Dear Kinesiology community,

Thank you to everyone for your notes of congratulations and well wishes on my reappointment. I am honored, humbled, and excited to have the opportunity to continue to lead the School of Kinesiology into our next phase of growth, expansion, and excellence. We have a lot to be proud of, including our #1 ranking for our PhD programs in Movement Science and Sport Management, our record-setting grant and contract successes, our community’s support of each other in handling the pandemic, and our addition of an embedded CAPS counselor, among other things. Our accomplishments are possible because of the great teamwork of the entire Kinesiology community - students, faculty, and staff all working together.

We also have a lot to look forward to in just the next several months as we move into the new building (see a sneak peek here), start new academic programs (Sport Management Immersion winter cohort and Athletic Training master’s), begin our strategic synergy hiring process, and make our curriculum more inclusive.

In the longer term, we have a lot of decisions and opportunities as we consider the organization of our academic programs/units, fully embark in the synergy hiring process and build new research programs in strategic areas selected by our own faculty, and work to diversify our community.

There are certainly challenges before us as well, especially related to adapting our teaching and scholarship to the ever-changing health and safety challenges this pandemic poses. As always, I appreciate your partnership as we navigate our way into the future. My motto for 2020, both personally and professionally, is “expect the unexpected” (from Oscar Wilde, so not an original). By this I mean that we need to be prepared for unexpected circumstances, adapt quickly, move on, and try to build resilience.

Thanks for your partnership and support over the past four years, and I’m looking forward to our Kinesiology team’s bright future.

Lori Ploutz-Snyder
Professor and Dean, Michigan Kinesiology
 

Read Provost Collins's statement on Dean Ploutz-Snyder's reappointment