Hongwei Guan, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education at Ithaca College, recently received the R. Tait McKenzie Award from SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators. Guan was honored at the Professional Excellence Awards Ceremony on Thursday, March 16, during the SHAPE America National Convention & Expo in Boston.
The R. Tait McKenzie Award recognizes distinguished service by members that takes place outside the framework of SHAPE America, but which reflects prestige, honor and dignity on the association.
“This annual award honors an individual who exemplifies the highest standards in advocating for and providing quality physical education for all children,” says SHAPE America President Fran Cleland, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at West Chester University in Pennsylvania.
A faculty member in Ithaca College’s School of Health Sciences and Human Performance (HSHP), Guan has served as director of the HSHP China Exchange Program since 2012, helping to establish partnerships with five Chinese institutions. In 2014, he served as the culture and education program expert for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, helping to create educational activities that would prepare young athletes to become future leaders and responsible global citizens.
An active scholar, Guan has many research interests, including: motor skills, physical activity, physical fitness and health promotion; measurement and evaluation; aging and balance; and technology applications. He is also interested in global experiential learning and its impact on youth education, and has actively used sport as a platform to promote cultural awareness, diversity and global citizenship.
For more information about the 2017 SHAPE America National Convention & Expo, visit the website at shapeamerica.org/convention and follow #SHAPEBoston.
About the Award
The award is named in honor of R. Tait McKenzie, a physician, physical educator and an artist, whose knowledge of the human body had its foundation in the study of anatomy. He was one of the first to envision the close relationship of physical activity to chronic and acute illness; to distinguish between the physical training of the superior athlete and that needed to maintain health; and to adapt physical activity and apparatus for rehabilitation. In his lifetime, McKenzie sculpted 233 pieces, from athletes to children at play.