Dr. Philip Martin

I am pleased to offer my greetings from the Department of Kinesiology.  I am new to Iowa State University.  I succeeded Dr. Jerry Thomas as chair in July 2008.  To begin, I would like to offer special thanks to Jerry for his 10 years of excellent leadership in Kinesiology.  Under his guidance the department grew and prospered in many ways, including the establishment of a new Ph.D. program, significant expansion of department research and teaching laboratory space, and substantial growth in the external funding profile of the department.  He will certainly be a tough act to follow.  On a more personal note, I especially appreciate Jerry’s patience and generosity in sharing his knowledge about the department during the past nine months despite his own relocation and transition to his new responsibilities as Dean of the College of Education at the University of North Texas.  Jerry, we wish you well with your new challenges!

Let me tell you a little about myself.  I’m a Midwesterner; I spent the first 24 years of my life in Illinois, so Iowa has a very familiar and comfortable feel to me.  After receiving my doctorate from Penn State University, I was on the faculty in the Department of Kinesiology at Arizona State University for 19 years as I made my way through the academic ranks and served the department in a number of roles, including chair for four years.  I returned to Penn State in 2002 to become the head of the Department of Kinesiology and served in that role for five years. 

The chair’s position here at Iowa State had considerable appeal.  In addition to the opportunity to return to the Midwest, I was impressed by a number of characteristics of the department: excellent and broad academic opportunities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels; a dedicated faculty who demonstrate a strong commitment to students and excellence in teaching, research, and outreach; quality facilities to support teaching and research; a highly collegial faculty and staff working together in many different roles to build and maintain a strong department; and considerable potential to meet existing challenges and reach new levels of excellence.  This year has certainly presented some very special challenges.  With the downturn in the global economy, we face some very significant reductions in our budget which are going to be felt for several years to come.  Nevertheless, I am confident we will weather this storm and emerge as a leaner and stronger department.

In closing, I am extremely pleased to join the department. I appreciate the warm welcome I have received from my new Iowa State colleagues and look forward to working with them, our students, and our department alumni and friends to make Iowa State Kinesiology among the very best programs in our field and one in which each of you can take considerable pride.  Please let us hear from you.

Best wishes, 

Philip E. Martin, Professor and Chair
(515) 294-8009
pemartin@iastate.edu
http://www.kin.hs.iastate.edu/

Keep up with us at: www.kin.hs.iastate.edu

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