The 2018 HHS Lifetime Legacy Award recipient is Dr. Joanne Safrit. Dr. Safrit received her BS degree in Physical Education from the Women’s College (now UNCG) in 1957, and her Masters of Science and PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1962 and 1967, respectively.
She spent 20 years as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was named a Henry Bascom Distinguished Professor. Following her retirement from the UW, she accepted a position as Professor and Chair of the Department of Health and Fitness at the American University in Washington, D.C.
Throughout her career, she published extensively, including textbooks and articles in research journals on quantitative measurement. Dr. Safrit has received numerous awards for her academic and research excellence and although she has been retired for some time she remains quite active in the field.
Dr. Safrit takes great delight in learning about current students’ work and encouraging them along their academic paths. Her desire to interact with and support students is evident in multiple ways here at UNCG. Dr. Safrit has been generous in many areas across UNCG, including the School of HHS, Athletics, Jackson Library, the Women’s Veterans Program, the Weatherspoon Museum, the Faculty First Program and the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
She was a founding member of the School of HHS Alumni Board and has been active on the UNCG Alumni Board. She also participates as a mentor in the Guarantee Scholar Program, meeting regularly and providing wisdom and support along the way. Her desire to give of her time and talents extends to the support of faculty as well.
She has established an undergraduate scholarship, the Safrit Measurement Award, various one-time monetary gifts to support strategic faculty and student initiatives, and most recently made a one million dollar gift to establish the Safrit-Ennis Distinguished Professorship in Kinesiology.