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Tobin Richardson joined CPASS this summer as a teaching assistant professor and will oversee the CPASS Living-Learning Community. While earning three degrees from Ball State University, Richardson coached intramural sports and served as a doctoral assistant. From Hartford City, Indiana, his dream was always to teach. Richardson is new to Morgantown. 

Richardson works primarily with freshman CPASS students teaching first-year seminar and special topics classes. His desire to teach has led him to WVU where he hopes to instill success in his students by utilizing the living-learning method while incorporating team activities into the classroom.

West Virginia University’s Gonzalo Bravo, associate professor of sport management, CPASS, will speak before the Sport Committee of the House of Representatives within the Brazil Ministry of Sports on June 23, 2015 in the city capital of Brasilia, in Brazil.

Since being selected as the host of the two largest sporting events in the world, the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian government is currently examining the present and future impact of sport in its country. To further explore national systems, the Brazil House of Representatives has invited sports authorities and experts to evaluate the development of a future Brazil sport system.

Three Olympians will visit the West Virginia University campus next week as part of the 2015 National Coaching Conference hosted by the WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.

Edward Etzel, 1984 Rifle and gold medalist and West Virginia University faculty member, Melinda Rhoads, 1984 Team Handball and 4th place in the Games and Clarissa Chun, 2008 and 2012 wrestling and bronze medalist in London, will attend the opening reception of the conference June 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. in Hall B at the Waterfront Place Hotel.

Faculty members in the West Virginia University College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences were recently recognized for outstanding teaching, research and service for the 2014-15 academic year.

Samuel Zizzi, professor, sport exercise psychology, was recognized as teacher of the year. Zizzi was recognized as a research Fellow by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology in 2012. In addition, he is a manuscript reviewer for a variety of journals in the fields of SEP and public health. His research pursuits span both sport and exercise psychology.

The sport management master’s program celebrated leadership in the industry at the 22nd Sport Management Summit on Saturday, April 11, at the Erickson Alumni Center. Shane Lyons, director of intercollegiate athletics and associate vice president at WVU, was recognized as this year’s Distinguished Alumnus. The keynote address was delivered by Jane Kleinberger, co-founder and former CEO of Paciolan Systems.

The event gathers students in the on-campus graduate sports management program as well as alumni, faculty, CPASS administration and other guests from the industry.

Every year, the West Virginia University Foundation celebrates a special class of teacher:

The kind that nudges students toward their dreams.

In recognition of his advising service to students, Greg Goodwin has received the 2015 Nicholas Evans Professional Staff Advising Excellence Award from West Virginia University. Goodwin serves as the student services specialist in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences where he oversees student recruitment.

The award is given to two staff members who spend at least 50 percent of their time advising undergraduates in their academic endeavors. It honors those advising personnel who best emulate the character of Nicholas Evans, who is described as a “lifelong proponent and exemplar of student advising.” Along with the award comes $1,250 for travel and other professional development expenditures.

Two College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences faculty members received awards at the 2015 National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education conference. 

Andrew Ostrow was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He completed the baccalaureate (Brooklyn College), masters (University of Maryland), and doctoral (University of California, Berkeley) degrees. When he was a doctoral student at Berkeley, he was invited by a group of Canadian nurses to a party in San Francisco. There, he met his future wife Lynne who was an ICU nurse at Stanford University.

Dr. Amy Sidwell and a student team at Fairmont State University were among 10 project winners nationwide for the 2014 Ford Community College Challenge.