Alderson Lecture and Awards Celebration

Department of Kinesiology and Health Education

The Alderson Lecture and Awards Celebration is presented each year in honor of the late Dr. C.J. (Shorty) Alderson and the late Dr. Mary Buice Alderson, former members of the faculty of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and 2007 inductees of the Kinesiology and Health Education Hall of Honor. Few people have had such positive effects on a profession as did the Aldersons. They served a combined 85 years as physical educators, most of that time at the University of Texas at Austin, and their lives touched thousands of individuals through their teaching and service, as consultants, and in professional associations.

Part of the award ceremony includes a lecture from a prominent member in the field of Kinesiology and Health Education. Topics for the lecture range in subjects from sports, training, health, psychology, physical education and more.  

2024 Lecture: “Swinging doors: Your degree opens doors, will you knock quietly or barge through” presented by Edgar Curtis, the state director of WIC.

Past Presenters

2023: Executive Director of Con Alma Health Foundation, Denise Herrera, Ph.D., MCHES, “#RonaDiaries: UT Prepared Me to Lead During a Global Health Crisis” 

2022: Dr. Jamie Schultz, Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University, “Title IX at 50: A Critical Celebration of Civil Rights Legislation on U.S. Sport”

2021: Virtual ceremony, combined with Hall of Honor

2020: Canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

2019: Charles Martinez, Jr., Dean of the College of Education, “New Directions for Eliminating Behavioral Health and Education Disparities Among Latino Families and Children in the U.S. and Abroad.”

2018: Nate Boyer, B.S. ’13, Physical Culture and Sports, “From Darfur to DKR: How the World Changed Me

2017: Dr. John Ivy, Professor Emeritus of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, “Nutrient Timing: Optimizing Protein Intake for Muscle Development and Strength”

2016: Trey Hardee, two-time Decathlon World Champion and 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist, “Price of Success”

2015: Dr. Susan Cox, MD, Executive Vice Dean for Academics, Department of Medical Education, Dell Medical School, “Medical Education: Lighting a Fire”

2014: Dr. Stephen H. Kelder, MPH, PhD, Professor, Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Science, University of Texas, “Health Education 2.0: Educating Children of the 21st Century”

2013: Dr. Barb Springer, National Director Project HERO, “Project HERO: The Therapy that Works”

2012: Dr. Lee Sweeney, Professor & Chair, Dept of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, Univ of Pennsylvania

2011: Jody Conradt, Naismith Hall of Fame Coach, “Teamwork = Excellence”

2010: Dr. William Kraemer, Professor, Dept of Kinesiology, Univ of Connecticut, “Strength Training: The Keys to Health, Fitness, and Performance”

2009: Dr. Jack Berryman, Professor of Medical History, University of Washington Medical School, “Exercise as Medicine: An Historical Overview”

2008: Dr. Ian Henry, Director, Centre for Olympic Studies and Research, Loughborough University, England, “Globalism, Interculturalism & Sport Policy”

2007: William M. Sage, MD, JD, Vice Provost for Health Affairs, UT Austin “Health Policy in our own Backyard”

2006: Daniel Landers, Arizona State University, “Physical Inactivity, Dementia, Anxiety, and Depression: An Evolutionary Perspective”

2005: Wendy Frisby, Univ. of British Columbia. “Towards Inclusive Sport: Collaborating with Diverse Women Living in Poverty”

2004: Melvin H. Williams, Old Dominion University. “What Price Victory? Ergogenic Aids & Performance Enhancement in Sport”

2003: Thom McKenzie, San Diego Univ. “Physical Activity Interventions in Schools”

2002: Waneen Spirduso, Univ. of Texas at Austin. “Reinventing the Third Age in the New Millennium”

2001: Alan M. Klein, Northeastern University. “Afta’ NAFTA: Baseball in a Borderless World”

2000: Daryl Siedentop, Ohio State University. “Physical Education in the New Millennium”

1999: Mary Jo Kane, Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, Univ. of Minnesota. “Media Representations of the Post Title-IX Female Athlete: The Good, the Bad and the Dangerous”

1998: William D. Farney, Univ. Interscholastic League. “The Future of Amateur Athletics”

1997: Donna A. Lopiano, Women’s Sport Foundation. “Why Every Woman Must Play Sports: Implications for Your Career, Your Health and Your Daughter”

1996: John A. Lucas, Pennsylvania State Univ. “The Olympic Games–Past, Present, and Future”

1995: William L. Haskell, Stanford University. “Physical Activity and Health: Guidelines for Public Health Recommendations”

1994: Robert M. Malina, Univ. of Texas at Austin. “Fitness of Unfitness of Youth: Current Status in the Era of Political Correctness”

1993: Mary Lou Remley, Indiana University. “Sporting Influences in American Art, Language, and Literature”

1992: Anita L. DeFrantz, Amateur Athletic Foundation, Los Angeles, California. “As the Sun Sets on the Promised Land”

1991: Phyllis Weikart, High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, Univ. of Michigan. “Developmentally Appropriate Physical Education”

1990: Ambrose E. Brazelton, Ohio Dept of Education. “Edu-Caring”

1988: Charles J. Dillman, American Sports Medicine Institute, Birmingham, Alabama. “The Role of Sports Science in the U.S. Olympic Program”

1987: Shirl J. Hoffmann, Univ. of North Carolina. “Playing the Role of Teacher and Teaching the Role of Play”

1986: Lawrence F. Locke, Univ. of Massachusetts. “Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.”

1985: Jack H. Wilmore, Univ. of Texas at Austin. “The Fitness Boom: Are We Leaders or Followers?”

1984: Lynn W. McCraw, Univ. of Texas at Austin. “Profile of a Professional Educator.”

1983: Don Hellison, Portland State Univ. “Teaching Physical Education: What’s Worth Doing?

1982: Linda Bain, Univ. of Houston. “Physical Education: Something of Value”

1981: Hal Lawson, Univ. of British Columbia. “Physical Education and the Challenge of the Next Century.”


Contact Information

Department of Kinesiology and Health Education
The University of Texas at Austin
2109 San Jacinto Blvd., Stop D3700
Austin, TX 78712-1415


Main Office: 512-471-1273
Fax: 512-471-8914