involvement (CSI).

Adjunct Faculty's First Novel Wins Award
Tracy Stopler , an Ammon School adjunct faculty member, won the Independent Press Award in May 2017 for Distinguished Favorite in the Women’s Fiction category for her first novel, The Ropes That Bind . Her novel is a story about child sexual abuse.

Dr. Turcott Joins As Newest Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management Faculty Member
Ryan Turcott, Ph.D. , is the latest member of the Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management faculty. Dr. Turcott, who started this fall, is assistant professor for sport management. Previously, he was a lecturer at the University of Georgia College of Education.

Dr. Manson Engaged in Fun and FUNdamental Activities
Associate Professor Mara Manson, Ed.D. , a 2016 Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award recipient, recently obtained hockey equipment for our Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management activity courses worth $700 from USA Field Hockey’s FUNdamental Field Hockey Grant. FUNdamental is a youth development initiative designed to present field hockey to children nationwide by providing free field hockey gear and emphasizing fun physical activity. In May 2017, Dr. Manson’s Elementary Methods class hosted its latest Elementary Extravaganza—a physical education play day for 125 children in kindergarten through fourth grade from the Barack Obama Elementary School in Hempstead. The event was held in Woodruff Hall and children wore Disney costumes since activities were centered around a Disney theme.
Upcoming Events
We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events listed below. Please also look at our events listing to see what's happening at the Ammon School. 

AIESEP 2019 International Conference Set for Adelphi June 19–June 22, 2019
The theme for the International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP) conference will be "Building Bridges for Physical Activity and Sport." Subthemes will focus on Physical Literacy, Public Health, Social and Emotional Learning, Youth and Community Development, and Individual and Team Performance.

Preconference specialist seminars will include Teaching for Personal and Social Responsibility Through Sport (TPSR), a 3-credit course taught by TPSR practitioner and scholar Dave Walsh, Ph.D., San Francisco State University, and Research Methods for Early Career Academics, a one-day seminar by Stephen Silverman, Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University.

NAKHE Leader Workshop Due to Precede 2019 AIESEP
Yet another AIESEP preconference event has been scheduled for Adelphi, tied to the 2019 AIESEP conference: the NAKHE (National Association of Kinesiology in Higher Education) Leadership Development Conference, a two-day seminar.

Adelphi’s Emilia P. Zarco, M.D., Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sport Management department chair and associate professor, chaired the NAKHE Leadership Development Workshop in July 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Its topic was “Conflict Resolution in Kinesiology Higher Education.”
Join Alumnifire Today

We are excited to announce a new alumni benefit—Alumnifire. This online networking and mentoring tool, exclusively for the Adelphi community, allows you to leverage the connection capabilities of LinkedIn through an intuitive platform as easy to use as Facebook, while accessing a robust job bank on popular job sites like Indeed. Join Alumnifire today and experience the power of the Panther Network. 
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