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From Florida State to Fighting Scots
BU Leisure Studies Professor Gives Personal Collection to Gordon Archives It’s about more than play—much more. In fact, the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Gordon College has been committed to serious scholarship since it began 20 years ago. Recently, the program took another step forward when it was selected to house a generous collection of leisure studies resources.
Photo Cyndi McMahon
On July 1 Gordon hired its newest member of the coaching staff, Julie Brown. Brown comes to Gordon from Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, where she served for four years as the director of special projects and the recruiting coordinator for the women’s basketball team. The FSU Seminoles—a nationally recognized Division 1 program—advanced to the Elite Eight round of this year’s NCAA Tournament and qualified for the Sweet 16 Tournament the past four years. Before that Brown worked as an assistant coach at FSU, the University of Hartford, Ball State University and the University of Tulsa. With a master’s degree from seminary, she also worked as the national director of programs with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was their network coordinator for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. “Julie brings a passion for basketball, a desire to mentor Christian student-athletes, and an abundance of skills necessary to succeed in this highly competitive recruitment environment,” says Jon Tymann, director of Gordon athletics. “Her commitment and talent will be a real blessing for all of us at Gordon.” Brown replaces Jeannine Cavallaro, who coached the Fighting Scots for the previous 10 seasons. The women’s basketball team opens its season November 16 at Simmons College. “Basketball—just like any sport—is a great way to build leaders and teach young people about selflessness and personal responsibility,” Brown says. “It’s also a great opportunity to build a championship mentality, so I am excited to work with some of Gordon’s best student-athletes.” Other new coaches recently hired include Andy Shaw ’04, who previously served as program assistant for cross country and is now the head coach. Cory Ward will head up the women’s lacrosse program. John Rypel will act as the new men’s baseball coach, and Peter Foster is the new head coach for track and field. www.gordon.edu/athletics
10 STILLPOINT | FALL 2010
Dr. Gerald Fain of Boston University, a leading scholar in the field, chose Gordon as the recipient of his personal collection because of his relationship with Peggy Hothem, professor of leisure studies, who initiated Gordon’s program in 1990. Fain—Hothem’s dissertation advisor in graduate school—said he believed leisure studies “should always be rooted in spirituality.” So when he retired he decided to donate his archives to Gordon. His gift includes over 400 books, resources and historical manuscripts that span the last 100 years of the recreation and leisure studies movement in the U.S. Fain admires Gordon’s approach to studying leisure since it includes the classical, philosophical and liberal arts, as well as its faith-based approach to social justice. “Not only will this collection benefit our students, but it will also be of great service for other scholars and practitioners in the field,” said Hothem. “There’s no doubt Dr. Fain’s gift will position our library and program with a collection that equals those of other top colleges with recreation and leisure studies.”