PULLMAN, Wash. — Professor Larry Bruya of the Washington State
University Department of Kinesiology and Leisure Studies received two
national awards — one for scholarship and one for teaching — at the American
Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance national
conference held March 20-25 at Orlando, Fla.
Bruya was selected as a fellow in the American Leisure Academy by the
American Alliance for Leisure and Recreation, one of the eight organizations
that form AAHPERD. He is now one of 20 fellows in this national academy.
Bruya also received the 2000 Presidential Award from the National Association
for Sport and Physical Education, another AAHPERD organization.
The Presidential Award is given occasionally for those who display an
enduring passion for the profession, noted NASPE President Carl Gabbard.
Gabbard is the director of motor development studies at Texas A&M
University, and in the mid-1970s was Bruya’s doctoral student at the
University of North Texas.
“Larry Bruya is the consummate professor — he does it all. He’s a great
teacher, researcher and mentor for students,” Gabbard said.
Bruya received the Presidential Award for his commitment to mentoring
students, and he was honored as a fellow for his research into children’s play
environments, Gabbard explained.
Gabbard said that evidence of Bruya’s mentoring of students was the presence
of a total of 22 WSU physical education students, members of the WSU
Kinesiology Club, Phi Epsilon Kappa, at the Florida conference.
W. Matthew Silvers, junior kinesiology major and president of the club, also
edited a published set of research papers that were written by students at
WSU and nine other universities and presented at the conference.
Based upon the quality of the student work, the student symposium was made
a permanent part of the conference. Silvers was also elected to the
association’s board of directors at the conference.
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