INDIANA, Pa. – The Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Department of Athletics announced a five-part speaker series for the 2020 fall semester. The series will provide virtual programming for IUP student-athletes with the goal to improve their skills, knowledge, and overall well-being outside of sports and is presented by Indiana Regional Medical Center (IRMC).
The speaker series was developed by IUP Athletics and will promote positive life skills, mental health and wellness, inclusion, and other educational topics that are important in our current society.
"We are very proud to announce this speaker series and provide a unique way for our student-athletes to continue to engage in a positive atmosphere in the current climate," said director of athletics,
Todd Garzarelli. "As we adapt to these ever-changing times, it is critical for our department to provide our student-athletes additional tools to be successful."
As IUP Athletics navigates through a fall semester without sports, student-athletes will have this exclusive opportunity to connect with professionals through these open discussions.
"I want to thank Scott and Liz Weigner, great friends of IUP Athletics, who are helping to bring these speakers to our student-athletes," said Garzarelli. "They have been working with some of our coaches with input from our student-athletes on topics that are important to our department."
The virtual speaker series kicks off Tuesday, October 6 with Dr. Logan Edwards, Assistant Professor and Health Education/Teacher Education (HETE) Program Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Dr. Edwards also assists the Whitewater athletics department with student-athletes' overall health and well-being to help aid their sport performance.
"Dr. Edwards is a home run and a great way to lead of our speaker series," said Garzarelli. He's dynamic, captivating, and will bring a great deal of knowledge and experience that our student-athletes can learn from."
Dr. Edwards has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in personal health; health behavior and equity; health education and promotion; stress management; and health behavioral theory. He has recently developed new courses on mental health and well-being, nutrition and fitness, and taboo topics in health education covering topics such as drugs and mental illness.
He received his Master's degree in Education from Indiana University's School of Education, and his Bachelor's degree in Health Education from Indiana State University. Dr. Edwards worked as a university-based health educator and a high school and collegiate track and field coach. He also competed as an NCAA Division I track and field athlete for ISU in the 200m dash, 400m dash, 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Announcements on future speakers and additional information on this speaker series will be made when available.
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