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Fast Facts

• The Department of Health, Physical Education & Recreation was created from one of the original departments of the Western State Normal College (Women’s Physical Education Department).

• In 1975, the Women’s Physical Education and Men’s Physical Education Departments merged to form the current department housing both academic and athletic programs.

• The department offers six undergraduate majors including Athletic Training, Recreation, School Health, Physical Education-Teacher Coach, and Exercise Science, five minor curricula and two graduate degrees.

• The Master of Arts in Physical Education offers four emphasis areas: Adapted Physical Education, Pedagogy, Sports Studies and Sports Management. The Master of Science in Exercise Science supports an Exercise Physiology or Athletic Training emphasis.

• The HPER department, housed in the Student Recreation Center, has seven classrooms fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology and equipment, a twenty-four station computer lab and specialized laboratories.

• The department houses one of the 12 accredited graduate programs in the United States and the only program approved in Michigan that supports the Special Physical Education approval through pursuit of a master’s degree. The graduate program in Athletic Training is one of only 11 in the United States.

• There are 22 full-time board-appointed faculty members and 21 part-time faculty employed.

• Since 1994, the HPER Department faculty has authored over 200 publications and over 500 presentations have been made at international, national, regional, state and local professional conferences.
  

It is the mission of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation to provide coursework and experiences which will allow students to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes conducive to their employment as professionals within the allied fields of health, physical education or recreation. Students develop skills which allow them to analyze programmatic needs, deliver programs which meet specific needs, and self assess professional effectiveness through reflective practices.