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Letter, Director Staley to President Stoddard defining the newly established Recreation Curricula in the School of Physical Education
Prepared by Professor Allen V. Sapora
School of Physical Education
June 17, 1949
President G. D. Stoddard
355 Administration Building
Dear President Stoddard:
I am enclosing herewith the annual report of the School of Physi- cal Education.
The major accomplishments of this division for the past year may be outlined
briefly as follows:
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Establishment of a new curriculum leading to the degree Bachelor of Science in Health
Education. This curriculum, open to both men and women and designed
to train teachers of health for service in the schools of the State,
promises to meet a rapidly developing need.
-
Establishment of a new curriculum leading to the degree Bachelor of Science in Recreation.
This curriculum, at present open only to men, is designed to train personnel
for service as recreation leaders in the schools, in city and county
recreation and park departments, in social welfare agencies, and in
industrial organizations throughout the state.
-
Establishment of a new dance option in connection with the program in physical education
offered by the Department of Physical Education for Women. There is
a continuing demand for professionally trained teachers of the dance,
not only in the state of Illinois, but throughout the country as a whole--by
schools, colleges, and private agencies. It is believed that the new
curriculum, in turning out competent personnel, will contribute materially
to meeting this need.
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Provision
of adequate medical service in connection with the physical fitness
laboratory. The appointment of a half-time medical doctor to this service
means that we can (a) give experimental subjects better physical examinations,
(b) have medical service available during all-out endurance tests (for
protection purposes), draw blood from experimental subjects (by law,
this can be done only by medical doctors), and (d) generally improve
the administration of our research program.
Our most pressing needs are:
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More adequate facilities. The professional training program for men and the
service program for men and both handicapped by a shortage of facilities.
For example, we are forced to assign several classes to the same facility,
creating, thereby, very poor teaching conditions. Then, too, we are
forced to conduct certain classes, notably, Prescribed Exercise, one
of our more important courses, in very unsatisfactory quarters. This
situation would be very materially relieved if the Old Gymnasium Annex
unit, now assigned to the Housing Division, were reassigned to the Department
of Physical Education for Men.
-
Women staff members qualified to teach graduate classes in physical education.
At the present time we have very few women taking graduate work in physical
education. This, without doubt, stems from the fact that no member of
the women's department is qualified to teach graduate courses in this
field. We are hoping to correct this condition in the near future.
Cordially yours,
S.C. Staley S:J Director
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