FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

National Association for Sport and Physical Education to Induct ASU Professor Dan Landers into Hall of Fame

Dr. Daniel M. Landers, Regents' Professor, Department of Kinesiology at Arizona State University at Tempe, will be inducted into the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) Hall of Fame for his profound impact on the field of sport and exercise psychology as an internationally recognized scholar, teacher and sports consultant. To be presented at NASPE's Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, April 11, at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, other honorees that evening include the National Physical Education Teachers of the Year for Elementary, Middle and High School, the National Physical Education Administrator of the Year as well as the Athletic Director of the Year Award.

Past NASPE Hall of Fame inductees include University of Tennessee Women's Basketball Coach Pat Summitt, tennis greats Billie Jean King and the late Arthur Ashe, NFL Hall of Famers Nick Buoniconti and Anthony Munoz, Olympians such as the late Wilma Rudolph, Rulon Gardner, Dan Jansen, Rafer Johnson, Nancy Hogshead, Peter Vidmar, and Tony DiCicco, head coach of the 1999 Women's World Cup Champion Soccer Team, among others. Joining Dr. Landers will be other 2008 Hall of Fame inductees:  Dr. David Gallahue, dean emeritus and professor, Indiana University, and track and field Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis. 

According to NASPE President Craig Buschner of California State University at Chico, "The NASPE Hall of Fame honors outstanding individuals who have achieved new levels of excellence in sport and physical activity and inspired others by their example of what quality, physical activity and sport programs can do to make a better world."

The awards are given to honor outstanding individuals who 1) make significant contributions to maintaining sport or/and physical activity as an integral part of the total education program; 2) further the image of sport and healthy physical activity for all; 3) accentuate the integral relationships of sport and physical activity to the total educational process; 4) encourage involvement in meaningful competitive sport or physical activity programs by influential educators and citizens in all walks of life; and 5) symbolize the educational and developmental potentials of sport and physical activity.

For nearly 40 years, Dr. Landers and his students have produced theory-drive research, resulting in over 300 publications. Besides the respect that he earned for his early work on social facilitation in motor performance, he has written some of the classic works on the psychophysiology of kinetic imagery and on patterns of brain activity during micro-and macro-phases of motor performance.

A leader in the field of sport and exercise psychology, Dr. Landers was co-founder and the first editor for seven years of the primary scientific journal in sport psychology, the Journal of Sport Psychology (now the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology). This is still the premier journal in sport and exercise psychology. 

Dr. Landers' service to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) shows additional evidence of his leadership in the application of sport psychology.  He was helpful in getting sport psychology recognized as a field that can be useful to Olympic athletes as well as setting up a sport psychology registry that is still in use today.  Additionally, he has served as a consultant to Olympic Committees of other countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Israel, New Zealand, South Korea and Venezuela. 

In addition, he has served as president of the AAHPERD Research Consortium, the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity and the Division of Exercise and Sport Psychology within the American Psychology Association.

His care and commitment to preparing graduate students helped him gain the status of Regents' Professor in 1990 from Arizona State University. Recognized for his scholarly achievements with numerous honors and awards, he was the recipient of the 2006 Alliance Scholar Award from the AAHPERD Research Consortium. Selected by his peers as being among the "Top 10 Sport Psychologists" in the world, he is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Physical Education.  He was also one of four scientists in sport psychology admitted as founding members to the International Olympic Committee Olympic Academy of Sport Sciences.

Landers received his bachelor's degree from San Jose State College; his master's degree and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign.  

The preeminent national authority on physical education and a recognized leader in sport and youth physical activity, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is a non-profit professional membership association that sets the standard for practice in physical education and sport. NASPE's 16,000 members include: K-12 physical education teachers, coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers, sport management professionals, researchers, and college/university faculty who prepare physical activity professionals. NASPE seeks to enhance knowledge, improve professional practice, and increase support for high quality physical education, sport and youth physical activity programs through research, development of standards, and dissemination of information.  It is the largest of the five national associations that make the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD).  To assess whether your child is receiving a quality physical education program, visit www.naspeinfo.org/observePE   for an observation assessment tool.

###

Contact:
Paula Keyes Kun
pkun@aahperd.org 
(703) 476-3461

The preeminent national authority on physical education and a recognized leader in sport and physical activity, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is a non-profit professional membership association that sets the standard for practice in physical education and sport. NASPE’s 15,000 members include: K-12 physical education teachers, coaches, administrators, researchers, and college/university faculty who prepare professionals in these areas. NASPE seeks to enhance knowledge, improve professional practice, and increase support for high-quality physical education, sport and physical activity programs. It is the largest of the five national associations that make up the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD). For more information, visit www.naspeinfo.org.

The vision of AAHPERD is "Healthy People – Physically Educated and Physically Active!" Headquartered in Reston, VA, 25 miles west of Washington, DC, AAHPERD is the largest organization of professionals involved in physical education, physical activity, dance, school health and sport--all specialties related to achieving an active, healthy lifestyle. Its mission is to advance professional practice and promote research related to health and physical education, physical activity, dance and sport by providing its members with a comprehensive and coordinated array of resources, support and programs to help practitioners improve their skills to further the health and well-being of the American public. For more information, visit www.aahperd.org.