Undergraduate exchange students Yi Sun and Lu Huang from Beijing Sport University led a group of middle school students around campus on May 3. Twenty Breck Middle School students visited the School of Kinesiology with their teachers as part of a the China at the U scavenger hunt. Rayla Allison, J.D., associate director and lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, met with the students to explain what kinesiology means, the types of majors offered (KIN, RPLS, SMGT), and careers within kinesiology.

Joel Maturi, former Gopher athletics director and School of Kinesiology adjunct instructor, and Jim Turman, Ph.D., Director of Recreational Sports, recently returned from a 10-day tour in China. They each gave a lecture at the American Sport Cultural Center at the Tianjin University of Sport (TUS). Maturi's lecture was titled, "The College Way: Athletics at American Institutions of Higher Learning," and Turman's talk was titled, "Recreation Sports in American Universities."

In Shanghai, they visited Jiao Tong University, and spoke on their respective topics. Additionally, they attended the International Forum of Sports and Physical Education, which was organized by the Shanghai Higher Education Commission.

Pictures from their trip are posted to Flickr, along with galleries from other School of Kinesiology delegation visits to the American Cultural Center for Sport.

Lisa Kihl, Ph.D., associate professor of kinesiology, is featured in the CEHD's Vision 2020 blog for her work as a consultant with Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program.

RBI is a Major League Baseball initiative with the mission to increase urban and inner city youth participation in baseball and softball by re-introducing, reviving and rebuilding America's pastime in underserved, inner-city communities. Since 1989, RBI has grown from a local program for boys in South Central Los Angeles to an international campaign encompassing more than 200 cities with as many as 200,000 boys and girls participating each year.

The research of Jo Ann Buysse, Ph.D., sport management undergraduate coordinator and lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, was recently mentioned in an article in The Atlantic titled, "People Talk About Brittney Griner Like She's a Basketball Player, Because She Is." The article highlights the longitudinal work of Buysse (and colleague Melissa Sheridan Embser-Herbert of Hamline) on the photographic portrayals of college athletes in print media guides.

The article uses Buysse and Embser-Herbert's research as a reminder that, just a few years ago, "universities were still putting a disturbing amount of effort into 'feminizing' their women athletes and portraying them as 'ladies.' One media guide they evaluated even put its women's basketball team on the cover in formal gowns with heavy makeup and styled hair."

Rayla Allison, J.D., associate director and lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, appeared in a recent KARE 11 segment on contract buyouts in Division I sports. Specifically, Allison commented on the firing of Tubby Smith as the University of Minnesota men's basketball coach and the buyout of his contract for $2.5 million.

Dr. Lisa Kihl, associate professor of kinesiology, is serving as a consultant for Major League Baseball and their Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) 2013 Institute being held March 20-24 in Orlando, Fla. The purpose of the RBI Institute is to provide RBI league administrators' and volunteers' professional development in the marketing, promotion, and operations of local RBI programs. Dr. Kihl's main role was developing workshop content and assisting with the organization and administration of the Institute.

Dr. Jo Ann Buysse, sport management undergraduate coordinator and lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, along with Dr. Sarah Wolter, visiting assistant professor at Gustavus Adolphus College, have had their research published in The Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics. Their research, "Gender representation in 2010 NCAA Division I media guides: The battle for equity was only temporarily won," is the fourth study in a longitudinal project that began with a doctoral dissertation by Dr. Buysse, marking the 20th anniversary of this research.

Dr. Lisa Kihl, associate professor of kinesiology, and doctoral candidate Vicki Schull have co-authored an article to be published in the top-ranked women's studies journal, Gender & Society. The manuscript is titled, "'If a woman came in ... she would have been eaten up alive': Analyzing gendered political processes in the search for an athletic director."

Kihl and Schull, along with former Tucker Center visiting scholar Dr. Sally Shaw (University of Otago, New Zealand), critique the gendered political processes in the search for an athletic director following a merger between men's and women's intercollegiate athletic departments. Their research contributes to the understanding of the complexity of gender relations and provides further insight into the gendered political processes that inform leadership searches.

Gender & Society is also the seventh-best sociology journal.

Rayla Allison, J.D., associate director and lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, recently gave a talk to the Sports and Entertainment Law Society at the University of St. Thomas. Her talk focused on on practicing law in the sport industry and common legal issues.

Rayla Allison, J.D., associate director and lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, was the keynote speaker and a panelist at a Continuing Legal Education accredited course held at Thomson Reuters. Speaking on Title IX case law, her presentation was taped and will be available to all lawyers throughout Minnesota.