Therapeutic Recreation

TR Department News & Awards

Awards

The Department presented its 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award to Representative Glenn "GT" Thompson at its annual spring alumni Gathering.  More than 30 alumni representing graduates with doctoral, masters and bachelors degrees earned from 1980 to 2009 enjoyed cocktails and hor d'oeuvres as the department honored GT 's journey from being the leading legislative advocate for the recreational therapy profession to earning a seat in the United States Congress in 2008.

Dr. Kathy Coyle has been selected as one of three Temple University faculty members to receive the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award this year. Kathy was selected based on her outstanding work with students at all levels, including co-authoring refereed journal articles and mentoring students to present at local and regional conferences using materials developed in her courses.  Students and colleagues wrote letters lauding her work with motivating and "stretching" students to excel in all aspects of the learning process.  We are proud of Kathy!

RECENT AWARDS

2008

Janet Turner, Director of Life Enrichment, Inglis House, and adjunct clinical instructor - 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award

Dr. Yoshi Iwasaki's induction into the Academy of Leisure Sciences, 2008

Devin Miller, one of eight students selected from across the country for the 2008 ATRA Peg Connolly Award. 

2007

Dr. Kathy Coyle, recipient of the American Therapeutic
Recreation Association's (ATRA) 2007 Scholarship Award.

Dr. Lynda Mitchell, Founder and President, RecCare - 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award

NEWS

NIH-sponsored Graduate Research Assistantships (Ph.D. or Ed.M.)

Beginning Fall 2009 

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) on Active Living and Recovery for Racial/Ethnic Groups with Mental Illness

Qualifications:

Enrollment in a graduate program at Temple University with preference given to those in graduate programs affiliated with the Department of Therapeutic Recreation

Very good interpersonal and communication skills 

Familiarity with or willingness to learn qualitative (e.g., interviews) and quantitative (e.g., surveys) research methods

Experience working with and for individuals with mental illness or persons with disabilities and their support systems

Versed in Microsoft office applications including excel, word, powerpoint, and preferably SPSS program

Strong analytical and written expression skills

 Duties include collecting, transcribing and recording/analyzing quantitative and qualitiative data, and managing recruitment of culturally diverse groups of people with mental illness

Benefits include tuition remission and monthly stipends as well as opportunities to publish and present scholarly papers:

Contact:

Yoshitaka Iwasaki, PhD

yiwasaki@temple.edu

(215) 204-0011

http://www.temple.edu/chp/faculty/YoshitakaIwasaki.html

 Application Process: Please submit a letter of interest (that outlines the applicant’s qualifications and career interest), resume/curriculum vitae, and proof of your application or acceptance in a graduate program at Temple University to: Dr. Yoshitaka Iwasaki electronically (yiwasaki@temple.edu) or via mail (Suite 304, 1700 North Broad Street, Department of Therapeutic Recreation, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA 19121).

Therapeutic Recreation faculty, alumni and friends will participate again as the "Paddlin Owls" in the 2009 PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL on October 3rd, 2009. This day-long festival is a great opportunity for TR alumni to come together to promote fun for all, and to help the department celebrate the memory of John Noisette, a former TR professor and the man behind the Rollin Owls, Temple's wheelchair basketball team.  John retired in 1988 after a long career of teaching in Temple's TR department and championing recreation and sport for all.  He's a member of the National Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame. We'll be establishing a new departmental award in his name.   For more information about the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Festival go to www.philadragonboatfestival.com.