AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University's Department of Health and Human Performance has changed its name to the Department of Kinesiology.
The name change was approved by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, in its February meeting. During last week's meeting in Council Bluffs, the Regents also approved changing the names of the degree programs to make them consistent with the new department name -- to a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology and health, Master of Science in kinesiology, and Ph.D. in kinesiology.
"We study physical activity and human movement, especially its impact on health -- the exact meaning of kinesiology," said Jerry Thomas, professor and chair of the department.
"Most of the major research universities -- many in the Big 10 and Big 12 -- are changing or already have changed their name to kinesiology. The change is also partially driven by the use of kinesiology as the name for our field in the current evaluation of U.S. doctoral programs -- in all fields -- conducted by the National Research Council."
The move aligns Iowa State with recommendations made by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education, which has ranked ISU's doctoral program among the top 20 in the nation. Fifteen of the top 20 programs include "kinesiology" in their name, according to Thomas.
He reports that the name change does not signal modifications to academic programs offered by the department.