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Feb. 19, 2003
CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine (724) 738-4854;
e-mail: gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu
SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY GRADUATE CRUSADES FOR
‘NEW P.E.’
PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER TIM MCCORD TAPPED
AS EXPERT BY NATIONAL MEDIA
SLIPPERY
ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University graduate Tim
McCord, chair of the health and physical education department at
Titusville Area School District, has become a nationally recognized
supporter and spokesman for a wellness-based curriculum known as
"New P.E." McCord has been quoted in Newsweek, Time, U.S. News
& World Report, Ladies Home Journal, the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette and The Plain Dealer (Cleveland).
“New
P.E.” focuses on total wellness and developing lifelong
health habits. The old approach helped children learn to play
sports but often lacked promotion of physical
fitness.
McCord, a 1978 Rock graduate, was one of the
first physical education teachers in Pennsylvania to introduce
aerobic-based classes and monitor children’s heart rates
during workouts.The changes combat
an obesity crisis among children ages 12-19. Titusville Area
replaced dodge ball and tetherball with aerobics, weight training,
dance and treadmills.
“My
Slippery Rock University education laid the foundation for my
career in the Titusville Area School District and enabled me to
easily make a transition toward the "New PE," McCord says. “I
am thankful for my time at The Rock and will always remember it
fondly.”
Always
a signature offering at The Rock, the university has expanded
physical education to emphasize total wellness. New programs
include exercise and rehabilitative science, an athletic training
major and an upcoming graduate course in spirituality and
wellness.
‘P.E. 4 LIFE’
The new approach to physical education sprang
from a 1999 Pennsylvania State Alliance for Health, Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance convention. McCord was
impressed with what the P.E.4Life Institute in Naperville, Il., was
doing and used it as a basis for developing a P.E.4Life program at
Titusville, resulting in daily physical education classes for all
high school students -- a rarity nationwide, McCord
says.
McCord’s
program has been written about numerous times because health
agencies and professional organizations are familiar with his
work. When reporters call the agencies seeking an expert
source from middle America, they refer them to McCord.
Editor’s note: Tim McCord is available for
interviews. Telephone: Health/PE Dept. Chair Titusville Area
School District 415 Water St. Titusville, PA
16354814-827-2717 Ext. 2119; Fax: 814-827-1275; e-mail:
tmccord@iu05trc.iu5.org
A University Public Relations photograph
of McCord is available at www.sru.edu.
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