Eric Martin, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology, presented “A Call and a Charge for the Future of Kinesiology” at the 2022 Western Society for Kinesiology and Wellness in Oakland, California.
The presentation focused on the challenges in higher education that have come up in recent years, and how the Department of Kinesiology is addressing them. Martin discussed topics such as decreased state funding, increasing tuition, student mental health struggles, increasing specialization and general public distrust of kinesiology. To overcome these challenges, he suggested increasing collaboration and communication with other fields to help overcome larger issues like student mental health, as well as finding ways to talk to the public in a more accessible and straightforward way.
The presentation also highlighted the interdisciplinary work Martin has done with colleagues across the country and at Boise State, including work with Kelly Rossetto, associate professor in the Department of Communication. This work focused on resilience building in a college setting for both student athletes and non-athletes by developing more ways to support students using communication and outreach strategies.
To address the distrust and confusion in the general public, Martin recommended a “less is more” strategy for communication, including cutting out unnecessary information and field-heavy terms, and knowing what information to share by understanding the audience and situation.
According to Martin, society and how information is shared are continuously shifting, and managing challenges that come up is crucial for all professionals, in any field. Learning and improving how to do so is always a priority within higher education as well as after college, in order to always support the public and patients as best as possible, he said.