KINESIOLOGY PROFESSOR TO RECEIVE 'OUTSTANDING FACULTY' HONORS
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA--The Penn State Chapter of the Golden Key National Honor Society has selected Dr. James G. Thompson to receive its "2000 Outstanding Faculty Member."
?Thompson is professor of Kinesiology in the Department of Kinesiology in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development. He will receive the award and be inducted as an honorary member in the Golden Key National Honor Society at a formal ceremony scheduled to take place in Eisenhower Auditorium on October 15, 2000.
Thompson, a graduate of the University of Buffalo, received his masters and Ph.D. degrees from Penn State and became a full-time faculty member in 1963. His research interests focus on ancient Greek history, including the Aegean Bronze Age through the Classical period (ca 2000-323 B.C.). His specific research has focused on physical education as an important aspect of ancient Greek education. Additional areas of interest include Minoan bull-vaulting, the Panhellenic Games of ancient Greece, and athletic interaction with politics. Thompson is co-editor of History of Sport and Physical Activity: An Anthology.
He has served as acting head of the Department of Kinesiology, as associate department head, coordinator of graduate programs, chairman of the basic physical education program, and coordinator of the graduate assistant program.
In 1997, he was invited by the Hellenic Olympic Committee to teach at the Fifth International Seminar on Olympic Studies held at the International Olympic Academy, Olympia, Greece. He also was invited to participate in the First and Second World Conference on Olympic Education in Schools in Olympia, and is one of six Penn State faculty members selected to direct and teach in the Athens Program offered through the Office of International Programs.
The Penn State Chapter of the Golden Key National Honor Society invites one faculty member to receive the award each year. Dr. Elizabeth J. Susman, the Jean Phillips Shibley Professor of Biobehavioral Health in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development, was the recipient of the honor in 1999.
?The Golden Key National Honor Society was founded 22 years ago and has over 250 chapters at leading colleges and universities around the world. Its primary mission is to recognize and support academic excellence. The Penn State chapter is the largest in the nation. It initiated more than 1,400 members in 1999.
-hhd-
EDITORS: For additional information, contact Steve Infanti of the College of Health and Human Development's External Relations Office at 814-863-4325.