Written by Carly Kester
Wilt Martin, chairman of the kinesiology department, is retiring after this semester and two co-chairmen will take over. In addition, exercise and sports sciences will be a separate department from kinesiology starting in Fall 2010.
The exercise and sports sciences department will be directed by Ken Turley, and Stephen Burks will run the kinesiology department.
Martin has served as chairman for the kinesiology department for 20 years and has been a faculty member at Harding for 45 years. He revealed that he is looking forward to having more free time after retirement.
“I have some things I wanted to do that I’m not currently able to do,” Martin said. “I want to spend more time with my grandkids, and I want to get even more involved in church activities.”
Until now, Martin had been the only person in charge of what used to be the kinesiology department, which had five different degrees offered.
“The administration realized that the job had evolved,” Turley said. “They determined that the current chairman had a lot of responsibility, and they wanted to split up the department.”
Turley’s previous position was associate professor of Kinesiology and director of the human performance laboratory. He has served at Harding for 13 years.
Turley’s new responsibilities include managing the budget of the exercise and sports sciences department and overseeing and working directly with the faculty. He will also maintain the certification of the athletic training program.
Turley said he plans to continue to do research and teach in the classroom. As far as changes to the department, he revealed that he does not want to change the coursework, but he would like to see changes in the department’s higher education options.
“I’d like to pursue either American College of Sports Medicine or National Strength and Condition certifications,” Turley said. “I’d also like to see a graduate program and for us [in exercise science] expand the faculty for that.”
Burks currently serves as the wellness program coordinator and the associate professor of kinesiology. He will be in charge of kinesiology bachelor of science and arts programs as well as sports management. He will also oversee areas such as intramurals, the weight room and wellness programs.
Because the course catalogue has already been established, changes cannot be made for the department until after next year. Burks said that one aspect of the department he would make changes to is the sports management degree.
“I want to try to make some changes to [the degree] to make it more useful and more appealing to students,” Burks said.
However, Burks said that the department has been doing well in Martin’s hands.
“Dr. Martin has done a wonderful job,” Burks said. “And I don’t intend to change a lot of things that are working by any means.”
