KINESIOLOGY FELLOWS
Professors to be inducted in national academy
ECU kinesiology professors Dr. Paul DeVita, left, and Dr. Matthew Mahar, will be inducted this month as fellows of the National Academy of Kinesiology. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
Two professors in ECU’s Department of Kinesiology were named fellows of the National Academy of Kinesiology and will be inducted during the national organization’s annual conference Sept. 20-22 in Portland, Ore.
The new fellows are Dr. Paul DeVita, a professor and director of the Biomechanics Lab; and Dr. Matthew Mahar, a professor and director of the Activity Promotion Lab. DeVita and Mahar are among nine academicians named in this year’s class of NAK fellows.
Mahar received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Cortland and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Houston. He joined the ECU faculty in 1993. Mahar received the UNC Board of Governors’ Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award in 1997-1998 and ECU’s Scholar-Teacher Award in 2000. He received the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2007.
DeVita, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., has taught at East Carolina since 1995. He received his undergraduate degree in biology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Oregon. DeVita specializes in aging and osteoarthritis research and has received funding for that research from the National Institutes of Health annually since 2005.
They join two other ECU kinesiology professors who previously were named NAK fellows. Dr. Joe Houmard was inducted in 2006 and Dr. Peter Farrell was inducted in 2008.
The National Academy of Kinesiology is an honorary organization composed of fellows who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of kinesiology through scholarship and professional service. There currently are 137 active fellows in the organization. A total of 514 fellows have been inducted since the academy’s founding in 1930.
The Department of Kinesiology is a part of the College of Health and Human Performance.