NIU Today

SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators) presented its Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award to NIU’s Paul M. Wright, who holds the Lane/Zimmerman Endowed Professorship in Kinesiology and Physical Education. Wright was recognized April 7 during SHAPE America’s 131st National Convention & Expo in Minneapolis. SHAPE America presents the Outstanding Mentor of the...

Sharon Moskowitz, a NIU graduate student and life-long athlete, suffered her first concussion at 15, the result of a particularly aggressive foul during a high school basketball game. Moskowitz’s opponent hit her so hard that it broke her nose and knocked her out for a few moments. Her coach benched Moskowitz for a month –...

A panel of nationally renowned sports psychologists shared ideas Monday morning on how organized youth athletics can produce the kind of adults expected of such programs. During a 75-minute conversation in the Capitol Room of the Holmes Student Center, the three professors addressed ways that parents and coaches can offer a positive situation and instill...

Ray Rice. Adrian Peterson. Lance Armstrong. Tony Stewart. Michael Vick. Tiger Woods. When athletes earn attention for all the wrong reasons – a problem that seems more and more frequent – their stories of take on lives of their own. Reports of such misconduct reach from the front pages through the sports sections. Apologies and...

Health. Leadership. Maturity. Self-reflection. Adventure. Children everywhere need these and other building blocks to lead productive, successful lives – and faculty in NIU’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education are working to deliver those strong foundations. Research and engagement programs already making differences locally are poised to create a broader impact across the country and...

Kenroy Usher remembers the time he and his mother encountered an unusually forthcoming stranger on the streets in Belize. Usher was only 10 then – and a good boy – but the unfamiliar woman apparently felt compelled to issue a dire warning. Within a few years, she said, the boy will join a gang. By...

Eight visitors from Belize will share global perspectives on Belizean athletes and coaches during a panel discussion from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, in the Capitol Room of the Holmes Student Center. The delegates will share their personal stories related to sport. Many are current and former elite competitors, including an international...

Paul M. Wright, the Lane/Zimmerman Endowed Professor of Kinesiology and Physical Education at NIU, has been named recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Applied Health Sciences (AHS). Wright accepted the award last month at the AHS Alumni and Faculty Awards Dinner. “Paul is deeply...

Paul Wright, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KNPE), has been named to the Elizabeth C. Lane, Ph.D., and M. Nadine Zimmerman, Ph.D., Endowed Kinesiology and Physical Education Professorship – the first endowed professorship in the College of Education. Wright came to NIU in the fall of 2011, and among his...

“With approximately one in four preschool age children being overweight or obese,” says Paul Wright, an NIU professor in the Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, “the promotion of physical activity and outdoor play has gained national attention.” For the last four years, Wright has been part of a $12 million federal grant program funded...