HSES Department to host the 2015 Naismith Lecture Series event

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Department of Health, Sport, and Exercise Sciences welcomes author and educator Milton Katz as keynote speaker at the annual James Naismith Lecture Series. 

This year’s lecture, “John B. McLendon: The Forgotten Jayhawk,” will be given by Katz, who publishes written work on peace and social justice leaders and movements in contemporary American history.  The lecture will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7,  in 150 Joseph R. Pearson Hall.  The event is free and open to the public. 

“The Naismith lecture is one of the highlights of the year for our department as we are able to learn from and interact with truly outstanding scholars and practitioners,” said Joseph Weir, health, sport, and exercise sciences department chair.

Katz received his doctorate from St. Louis University and currently serves as associate vice president of academic affairs and professor of humanities at the Kansas City Art Institute, where he has been teaching since 1974. 

He has been the recipient of numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Missouri and Kansas Humanities Councils, and the Mellon and Fulbright Foundations. He recently received the William Rockhill Nelson Award for Literary Excellence by Missouri and Kansas authors in nonfiction (2008) for his book “Breaking Through: John B. McLendon, Basketball Legend and Civil Rights Pioneer.” Other awards include the Kansas City Art Institute’s Special Project Award (1998), Excellence in Teaching Award (2001) and Distinguished Achievement Award (2007).

The James Naismith Lecture Series was established in spring 2008 to honor the legendary founder of the game of basketball and first chair of the department. 

“We wanted to create a lecture series that would host prominent professors from across the U.S. to expose our students to the thoughts, ideas and research of these outstanding professionals,” said Andrew Fry, professor and former department chair.

Since the first lecture in spring of 2008 the department has hosted 11 lectures on topics, including:

• exercise physiology
• sport psychology
• sport management & administration
• sports medicine
• health & physical education
• KU’s athletic history and tradition

More information about the lecture series is available here. 

The Department of Health, Sport, & Exercise Sciences is housed in the School of Education. The School of Education is nationally ranked, preparing educators and health/sport/exercise professionals as leaders.