Dear Faculty, Students, and

Alumni,

I am happy to officially an-

nounce that our Exercise and

Sport Sciences department

has a new name, "Kinesiology

and Sport Sciences"(KSS).

This name change brings our

department in line with other

institutions around the country

and provides an opportunity

for our department to be na-

tionally recognized and

ranked.

These are very exciting times

for our KSS department. We

have new faculty, new pro-

grams, and continue to place

students in strong research,

teaching, and administrative

positions throughout North

America! The direction of our

department is two pronged:

one is to continue to special-

ize in research and scholar-

ship focusing on innovative

research and community in-

volvement ; the other is to

focus on the more applied and

clinical side of our science.

The new Strength and Condi-

tioning/Fitness Entrepreneur-

ship Masters Degree program

is a perfect example of the

applied approach to our un-

derstanding of exercise physi-

ology. It is one of a handful of

graduate programs training

students to become experts in

the multidimensional aspects

of personal training! The new

Sports Medicine program with

a Concentration in Athletic

Training is another example of

the clinical direction that our

programs are taking. This

program works hand-in-hand

with our highly recognized and

CAATE-accredited under-

graduate Athletic Training

program. Certainly, our newly

acquired space in the first

floor of the Max Orovitz build-

ing will provide an opportunity

to integrate our specialty ar-

eas while providing some of

the most sophisticated equip-

ment available for training,

education, and research. It

also provides a tremendous

boost to our hands-on, practi-

cal approach to the study of

Sports Medicine and Exercise

Physiology.

We also have an" Integrative

Nutrition and Physiology

" graduate program in the

pipeline. This will help fill the

huge void in our understand-

ing of how nutrition, structured

exercise, and physical activity

dovetail with each other to

enhance health promotion/

disease prevention, as well

as, sport performance!

Last but certainly not least, is

the " Sport Administration"

program which continues to

be the largest undergraduate

and graduate program in our

department. Their focus on

"brand name marketing" and

"new media " places them in a

most unique position among

other sport administration pro-

grams across the country.

This coupled with a fabulous

internship program which

places students in a variety of

local sport franchises through-

out our community, makes for

one of the most exciting pro-

grams at the University of

Miami!!!

As a special note to our

alumni, we'd love to hear from

you, where you are working,

what you are doing, and any

anecdotes you would like to

share with us about your time

at the "U"!!! Please keep us

posted!!!

Stay Well, Stay Active,

Dr. Arlette Perry

KSS Chair

Message from the Chair...

Kinesiology & Sport Sciences in our Community

2

Strength & Conditioning 3

Exercise Physiology 3

Athletic Training 4

Sport Administration 4-6

KSS Out & About… 6

Alumni Updates 7

Inside this issue:

Fall 2010

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

Volume 1, Issue 1

KSS INSIDER

The Department of Kinesiology and

Sport Sciences has always made an

effort to provide service to the commu-

nity that nurtures it. Recently, our

graduate students have been able to

incorporate community service into

their doctoral projects. Three current

doctoral candidate and one recent doc-

toral recipient have found the perfect

mix of science and service.

Elizabeth Edwards, doctoral candidate,

has recently completed a summer pro-

gram, called the Healthy Start Summer

Program (HSSP), for adolescents from

high schools in low-socioeconomic areas

around Miami-Dade. The program is

based on Dr. Arlette Perry's THINK

ideology - Translational Health in Nu-

trition and Kinesiology - which aims at

providing education about exercise and

nutrition in a very understandable and

applied method. Participants of the

seven-week program held on the Coral

Gables Campus were led by top-notch

team leaders from the Exercise Physiol-

ogy graduate and undergraduate pro-

grams. In addition to plenty of exer-

cise, students participated in learning

seminars on topics ranging from cardio-

vascular health to body composition to

nutrition, which were then followed up

with hands-on laboratory sessions that

reinforced the material they had just

learned. Additional activities included

literacy training, educational field trips,

professional training on topics such as

interviewing and resumes, and infor-

mation on finding financial aid and how

to get into college.

The HSSP was funded by The Chil-

dren's Trust, allowing the program to

be offered at no cost to the participants.

The Department of Kinesiology and

Sport Sciences also partnered with Mi-

ami-Dade County Public Schools in or-

der to be able to offer those students

who completed the program in entirety

one semester credit. The HSSP pro-

gram enrolled approximately 100 ado-

lescents in its second year and will be

offered again next summer.

Abigail Bedient, Phd. and Alessandra

Pluchino, doctoral candidate, teamed

up under the guidance of Dr. Joseph

Signorile, to explore the relationship

between risk of falling, balance, and

how people avoid falling and how we

might be able to reduce the odds of fal-

ling in aging citizens. This is a particu-

larly important topic given the rising

number of individuals reaching the age

where falls, and therefore hip fractures,

become a serious risk. The first compo-

nent, which served as Abigail Bedient's

dissertation project, looked at the dif-

ferences in scores on a battery of differ-

ent balance tests between individuals

with or without a history of falls. One

of these tests, which uses the a newly

developed device, Proprio 5000, allows

the research team to see how individu-

als adjust to maintain balance over a

two minute test in which the platform

shifts both more rapidly both to a

greater magnitude over the course of

the test. By tracking trunk movement

in six different planes throughout the

test, the team determined that those

older persons that did not have a his-

tory of falling moved in a more fluid

fashion then fallers when challenged to

maintain balance in a changing envi-

ronment.

Alessandra Pluchino headed the second

phase of the balance investigations.

Not satisfied with only identifying fal-

ling strategies, Alessandra imple-

mented various balance training pro-

grams, in an effort to identify which

program was most effective at improv-

ing individuals' ability to maintain bal-

ance. Participants in this study were

assigned to either a Tai Chi program, a

Nintendo Wii Fit balance program, or a

more traditional exercise program

aimed at improving balance. Results of

this study are currently being analyzed

to identify the effects of each program

on the participants' balance. While Tai

Chi and exercises which challenge a

person’s stability have already been

established as methods that are effec-

tive at improving balance, the Wii Fit

as a tool for improving balance has not

yet been proven. One benefit of the Wii

Fit balance program over Tai Chi and

the traditional balance program is that

it allows an individual to do these exer-

cises at home on their own, making it

more accessible to many individuals

than having to attend, and often pay

for, regular classes or appointments

with a Physical Therapist or Personal

Trainer. Participants of this program

enjoyed being able to work regularly

with trained professionals over the

eight week study at no personal cost.

As in the previous study, David Ed-

wards, doctoral candidate, provided the

opportunity for older individuals in our

community to participate in an eight-

week exercise program free-of-charge.

However, instead of balance, David was

interested in identifying ways to im-

prove overall functionality in his par-

ticipants. With age there is a reduction

in muscular strength and power. This

leads to decline in one's abilities of to

perform necessary everyday tasks, such

as going grocery shopping, getting up

out of a chair, and picking things up off

the floor. These kind of tasks, known

as Activities of Daily Living, and im-

proving individuals' abilities to perform

them are the primary focus of both Dr.

Joseph Signorile's and David's research.

For this study, participants were as-

signed to either a traditional aquatic

exercise program or an aquatic exercise

program specifically designed to target

functional tasks. Classes were held

twice a week for eight weeks at the

Herbert Wellness Center on the Coral

Gables campus. While thorough exami-

nation of the data is ongoing, prelimi-

nary findings indicate that both classes

led to an improvement in performance

on a battery of tests specifically de-

signed to represent Activities of Daily

Living.

Through these studies our graduate

students are contributing significantly

to the literature related to quality

health and wellness interventions in

two of the most important groups in our

nation, children and our ever-growing

older population. Additionally, the im-

plementation of their findings in clini-

cal and educational environments can

positively affect the health and well-

being of everyone in our community.

Kinesiology & Sports Sciences in our Community

Page 2 KSS INSIDER

Caption describing picture or

graphic.

The KSS department has expanded

its program offerings to include a

graduate strength and conditioning/

fitness entrepreneurship program

through a four plus one or two year

graduate degree. KSS undergrad

students can now take an addi-

tional year in the exercise physiol-

ogy program and earn their mas-

ters degree, specializing in either

clinical exercise physiology or

strength and conditioning. These

two paths fit seamlessly with the

exercise physiology undergraduate

program and reflect the forefront of

the fastest growing aspects of the

sports and medical fitness indus-

tries. The clinical track supports

the national move to prevention

supported by the “Exercise is Medi-

cine” shift away from treatment-

based care. This career path aligns

with a growing medical fitness in-

dustry providing UM graduates

excellent career positioning for jobs

in this expanding field. The

Strength and Conditioning program

is also heavily rooted in exercise

biological science, but focuses on

the requisite knowledge and skill

sets needed for successful NCAA

and Pro team Strength and Condi-

tioning careers. In addition, the

program includes coursework on

how to properly start a business

and manage a successful operation

for individuals looking for careers

in exercise program management

and fitness entrepreneurship.

The Strength and Conditioning pro-

gram is very unique to exercise

physiology programs. Branded

UPerformance, the emphasis of the

coursework is accelerating human

capabilities in sports. Students

master programming for sports and

put evidence based theory into

practice; engaging in Olympic

weightlifting techniques, as well as

speed, agility and quickness train-

ing, corrective exercise, triathlon

and marathon preparation and ad-

vanced programming techniques.

Through the generosity of UM Ath-

letics, our students have unparal-

leled, state-of-the-art resources to

enhance the practical objectives of

these courses. Through learn-by-

doing strategies students will en-

gage in the latest research findings

pertaining to athletic conditioning

during each class. “We challenge

traditional approaches, implement

cutting edge techniques, and test

research validity in a quest to find

ways to make athletes better.” Dr.

Biagioli, program coordinator.

“Expect to see more of our alumni

on the side lines, in the dugout, and

courtside in the coming years.”

Strength & Conditioning

“Expect to see more of our

alumni on the sidelines, in the

dugout, and courtside in the

coming years.”

Page 3 KSS INSIDER

Exercise Physiology

Dr. Kevin Jacobs, Dr. Sae Yong Lee &

PhD students in the Exercise Physiol-

ogy program recently presented at the

American College of Sports Medicine

Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Mary-

land from June 1-5, 2010. What follows

is a list of the presenters and topics:

Kevin A. Jacobs, Worth the Headache:

The Efficacy of Phosphodiesterase-5

Inhibitors at High Altitude, High-

lighted Symposium entitled "Into Thin

Air: Optimizing Exercise Performance

at High Altitude"

David Edwards, Surface EMG Median

Power Frequency Shifts as Indicators of

Quadriceps Synchronization Following

Whole Body Vibration, Free Communi-

cation/Poster Presentation

Elizabeth Edwards, Can a Transla-

tional Health Modular Summer Pro-

gram Positively Impact Minority Ado-

lescent Health and Wellness?, Free

Communication/Slide Presentation

Jochen Kressler, Sildenafil Does Not

Improve Peak Exercise Capacity Dur-

ing Acute Hypoxia in Trained Men or

Women, Free Communication/Slide

Presentation

Pete Lisman, Cervical Strength Train-

ing Does Not Enhance Dynamic Stabili-

zation of Head and Neck During Foot-

ball Tackling, Free Communication/

Poster Presentation

Daniel Serravite, Increased Postactiva-

tion Potentiation With Whole Body Vi-

bration, Free Communication/

Poster Presentation

Mark Stoutenberg, Sildenafil Does Not

Improve Performance at Simulated

High or Moderate Altitudes in Men or

Women, Free Communication/

Poster Presentation

Rich Viskochil, Men and Women Ex-

hibit Similar Declines in Peak Exercise

Capacity and Performance at Simulated

Altitudes, Free Communication/

Poster Presentation

The Commission on Accredita-

tion of Athletic Training Educa-

tion (CAATE) has voted to

award continuing accreditation

to the Athletic Training Educa-

tion Program (ATEP) at the

University of Miami. CAATE

established that our program

has met all of the nationally rec-

ognized Standards for Entry-

Level Athletic Training Educa-

tion that were established with

support of the following sponsor-

ing organizations: The American

Academy of Family Physicians,

The American Academy of Pedi-

atrics, The American Orthopedic

Society for Sports Medicine, and

The National Athletic Trainer’s

Association, Inc.

As a result of this award, our

next comprehensive review is

scheduled to occur during the

2018-2019 academic year. Thus,

the ATEP was awarded with the

maximum reaccreditation length

of ten years, an award only

given to programs that demon-

strate excellence in compliance

with accreditation standards. A

special thanks to all the admin-

istrators, clinical instructors,

students, alumni, faculty, physi-

cians, and staff that worked and

continue to work extremely hard

to keep the ATEP excelling

programs and sponsorships with vari-

ous sport organizations, including the

Kentucky Derby; the Indianapolis 500

Motor Speedway, and two minor league

baseball teams - the Louisville Redbirds

and the El Paso Diablos.

Dr. Mullane received her Ph.D. in

Higher Education/Sport Administration

ministration program coordinator at

the University of Houston for five

years.

Warren’s research, most of which has

focused on gender and organizational

issues within interscholastic athletics,

has been published in such journals as

Journal of Sport Management ; Interna-

tional Journal of Sport Management ;

Sport, Education, and Society , Interna-

tional Journal of Sport Management

and Marketing , and Sex Roles .

His professional background includes

over twenty years experience with three

global organizations – Hewitt Associ-

ates, KFC-USA, and Frito Lay, Inc. His

roles within those businesses were as

an Advanced Project & Process Consult-

ant, a Director of Restaurant Opera-

tions (1 of 16 in North America), and

Region Sales Manager respectively. In

each of the positions noted, he was in-

volved with coordinating promotional

We would like to introduce our Sport

Administration faculty for the 2010-

2011 academic year:

Dr. Whisenant joined the faculty at the

University of Miami in 2005 and cur-

rently serves as Associate Chair of the

Department of Kinesiology and Sport

Sciences. Prior to his move to Miami, he

was a faculty member and Sport Ad-

Sport Administration

Athletic Training

Page 4 KSS INSIDER

Dr. Warren Whisenant, Associate

Professor - Sport Administration, and

Associate Chair, Department of Kine-

siology and Sport Sciences Dr. Susan Mullane, Associate Profes-

sor, Sport Administration Program -

Department of Kinesiology and Sport

Sciences

from the University of Miami. A former

student-athlete and Associate Dean of

Students, Dr. Mullane has extensive

experience in leadership development

and training and student develop-

ment. In her 9th year on the School of

Education in the Department of Kinesi-

ology and Sport Sciences, Dr. Mullane

coordinates the Leadership minor and

is the director of the recently estab-

lished Sport Administration major,

leading to a Bachelor of Science degree

in Education. Dr. Mullane teaches both

undergraduate and graduate courses in

Sport Administration. In addition to

leadership and ethics, she has taught

courses in conflict management, moti-

vation, and research methods.

Dr. Mullane’s areas of expertise include

leadership, ethics, academic integrity,

and sport ethics, and she has published

and presented extensively in these ar-

eas. She was a founding member of the

University of Miami’s Ethics Consor-

tium, and has been coordinating on-

going symposia with the Law School’s

Center for Ethics and Public Policy en-

titled “Ethics in Education”. Most re-

cently, as Chairperson of the Ethics

Advisory Committee for the School

Board of Miami Dade County Public

Schools, Dr. Mullane co-authored a

Code of Ethics to be adopted by the Mi-

ami-Dade County School Board in Sep-

tember 2003.

Paul Dee served as University of Miami

Director of Athletics from 1993 to 2008.

Prior to his appointment, Dee served

the University as its Vice President and

General Counsel beginning in 1981.

During his tenure Dee focused the ef-

forts of the Athletic Department on four

major points of emphasis:

the success of its programs;

the development of its student-

athletes, both athletically and academi-

cally;

the quality of life of its staff;

improvement of facilities.

The department achieved success in

each of these areas.

During his nine years as Director of

Athletics, Dee was, and still is, active in

the NCAA and the BIG EAST Confer-

ence. Dee has served on several NCAA

Committees, including the Committee

on Certification, the Management

Council and currently is a member of

the Committee on Infractions. In the

BIG EAST, Dee has served on the Ex-

ecutive Television Committee and, for

two years, was Chair of the BIG EAST

Football Conference.

Windy Dees joined the Sport Admini-

stration faculty in August of 2010. She

is a graduate of Texas A&M University

where she received her doctoral degree

in Sport Management in December of

2007. Dr. Dees received a master’s de-

gree in Sport Management from the

University of Florida and a bachelor’s

degree in Psychology and Communica-

tions from Rollins College.

Prior to joining the Kinesiology and

Sport Sciences department at the Uni-

versity of Miami, Dr. Dees was an assis-

tant professor for three years at Geor-

gia Southern University. At GSU, her

primary teaching responsibilities in-

cluded courses in undergraduate and

graduate Sport Marketing and Sport

Law. She has also taught courses in

Sport Sociology, Sport Economics, and

International Sport Business.

Dr. Dees’s research focuses on corporate

sponsorship effectiveness and event

marketing strategies. Her research has

examined a multitude of variables re-

lated to effective event sponsorship and

marketing including brand awareness

and recognition, consumer attitudes,

image transfer, and purchase intent.

More recently, Dr. Dees has begun to

examine the roles that brand and event

personality play in formulating effec-

tive sporting events and corporate spon-

sorship campaigns. Dr. Dees has been

published in a variety of sport and tour-

ism research journals including Sport

Marketing Quarterly, Journal of Spon-

sorship, International Journal of Sport

Management, Event Management, and

the Journal of Tourism Insights. She

has also contributed as a co-author to

the widely used legal text, LAW for Rec-

reation and Sport Managers.

Paul Resnick joined the Sport Admini-

stration faculty in the Fall of 2009. He

has prior experience teaching Sports

Administration classes as an Adjunct in

the Fall of 2007 and the Spring of 2009

at the University of Miami. He re-

ceived a Master’s Degree from Saint

Sport Administration (cont.)

Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 1

Paul Resnick, Lecturer, Department

of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences

Paul Dee, Lecturer, Department of Kinesiology and

Sport Sciences - J.D., University of Miami School of

Law, 1977 - Director of Athletics, University of

Miami, 1993 to 2008. Sport law and Governance

Dr. Windy Dees, Assistant Professor,

Department of Kinesiology and Sport

Sciences

Exercise Physiology had a very busy

summer with a conference in June

(group photo on left) and numerous

summer programs on campus. Below:

Participants of the healthy start pro-

gram & Participants in the aquatic ex-

ercise program in aging population.

Dr. Dees & Ty Martin headed out to

Dadeland Mall on Thursday, September

30 with Mr. Martin’s Intro to Sport Ad-

ministration Class to help out with

IZOD Indy Racing promo stop at the

mall. Students helped run various as-

pects of the event. This was all to help

with the promotion of the Cafes do Bra-

sil Indy 300 Race at Homestead-Miami

Speedway on Saturday, October 2.

KSS Out & About...

Tywan Martin, Lecturer, Department

of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences

Thomas University in 2003 and a Bachelor

of Arts degree in Political Science in 2000,

also from Saint Thomas University.

Paul has six years experience working in

professional sports, all with the Florida

Marlins. In his first year with the Marlins,

he worked in Executive Affairs assisting

the executive staff and coordinating special

projects. He then moved up to Community

Affairs for the next five seasons. His duties

included overseeing the Florida Marlins

Speakers Bureau, Ballpark Buddies for

Youth, Community Booth, Arts Program,

and coordinating the team newsletter and

events calendar. He also worked very

closely with local and national not-for-

profits in building relationships and pro-

viding community assistance. Paul was

also a member of the 2003 World Champi-

onship team and helped organize events for

the post season as part of the Hospitality

and Entertainment Committee.

Paul also supervises USPORT with Tywan

Martin and SPORT with Dr. Windy Dees.

Tywan Martin is in his first year as a

member of the Sport Administration fac-

ulty. Prior to his arrival, he spent the last

several years at Indiana University work-

ing on his Ph.D. in Sport Management

with an emphasis in communication and

marketing. Tywan received a master’s de-

gree in Sport Management and a bachelor’s

of Social and Behavioral Sciences from

Indiana University.

Tywan’s professional experience includes

work in student affairs and in the sport

industry. He was an assistant director of a

university sponsored mentoring program

where he implemented specialized pro-

gramming, created a conference to address

the needs of underserviced and underrep-

resented students, and organized mentor

relationships between faculty and staff and

student-athletes. While working on his

doctorate, Tywan taught and guest lec-

tured in various Sport Management

courses. In addition, Tywan coordinated

and developed a number of professional,

college, and high school summer basketball

camps over the last 15 years.

Tywan’s research involves two interrelated

strands of sport management. Sport com-

munication is the focus of his primary re-

search strand. It involves analyzing the

coverage provided to niche (e.g., MMA) and

traditional sports across various media

platforms (e.g., magazines, television, video

games, social media, cellular phones).

Sport marketing is Tywan’s secondary

research strand. In particular, his research

in this area is to examine fan behavior in

spectator sports with the specific goal of

assisting sport practitioners in the develop-

ment of their strategic marketing plans.

Sport Administration (cont.)

Page 6 Volume 1, Issue 1

HAVE AN ALUMNI

UPDATE OR

ANNOUNCEMENT?

SEND IT TO:

P.RESNICK@MIAMI.EDU

Also be sure to include

Major & Graduation Year

Kinesiology & Sport Sciences Dept. PO Box 248065 Coral Gables, Florida 33124 Your Address Line 4

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI School of Education

Phone: 305-284-3024 Fax: 305-284-5168

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