New Speech and Hearing Science instructors Lesli Williams and Jerri Seremeth are both “native signers”—they grew up learning American Sign Language as their first language and primary mode of communication. They joined the Department of Speech and Hearing Science this fall, and teach classes remotely.
Lesli Williams (Provided)
Which classes are you teaching this year?
Jerri: I’m teaching two ASL III (SHS 321) courses and re-designing SHS 222: Language & Culture of Deaf Communities.
Lesli: This year, I’m teaching SHS 121: American Sign Language I, SHS 221: American Sign Language II and SHS 321: American Sign Language III.
Why did you want to become an ASL Instructor for the U. of I.? What attracted you to the role?
Jerri: It’s a great opportunity to teach at U. of I., which has a well-known and highly respected team in the U.S. I come from a Deaf family and love sharing my authentic background.
Lesli: I was drawn to the position because of its commitment to inclusive education and strong support for language and cultural diversity. The opportunity to teach ASL at a university level allows me to share the richness of Deaf culture with a broader audience and help bridge communication between Deaf and hearing communities.
Tell us about your life and career experience. How did you become an instructor of American Sign Language, and where has that taken you so far?
Jerri: I began teaching ASL in 2014 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Jerri Seremeth (Provided)
Lesli: My journey with ASL started at the age of 2, I learned from a Deaf Mentor, Bob Laughna, self-taught books and old VHS signing videos, and learned signs from the Deaf Community. I grew up in only-mainstream education with no Deaf programs in my elementary, middle and high school. I graduated from Negaunee High School in 2005. I graduated from Northern Michigan University with associate’s degree in cosmetology, which I worked in salons for 15 years.
Over time, I developed a deep appreciation not just for the language, but for the culture and history of the Deaf community. After finishing up my cosmetology journey, I pursued a bachelor’s degree in Deaf Studies from Gallaudet University in 2015 and Masters in Adult Education and Training, specializing in Technology from University of Phoenix in 2017. I eventually began teaching in 2017 at my alma mater Northern Michigan University while pursing my master’s with University of Phoenix at the same time.
Since then, I’ve taught in various settings—Northern Michigan University, where I did face-to-face and online teaching from 2017 to 2025, and Columbia College, where I taught online for the last two years, and I just started my new teaching career here at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign this semester —and have loved seeing students grow in both skill and cultural understanding.
If you had to choose, what is the most rewarding part of being an ASL instructor for you?
Jerri: The most rewarding part is being able to teach my language and culture, giving students exposure that helps them understand us better.
Lesli: One of the most rewarding parts of teaching ASL is witnessing students make meaningful connections—not just linguistically, but culturally. When students begin to understand Deaf culture and the importance of visual language, it opens their eyes to a whole new way of experiencing communication.
For those who haven’t taken any ASL classes, or those who aren’t familiar with the Deaf community, what do you think they would find the most surprising about American Sign Language or how it’s taught?
Jerri: They might be surprised by how important facial expressions are—they make up about 70% of our language.
Lesli: Many people are surprised to learn that ASL is a complete and complex language with its own grammar and syntax completely separate from English. They’re also often surprised by how interactive and visual ASL classes are—learning through movement, facial expressions, and storytelling is very different from traditional classroom learning.
Is there anything else you’d like folks in the department to know about you?
Jerri: My husband and I have eight children together. Our youngest is an exchange student from Africa, and all of our children are Deaf. Also, hiking is my favorite escape!
Lesli: I’m passionate about creating inclusive and engaging spaces for all learners. I also love collaborating with others in the department and beyond to promote awareness of Deaf culture and language. Outside the classroom, I enjoy walking, hiking, camping, playing with my beautiful daughters—ages 6, 5 and 2 years old—and attending Deaf events and traveling, which often feed back into my teaching.
Speech and Hearing Science Assistant Professor Mariana Mendes Bahia, Ph.D. and CCC-SLP, is an expert on swallowing physiology, respiratory-swallowing coordination, and therapeutic strategies to alleviate swallowing disorders, called dysphagia. She joined the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in fall of 2024, and leads the Neuro + Swallowing Research Lab.
Mariana Mendes Bahia. (Photo by Ethan Simmons)
How was your first year at the Department of Speech and Hearing Science here at AHS?
Mariana: My first year was a period of growth and adaptation as I became familiar with the university and the Department of SHS. I have been fortunate to receive consistent support from colleagues and departmental staff, which greatly eased this transitional period and helped me navigate new academic and administrative environments.
This year was also dedicated to establishing my laboratory, the Neuro+Swallowing Research Lab, and laying the foundation for my future research program. Setting up the lab allowed me to plan my next steps, define research priorities, and begin shaping a trajectory that aligns with my long-term academic goals, while learning to adapt to the challenges and opportunities of a new institutional setting.
When did you first become interested in studying swallowing physiology and disorders, and why have you stuck with that topic in your research?
My initial interest in swallowing developed during my specialization in speech-language pathology in neurology, when I had the opportunity to conduct swallowing assessments and provide treatment for individuals with swallowing disorders, known as dysphagia, related to neurological diseases.
I was fascinated by the complexity of the swallowing process—something we do countless times a day without even thinking about it. What intrigued me most was how such an automatic act relies on the intricate coordination of more than 30 muscles (and many other structures), several nerves, and brain structures. The interaction among all the swallowing structures, along with the brain and breathing, felt like solving puzzles, and this challenge sparked my curiosity and passion for learning more about the mechanisms behind swallowing and how to best support patients with these difficulties.
As a clinically trained speech-language pathologist, I have observed the devastating impact of swallowing disorders on individuals and their families. This experience has motivated me to integrate my clinical expertise and research background in the investigation of swallowing physiology, particularly the interaction between brain-swallowing and breathing-swallowing, to advance rehabilitation approaches that enhance swallowing ability, improve patient care and enhance the quality of life for individuals with dysphagia and their families.
Bahia in her office at the Speech and Hearing Science building.
You’ve described dysphagia as an “invisible” disorder. For the folks you’ve worked with, how does dysphagia impact their quality of life?
Swallowing is a critical process for life. We need to eat and drink for adequate nutrition and hydration. However, we also eat and drink for pleasure and comfort. Eating is a highly social activity. Therefore, the impacts of swallowing disorders or dysphagia are not restricted to the physical health domain, such as inadequate food or liquid intake, resulting in malnutrition, dehydration, or unintended weight loss.
Individuals with dysphagia face psychological, emotional, and social impacts, including fear of eating, embarrassment, loss of enjoyment when they cannot eat or drink certain foods, and reduced social participation in cultural events or family gatherings where eating is central. The limited ability to share a meal may weaken family and community bonds.
Which therapeutic interventions can work for those living with dysphagia?
Therapeutic interventions for dysphagia aim to improve swallowing safety—preventing food or liquid from entering the airway—and efficiency: ensuring adequate passage of food from the mouth to the stomach. Importantly, interventions are tailored to individual needs and target specific impairments evident in each person. Interventions may include compensatory strategies, such as head adjustments and dietary modifications, to reduce the risk of airway invasion, as well as rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the swallowing muscles, improve the movement of swallowing structures, and enhance the coordination of the swallowing process. Additionally, rehabilitative exercises can be paired with other therapeutic modalities, such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation and brain stimulation.
Megan Huibregtse, Ph.D., is a first-year assistant professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, but she’s no stranger to the Midwest. Huibregtse obtained her bachelor’s in neuroscience and a Ph.D. in human performance from Indiana University, Bloomington.She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University before joining the AHS faculty this fall.
Megan Huibregtse (Fred Zwicky / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Talk about what drew you to the College of AHS. Why did you choose to come to Illinois?
Megan: I was looking for an environment where I could connect with a vibrant research community and work directly with undergraduate and graduate students. While my work spans multiple disciplines such as clinical neuroscience or psychiatry, traumatic brain injury is one of the most common neurological conditions (Maas et al., 2022 The Lancet Neurology), and there’s a real public health concern about acute and long-term neurobehavioral effects.
So, AHS’s mission of improving health and well-being across the lifespan is a great fit for my research program. Plus, the neuroimaging resources here are unparalleled, and I can’t wait to start using the 7 Tesla scanner.
(The University of Illinois and Carle Health co-own a 7 Tesla MRI scanner, which provides a huge step up in quality for brain imaging.)
You’ve described yourself as ‘obsessed with the brain.’ When and how did your fascination with neuroscience begin?
I was unlucky enough to get two concussions from playing volleyball when I was younger, and the second led to the discovery of a brain tumor in my left frontal lobe. It might have been a coincidence, but the tumor was right next to where I hit my head when I got the first concussion.
Fortunately, the surgery to remove it went well, and I’ve been fascinated by the brain and what happens in response to injury ever since. Having personally gone through many hours of magnetic resonance imaging, I learned what a powerful tool it is to non-invasively examine the brain.
Within the area of traumatic brain injury, you’ve already investigated a wide variety of topics, from sub-concussive head impacts in high school football to head trauma from intimate partner violence. How do you generally describe your research interests?
That’s right—I’ve been fascinated by various aspects of neurotrauma. In general, I would say that my interests revolve around comprehending how our experiences (brain injuries, traumatic events, and when they occur simultaneously) impact our brain health. I consider brain health in terms of both structural integrity and function.
What are your priorities as you’re getting started here at Illinois?
This year, I’m working on setting up my research program—recruiting graduate students and undergraduate research assistants, submitting my protocols to the Institutional Review Board, and getting acquainted with the excellent neuroimaging resources at the Beckman Institute.
How has your experience in Urbana-Champaign been so far? Is there anything you’d like your colleagues to know about you?
It’s been great so far! Having completed my degrees at another Big Ten school (Indiana), Urbana-Champaign feels familiar already. Outside of work, I love to cook and bake for my family and friends.
“It’s never too late to begin getting into shape but it does take daily, sometimes painful, perseverance. After all, you can’t expect in a week’s time to make over a body that took years to wreck.” – Thomas K. Cureton, Jr.
T.K. Cureton is known as the ‘father of physical fitness.’ (Photo courtesy of Illinois Archives)
In the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, there is a legacy of one man’s unwavering dedication to physical fitness. That man is Thomas K. Cureton, Jr., better known as T.K. Cureton, but probably best known as the “father of physical fitness.”
Long before exercise guru Jack LaLanne began hosting his syndicated TV fitness program in the 1950s, Cureton established the Physical Fitness Research Laboratory in 1944 at Illinois. Cureton’s research and commitment to physical education and fitness laid the foundation for the fitness movement that is so widely recognized today. From the athletic fields to university classrooms, the impact of his work extends far beyond the realm of physical education.
Born in Florida, Cureton had a diverse academic and professional journey before arriving at the University of Illinois. Growing up in the South, he initially attended Georgia Tech before transferring to Yale University to finish his undergraduate degree. From there, he found himself coaching swimming and directing research at Springfield College in Massachusetts. But it was his arrival in 1941 at the University of Illinois, after being recruited by Dean Seward Staley, that would shape the future of fitness research and practice.
At the time, physical education as an academic discipline was still in its infancy, and there were few established research foundations. Cureton’s appointment marked the beginning of the transition from physical education to a more comprehensive study of physical fitness. He worked to establish research programs, recognizing the importance of physical fitness for overall health long before it became a popular societal trend. This vision, paired with his extensive background in athletics, allowed him to bridge the gap between the two worlds—combining sports with research-driven methodologies to better understand how fitness impacts human health.
But what exactly sparked Cureton’s passion for fitness and wellness? His son Kirk recalled how his father’s interest in athletics and fitness developed early.
“He was a good athlete at Georgia Tech and Yale, participating in varsity athletics, especially swimming,” Kirk Cureton said. “The influence of people like Yale’s swimming coach, Bob Kiphuth, and other experts in biology and hygiene inspired him.”
Through his exposure to these environments, T.K. Cureton was drawn to physical education and ultimately pursued further education in the field, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education, and a Ph.D.degree in educational research, cementing his position as one of the foremost authorities in the field.
Some 20 years after his heroics in the 1936 Olympics, Jesse Owens was tested in T.K. Cureton’s lab.
In the early 1930s, as the concept of physical fitness was still gaining traction, T.K. Cureton was one of the first researchers to publish significant works on the subject. One such milestone came in 1935 when the Research Quarterly journal published a supplement titled “Physical Fitness,” which included a series of articles on the components of physical fitness, including those authored by Cureton himself. “He’s often credited as one of the primary contributors to defining the concept of physical fitness,” Kirk Cureton said. “That idea was radical at the time.”
Before figures such as LaLanne, who later became synonymous with the fitness craze of the 1950s and beyond, Cureton was already working tirelessly to raise awareness of fitness as an integral aspect of health. His contributions were not only academic but practical, as he worked on initiatives that showed how physical activity could improve long-term health outcomes, including cardiac rehabilitation—a field that was revolutionary at the time.
Cureton didn’t just focus on academia. He brought his expertise to the public through clinics and talks, often conducting sessions for professionals such as dentists. As Kirk Cureton recalled, “On weekends, he’d often be away doing clinics, and then come home and talk about it.” His commitment to fitness permeated his life to the point where even vacations became opportunities for exercise. “We’d go on family trips, and my dad would just decide to run behind the car while my mom drove,” Kirk said with a laugh. “Of course, as kids, we were embarrassed, but that’s just how he lived it.”
Growing up with a father deeply invested in physical fitness, Kirk Cureton was naturally exposed to these ideas from an early age, though he admits he didn’t fully appreciate them at the time. It’s clear, though, that his father’s dedication left a lasting impression. “He would talk about it all the time,” he said. “He would give us lectures and discussions about fitness, especially when he came home from conferences or testing. We got an earful.”
“We’d go on family trips, and my dad would just decide to run behind the car while my mom drove. Of course, as kids, we were embarrassed, but that’s just how he lived it.”
Kirk Cureton
Son of legendary Illinois researcher T.K. Cureton
It was in Huff Hall, the hub for the University of Illinois’ physical education and health sciences departments, where much of T.K. Cureton’s academic life took place. Though Huff Hall was nominally home to athletic facilities, it also housed classrooms, labs and faculty offices, reflecting the integral role that academia played in physical education. For Kirk Cureton, Huff Hall was a frequent stop. “Growing up, we’d often drive to Huff Hall to pick him up after classes,” he said. “It was a central part of (T.K.’s) work life.”
Even after his retirement, T.K. Cureton’s legacy lived on, particularly through his influence on graduate students. Many of these students, a who’s who of kinesiology, went on to distinguished careers of their own in the discipline, furthering the work of their mentor.
As Kirk said, “His teaching was crucial to graduate students, especially during the summers when he’d teach two classes every year. That was a lot of work, especially considering he was running a large research program at the time.” This hands-on mentorship continued for many years, ensuring that T.K. Cureton’s impact extended far beyond his time at the university.
Though Kirk Cureton was undoubtedly influenced by his father’s work, he did not initially plan to follow in his footsteps. He went on a different path, studying pre-med and spending time in medical school before returning to Illinois to pursue a master’s degree in the field his father helped pioneer. His eventual return to Illinois marked the beginning of his own academic career, one that would honor the legacy his father established.
Today, the impact of T.K. Cureton’s work is still felt, particularly within the College of Applied Health Sciences. His contributions to the understanding of physical fitness, exercise, health, and wellness laid the foundation for future generations of researchers, educators, and practitioners. His work, often ahead of its time, helped to redefine what fitness meant to society and has left an indelible mark on the world of physical education, now Kinesiology. As the University of Illinois celebrates the centennial of Huff Hall, the memory of T.K. Cureton’s vision continues to shape the future of health and fitness research.
Honorees embody resilience, leadership, service, and equity
AHS Dean Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, second from left, poses with AHS alumni award winners Jack Groppel, left, Adrienne Albrecht, right, and Brandon Buchanan, far right. (Photo by Craig Pessman).
The College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign once again shined a light on extraordinary alumni at its annual Alumni Awards celebration, held during Homecoming weekend. This year’s honorees—Dr. Jack Groppel, Justice Adrienne Albrecht and Brandon Buchanan—embody the college’s enduring mission of advancing health, equity and human potential.
The ceremony, led by Dean Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, is designed not only to recognize the professional accomplishments of alumni but also to share the personal journeys that shaped their paths. “The individuals who receive these awards never fail to impress and fascinate me,” Hanley-Maxwell said. “As you hear their stories today, I’m sure you’ll find yourself saying, ‘Wow!’ many times, just as I have.”
Distinguished Alumni Award: Dr. Jack Groppel
Few careers demonstrate the power of seizing opportunity quite like that of Jack Groppel, recipient of the 2025 AHS Distinguished Alumni Award. An internationally recognized scholar in the science of human performance, Groppel has been a professor, tennis coach, entrepreneur, author, corporate consultant and motivational speaker.
And yet none of that would have happened without the University of Illinois.
“If the leaders in this college hadn’t given me a shot, I’d be counting wolves in Wyoming,” he said.
Growing up in a small southern Illinois town, Groppel was drawn to sports early, teaching himself to play tennis and eventually becoming one of the top junior players in the St. Louis area. Determined to play for the University of Illinois, he convinced men’s tennis coach Dan Olson to give him a chance—a story that foreshadowed a career marked by persistence and boldness.
His academic path was less direct. Pressured to pursue a “practical” major, Groppel earned a degree in wildlife biology. Yet his passion for athletics led him to graduate study in biomechanics at Illinois, where mentor Dr. Charles Dillman helped redirect his career. Groppel later completed a Ph.D. in exercise physiology at Florida State University before returning to Illinois as a professor and head tennis coach.
“How do you go from crying yourself to sleep at 22 to this?,” Gropple said, referencing his unhappy time seeking a career in the wildlife industry. “I have been truly blessed in my life, thanks to my time at the University of Illinois.”
After a decade, Groppel made another daring move: leaving a tenured faculty position to work in Florida at the Saddlebrook Resort. That leap led him to co-found the Human Performance Institute with Dr. Jim Loehr, a venture later acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Groppel became a pioneer in applying the training principles of elite athletes to business leaders, co-authoring the influential book The Corporate Athlete. He went on to brief Congress on worksite wellness, share stages with global icons like Muhammad Ali and Margaret Thatcher, and earn induction into three tennis halls of fame.
Groppel credits the University of Illinois with giving him the scientific foundation and teaching passion that shaped his career.
One of his mentors was Thomas K. Cureton, considered the father of physical fitness. After a semester working with Cureton and others in the precursor to what is now known as the Department of Health and Kinesiology in AHS, Groppel was hooked.
“AHS molded me into a person who can do quality research,” he said. “It all began with leaders in AHS taking a chance on me. It started in that small town and on those small farms where young Jack dared to dream big.”
Harold Scharper Award: Justice Adrienne Albrecht
If Groppel’s story is about breaking down doors, Adrienne Albrecht’s is about perseverance and the power of access. Recipient of the Harold Scharper Award, presented by the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services, Albrecht retired in 2024 as a Justice of the Third District Appellate Court of Illinois, capping a distinguished legal career.
Born in Kankakee as the eighth of 10 children, Albrecht was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that severely impaired her vision. In the 1960s, long before disability rights laws provided protections, her mother fought to secure accommodations like front-row seating and access to blackboards. “My mother was extraordinary,” Albrecht said. “She understood what I needed and made sure I got it.”
“If the leaders in this college hadn’t given me a shot, I’d be counting wolves in Wyoming.
Jack Groppel
Distinguished Alumni Award winner
DRES founder Tim Nugent also played a vital role. Several of Albrecht’s siblings, who also had Marfan syndrome, attended Illinois with the support of DRES scholarships.
“I can’t tell you what a profound effect the University of Illinois had on my entire family. Imagine this family of 10 children, thinking they could all go to college and have great careers. The University of Illinois was just so crucial to my family,” she said.
Despite limited assistive technology at the time, Albrecht thrived academically, drawn to international relations before pursuing law. A constitutional history course sparked her passion for legal analysis, while her visual impairment forced her to develop a near-photographic memory—an asset in her legal work.
Over a 30-year career, Albrecht became known for her skill, adaptability and dedication to justice. She was among the first attorneys in Kankakee to integrate personal computers into her practice, eventually teaching technology courses for the Illinois State Bar Association. She served on the circuit court bench before her appointment to the appellate court, where she helped interpret Illinois’ landmark cashless bail statute.
Her proudest moments, however, were deeply personal. “People approach me in the grocery store to thank me, to tell me I made a difference in their lives,” she said. “That means more than anything.”
Dean Hanley-Maxwell said Nugent would be proud to see how Albrecht carried forward his legacy of inclusion and access.
“(Nugent) would join all of us in AHS and DRES in saying that you are richly deserving of this award,” Hanley-Maxwell said.
Young Alumni Award: Brandon Buchanan
Brandon Buchanan was honored with the AHS Young Alumni Award for his leadership in health equity and hospital administration. Buchanan is now associate chief operating officer of Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, but his path began in Champaign with a shift in academic focus.
Originally a journalism major, Buchanan found his calling while volunteering at Smile Healthy, a clinic providing dental care to underserved populations. “Community health took a holistic approach to how society looks at health and well-being,” he said. Inspired, he switched majors and pursued graduate training in health administration.
That decision launched a career devoted to improving access to care. Buchanan managed HIV and STI outreach programs at Ohio State, then spent nearly seven years at Endeavor Health in Chicago. There, he built the health equity impact team from a one-person office into a 30-member department that improved mammogram screening rates, reduced hypertension in Black communities, and expanded community education.
Now in Florida, Buchanan serves on the board of the local YMCA and mentors students pursuing careers in healthcare administration. “I’m proud when I see them flourish and shine,” he said.
Hanley-Maxwell praised Buchanan’s blend of leadership and compassion: “You cannot go wrong when you are committed to improving your community through service, fairness and respect.”
How an RST alum became a Hollywood trainer to the stars
Dan Isaacson, center, served as executive director of the Governor’s Council under then-Gov. Pete Wilson. Before Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor, he chaired the council.
Transforming John Travolta. Becoming the first fitness editor for ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Marketing customized racketball racks for the Denver Broncos. Presenting the first wearable fitness device, the Polar Heart Rate Monitor. The list goes on.
“I dream of what could be and say why not? It’s the cornerstone of the creative entertainment community with visionary entrepreneurs like Walt Disney,” Dan Isaacson said. “I know I’m an entrepreneur, and I believe that that’s something I got from the University of Illinois.”
Isaacson, 75, grew up in Quincy, Illinois. His father owned John Isaacson & Sons Trucking and Isaacson remembers his early days as wonderfully rural, including farmhouse living, with no in-door running water or plumbing, one room schoolhouse for his first grade experience, church on Sundays, daily chores and sleigh rides in the winter. He said his background set a base for personal training and coaching others to achieve their goals in life.
“I believe we have a series of connecting dots in life that create a picture of who we are and our life’s story,” Isaacson said. “I grew up riding ponies at age 4, hiking, swimming, riding bikes, playing baseball, basketball, football and the tenor saxophone. It created a work/play lifestyle that developed my work values of discipline and responsibility balanced with unstructured play and the importance of being a person you could count on in life.”
Isaacson earned his B.S. from Western Illinois University in Recreation and Park Administration in 1971 and went on to earn his master’s in recreation, sport and tourism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
His reason for choosing Illinois was simple: its historic and unparalleled history in the field recreation and leisure studies. Huff Hall had been graced with several “professors at that time, in the ‘60s and ‘70s, that were true pioneers in health, fitness and recreation education.”
Isaacson said Dr. Joseph Bannon and Dr. Chuck Pezoldt were his mentors. Bannon’s class on decision- making set a base for him that he still uses today, as well as being Pezoldt’s graduate assistant that provided him a guiding light on how to conduct his life personally and professionally.
“Everything to establish the professional importance and value of recreation activity was there,” Isaacson said. “When I got to Illinois, I saw the possibilities beyond just municipal recreation and parks including fitness specialized to improve performance and athletic facility development.”
His first professional role was as a manager of the Sheridan Swim Club in Quincy. Sheridan was also an early training ground for Olympic hopefuls. Nicole Kramer trained there before eventually competing in the 1976 Montreal Olympics for women’s swimming. During those Games, Isaacson was her spokesperson and reported live for the WGEM affiliate in Quincy.
“I got a call from a close friend living in Denver who said, ‘Dan, they’re opening several new athletic clubs in Denver,’ and sent me an article from The Denver Post.”
After that, he headed west.
He began working on programs at elite, full-service athletic clubs that were at the forefront of a new trend: real estate-driven fitness centers in cities like Denver, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and Newport Beach. Serving high-profile clients and specifically the baby boomer generation, these clubs helped spark what would become a nationwide fitness boom.
In the early ‘80s, Isaacson found massive success in training John Travolta for a role-specific physical transformation for the movie “Staying Alive.” Not only did he lay the groundwork for a science-based training program, he shifted the way Hollywood viewed strategic fitness as a means for elevating on-screen performance. Following the movie release, Isaacson and his wife opened their first personal training center by Warner Brothers called “Winning Results,” training many of the biggest stars, producers, directors and studio executives in Hollywood.
While Isaacson attributes much of his career success to his academics, he said there were other experiences outside of the classroom that shaped his worldview. He recalled a time when he was invited to play ice hockey with a friend’s friends.
When I got to Illinois, I saw the possibilities beyond just municipal recreation and parks including fitness specialized to improve performance and athletic facility development.
Dan Isaacson
RST alumnus
“Of course, they were hockey ice skaters,” Isaacson said. “I used to ice skate at home, but I only went one way, which was forwards. So, when the puck was passed to me and I had to skate backwards, they shouted, ‘What are you doing?’”
Despite the embarrassment, “it taught me a good lesson: know in life how to go forwards and backwards, right and left, and you’ll be fine,” Isaacson said. “You don’t want to be stuck – you want to have places to go.”
Isaacson said his next goal is to create a city-model to improve overall health and wellness in a community. Today with advanced technology, use of AI, holograms, robots, biohacking information, social media and new products, he said it’s time to develop and provide customized programs specific for cities.
“How do we create a healthy physical behavior pattern for a city in 90 days?” Isaacson said. “It’s a big goal and the next frontier in health, wellness and longevity.”
Even with all his accomplishments, there is one philosophy that Isaacson continues to champion.
“I just don’t want to look back on my life and say, ‘I wish I would have,’” Isaacson said. “It’s ‘Try, fail and sail.’”
John Preston had never been in an integrated environment until he came to the University of Illinois in 1967
John Preston, second from right, navigated an unfamiliar world when he came to Urbana-Champaign (Photo provided)
Arriving at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the 1970s, John Preston was among the few Black students and people with disabilities on campus. His journey through the university not only challenged him to navigate an unfamiliar world but also taught him the value of embracing life as it comes.
“If you understood what you’re going through, being Black, then what you go through being disabled is just a continuation of having that experience of being different,” Preston said.
In high school, a car accident left Preston paralyzed. The sudden change forced him to navigate a world that wasn’t built for people like him.
Having also grown up in the South, he said he had never been in an integrated environment until he came to U. of I. in 1967 to complete an undergraduate degree in business administration and marketing. It was the only university in the nation at that time that was accessible and accommodating to persons with disabilities.
“When I arrived, I went into my room and I met my roommate. Dwight was from Wisconsin and he was white,” Preston said. “This would be the first time I ever had lived with someone of a different race.”
Preston faced some discrimination in his dorm during the early weeks, but “I was used to it and I soon felt that discrimination melt away when we all got to know each other personally.” For him, the accessibility of the campus and sense of freedom was amazing.
“It was a campus that I could push all over,” Preston said. “I could go from one end to the other, and I could go anywhere in any building. I could get out of my chair and transfer into an accessible shower chair. It was absolutely fantastic.”
He had never lived in a place with accommodations like U. of I. Preston recalled that when he first applied to Illinois, he was missing course requirements like chemistry and algebra. Those classes in his high school were taught upstairs—a place inaccessible to him.
The first thing one has to do is accept, ‘This is who I am’
John Preston
Illinois alumnus
His wife, Lynn Preston, said the integration of people with disabilities isn’t just an opportunity for students with disabilities to have an accessible college program.
“U. of I. offered an opportunity for people who are able-bodied to have a realistic normalized opportunity to integrate with a population that happened to be disabled,” Lynn Preston said. “When we integrate with each other and know each other personally, we don’t see the disability or wheelchair first—we learn to see the person.”
At Illinois, Preston said it was a real treat to be in an environment where he felt comfortable, physically and mentally, as well as educationally.
“I was able to get in touch with a self that I had never been before,” Preston said. “I was able to start thinking about myself as someone who had an opportunity to become different in a world that I hadn’t traversed.”
That physical freedom opened the door to emotional freedom, too—a shift Preston didn’t fully understand until a study abroad trip to France offered and supported by Illinois as part of his master’s program in psychological social work.
A trip to France helped Preston, center, feel more emotional freedom. (Photo provided)
“As far as I can see, people were standing up staring at us—but I didn’t feel bad,” Preson said. “I was trying to figure out, ‘Why don’t I feel bad?’ And I realized that I cannot look inside their heads to see what they were thinking. Whatever negative impressions I was getting was from me—it wasn’t coming from people on the outside.”
It was at that moment, Preston said, that he began to feel OK about himself.
“That was the greatest sense of accomplishment because I came away knowing that my life was about learning how to be OK with me, not about trying to determine whether someone liked me or didn’t like me. It was more about me getting to like me.”
Another experience that defined Preston’s college career was his job as a bouncer at a bar.
“I determined who could come through the door, I was checking IDs at the door,” Preston said. “That was one of the things that really was the normalization process for me. I felt like everybody else because I was doing the same things everyone was doing. I’ll always appreciate the gentleman who gave me the job.”
Shortly after graduating with his B.S., Preston went back to earn his masters in social work. Once it was completed, he packed his car and drove to California, where he landed a job as a licensed psychotherapist for Stanford. His job was to provide sessions to staff and faculty who were having difficulties with their families, the university or any other issues.
“People just feel different sometimes in their environment. We try to get in touch with whom we are within a group of individuals,” Preston said.
He said being in social service helped him understand a lot about individuals and the therapeutic process, and that is intimately tied to my education and experiences at U. of I.
“My success as a psychotherapist was also a result of my coming to terms with myself and the quality of the education that I was getting,” Preston said. “It helped me become a better therapist and gave me the tremendous ability to change my awareness of life to see how I could grow and become the best that I could be.”
Preston said he’s gone on to have a fantastic life, with kids, grandchildren and a great-grandchild with another on the way.
“My life has been more than I could ever have thought it could be,” Preston said.
His philosophy that he has carried throughout his life can resonate with all audiences.
“The first thing one has to do is accept, ‘This is who I am,’” Preston said. “Then, you look at each situation that comes into your life as, ‘How can I be the best me in this situation?’ And you are always looking at life as an ability to grow and become who you are and feel OK about you.”
Tacoria Humphrey was recently named a Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year, presented annually to the top Fighting Illini male and female athlete
Big Ten long jump champ Tacoria Humphrey has plans beyond her track and field competitions. (Photo courtesy of Fighting Illini)
She races down the rubberized runway, determination pumping through her arms, energy coursing across her strides and focus blazing in her eyes. With a mighty leap, she seems to sail through the air. Sand mushrooms under her shoes as she lands in the pit, the crowd roaring. That’s Tacoria Humphrey—champion of the 2025 Big Ten Long Jump.
Humphrey started track in middle school at Raymond Park Middle School on Indianapolis’ east side, where she broke two records in the high jump and 200 meter. Now, she’s well-decorated: she earned All-American honors in both indoor and outdoor seasons after winning back-to-back Big Ten long jump titles, placed fourth at the NCAA outdoor championships, recorded the third-longest indoor jump in NCAA history as national runner-up and earned a spot on The Bowerman Watch List. Humphrey said her success came from confidence.
“I feel like track is a mental sport,” Humphrey said. “If you believe you can do something, you’re most likely going to be able to do it, whereas if you’re scared or thinking about other people, that’s going to take over your mind and you’re not going to do well.”
Humphrey also attributed her many accomplishments to her training and her coach, Petros Kyprianou, the current director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“He has inspired me the most because he really believes in me, and when somebody just believes in you so much, you start to believe in yourself,” Humphrey said. “He’s just so thrilled to coach me, and he sees that I have a bright future and it just makes me want to accomplish everything to the highest level I can.”
She recalled a moment at the 2025 regionals for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Competitors only had three jumps, and Humphrey’s weren’t up to the number she needed to qualify for nationals.
“After my second jump, he talked with me,” Humphrey said. “He was giving me that pep talk, like, ‘You got this. This is what you’ve been training for,’ and helping me calm down. I literally went from 15th place to fourth, and I qualified.”
Kyprianou was the one who encouraged Humphrey to switch her event from high jump to long jump her sophomore year of college.
“I definitely was like, ‘This is weird,’ but I love trying new things,” Humphrey said. “I never expected to change events and to do so good in that event, but I 100% don’t regret it.”
“I always love helping people. I’m a people person.
Tacoria Humphrey
Community Health major and Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year
Outside of her national achievements, Humphrey was recently named a Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year, presented annually to the top Fighting Illini male and female athlete. The University of Illinois Athlete of the Year was first awarded in 1940, and was named in honor of the 11-time UI letterman and Olympian Dwight “Dike” Eddleman in 1993, who is generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of Illinois Athletics.
Caitlin Clarke, a health and kinesiology teaching assistant professor and chair of the Academic Progress and Eligibility Committee, said that sport performance is typically not the only factor that goes into choosing the recipient of the Dike Eddleman award.
“This is part of the culture of Illinois Athletics—they’re not going to go for someone who’s just really good at their sport and doesn’t care about academics at all,” Clarke said. “We get some really phenomenal students who are both really good at their sport and also really good at their major.”
At Illinois, Humphrey is a community health major, with a concentration in health education and health planning and promotion.
“I always love helping people,” Humphrey said. “I’m a people person.”
This summer, she’s participating in the Health and Kinesiology 471 internship program and working with Wellness4Every1, an organization dedicated to ensuring equitable access to high-quality arts and wellness programs for students in diverse communities. Clarke, additionally a lead faculty for the community health internship program, said Humphrey is doing a great job stepping into the professional world.
“She’s future-thinking, because she knows that she wants to compete professionally for a while, but she isn’t just checking off a box with this internship,” Clarke said. “This experience really pushes students to learn how to communicate professionally, which is an important skill anywhere and can be difficult to navigate.”
Clarke said it’s important for all student athletes to also excel outside of their sport.
“Most of our student athletes are going to go on to careers that are not always directly related to sports, so you have to have a plan,” Clarke said. “You don’t want that plan to be, ‘Well, I just kind of did okay in my major.’ You want to be the rock star that gets into a successful career so that you can enjoy your life and do more to help other people around you.”
Currently, Humphrey is preparing to become a pro athlete. Her first pro meet was the USA Track and Field Championships at the end of July.
“I’ll be a little nervous, but not really, because I’ve been jumping big marks that are close to what pros jump,” Humphrey said. “I’m eager to have better competition, and that will definitely push me.”
For her, success means a gold medal, and with her trademark confidence, it’s not a matter of if—but when.
Today’s Department of Health and Kinesiology once hosted the nation’s foremost researchers of sport psychology. Nearly 50 years on, these pioneers reunited at Huff Hall for a weekend on campus.
When Rainer Martens arrived at the University of Illinois in the summer of 1966, he stepped out of his blue Mustang and bounded up the steps of George Huff Hall, to see the university’s Sport Psychology Laboratory with his own eyes.
What he found on the third floor of Huff initially disappointed him: old equipment piled up in the corner of a room with just enough space to seat a class. “We thought we’d come to the wrong place,” Martens said.
Turns out, he wasn’t in the wrong place—maybe just a little early.
What followed was the explosive growth of sport psychology research at Illinois. With help from the university’s world-class department of psychology, a group of likeminded doctoral students—including Martens, Glyn Roberts and the late Dan Landers—began building a formal sport psychology graduate program at Illinois, to study the mental aspects of athletic success, motivation and performance.
Dozens of doctoral students went on to matriculate in the program and bring their discoveries to institutions across the globe. By the late 1970s, Illinois had become the torchbearer for modern-day sport psychology in the U.S., with a vibrant group of researchers at the helm.
Five decades later, a group of those same students and faculty returned to campus to catch up with their former colleagues, and take a tour of their old academic home. The guest list left an indelible mark on the field of sport psychology as it stands today.
Even as Illinois’ own sport psychology program has faded, the legacy of its achievements and discoveries endure in the modern day College of Applied Health Sciences. Faculty at AHS, particularly in Health and Kinesiology, continue to study the psychological effects of exercise and physical activity at large, building on more than 100 years of tradition.
“All these former students, they’ve all gone on to distinguished careers. They’ve gone on to become presidents of national sport psychology organizations, and spoken all over the world,” Martens said. “This gathering, it’s a once in a lifetime thing.”
To cap off their walk down memory lane, these legends of sport psychology got to share lunch with current-day faculty and doctoral students in the Department of Health and Kinesiology.
“That was very humbling, we never expected anybody to turn out,” said Glyn Roberts, who worked as a professor of sport psychology at Illinois until 1998. “It was very rewarding that they would do that for us.”
Guests of honor
Rainer Martens, a professor of kinesiology at Illinois until 1984, and co-founder of Human Kinetics, leading publisher of books and journals on physical activity
Julie Martens, PhD in sport psychology and the first employee of Human Kinetics, who retired as executive vice president in 2009
Glyn Roberts, professor emeritus at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and former professor of sport psychology at Illinois
Tara Scanlan, professor emerita of psychology at UCLA, and her husband Larry Scanlan
Diane Gill, kinesiology professor emerita at UNC Greensboro
Dan Gould and Marty Ewing, professors emeriti at Michigan State. Both earned a Ph.D. at Illinois, and Gould taught here until 1991
Damon Burton, professor of sport psychology at the University of Idaho
Robin Vealey, professor of kinesiology and health at the University of Miami, Ohio
Linda “Bump” Harrison, a publisher who got her PhD in the program in 1987
Marc Lochbaum, professor of kinesiology at Texas Tech who went to Illinois for undergrad and was mentored by several sport psychology greats
Absent were Joan Duda, professor of sport and exercise psychology at University of Birmingham, and Dan Landers, a professor of sport and exercise psychology and co-founder of the Journal of Sport Psychology, who passed away in 2023
‘We didn’t realize it, but we were pioneers’
Though Illinois experienced fertile growth of sport psychology in the 1970s, the seeds were planted by Coleman Griffith, known as the “father of sport psychology” for his pioneering work into the mental aspects of athletic performance.
Griffith founded and ran Illinois’ Athletic Research Laboratory until 1932, where he studied the links between personality and physiology on athletic success. He wrote two books—“Psychology of Coaching” and “Psychology and Athletics”— but left no proteges for his research. Griffith later became provost of the university.
Physical fitness pioneer Thomas “TK” Cureton started his Physical Fitness Research Laboratory in 1944, occasionally collaborating with psychologist Raymond B. Cattell. The two of them examined the relationship between physical activity on personality and several of Cureton’s graduate students examined the anxiety-reducing effects of exercise. In 1951, Professor Alfred “Fritz” Hubbard revived Griffith’s research line with a new Sport Psychology Laboratory, located in a third floor office of Huff Hall, then known as Huff Gymnasium.
Hubbard specialized in motor learning, but saw latent potential in the sport psychology discipline. After a decade of research and recruitment, Hubbard had a prediction: the number of graduate students interested in sport psychology would double or triple by the end of the 1970s. His forecast of growth came true.
Still, those who joined the Illinois sport psychology program in the 1960s found their way to the field before an academic path formally existed. Some started out in coaching or physical education, and were searching for applied knowledge to use in the field.
For Rainer, his experience with intense anxiety before youth wrestling matches inspired him to understand competitive nerves and how to quell them.
After getting degrees from the then-named Department of Physical Education, Landers, Martens and Roberts all eventually joined the Children’s Research Center, a grant-funded research vehicle seeking to explain children’s behavior from multiple academic disciplines.
The recent grads worked in the center’s Motor Performance and Play Research Laboratory, where they used social psychology principles to study children’s play, and explore how their stress levels, personalities and more influenced their motor learning.
The grant-funded lab supercharged their progress.
“A lot of the stuff we did initially was stress related. How do you reduce stress? That was Rainer’s research—what he called competitive anxiety,” said Roberts, who began working at the Children’s Research Center in 1973. “Mine was motivation: how do you make people do what they ought to be doing?”
Full-time research positions to study the field were unusual, and freeing. From 1968 to 1975, Martens stayed on with the Children’s Research Center. Lifted by the university’s resources, namely its enormous library, computing power and collaborators in psychology, the lab produced leading research in sport psychology before peer institutions had caught on to the emerging discipline.
Julie Martens (center left) and Tara Scanlan (second from right) share a laugh in Huff Hall. Both of them obtained their doctoral degrees in sport psychology from the University of Illinois.
Jean Driscoll (center) chats with Dan Gould and Damon Burton, both graduates of the sport psychology program at Illinois who went on to successful careers in the field.
Bill Goodman (center) retired associate dean for administration at the College of AHS, tours former Illinois sport psychology students and faculty around Huff Gym.
Chris Tamas, the current coach of the Illinois volleyball squad, speaks to former sport psychology students and faculty in Huff Gym.
Jean Driscoll shows off the wall of Distinguished Alumni Award winners from the College of Applied Health Sciences.
Former Illinois sport psychology students and faculty sit in one of the new Huff Hall classrooms. The space used to be part of the Huff Gym indoor pool.
A reunion of sport psychology faculty and students at Illinois brought the guests inside and outside Huff Hall, where much of the early research into their field took place.
Former Illinois sport psychology faculty and students walk up the ramp of the Khan Annex, an addition to Huff Hall that opened in 2011.
Glyn Roberts (center) points to the wall of deans of the College of Applied Health Sciences.
Don Hardin (right), adjunct instructor at AHS and former women's volleyball head coach, talks about the history of Huff Hall with former sport psychology students and faculty.
The sport psychology tour stops by the Freer Hall gym, used for research purposes.
Former sport psychology students and faculty tour the basement labs of Freer Hall.
The enthusiasm of Illinois sport psychologists was clearly infectious. After a couple years teaching physical education, Diane Gill attended a conference at Brockport, New York, where she got to hear both Dan Landers and Rainer Martens speak about their research at Illinois. By her first semester in Urbana-Champaign, Gill was in Martens’ class “Social Psychology and Physical Activity,” where his first doctoral student, Tara Scanlan, was teaching assistant.
“Taking that course, immediately I thought, ‘this is the area I’d like to be in,’” Gill said.
She soon worked with the pair on their competitive anxiety research, and later studied competitiveness and athletes’ “achievement orientation,” or drive to improve and accomplish goals within their sport, along with a host of other topics in the field.
“Illinois was the place to be if you wanted to be in sport psychology,” she said.
Gill is newly retired, having spent more than 30 years as a professor of kinesiology at University of North Carolina, Greensboro after obtaining her master’s and Ph.D. at Illinois.
(“My doctoral students are retiring,” said Martens, now 82. “That makes me really old.”)
Physical activity—whether it’s high-level athletics or recess play—is all one field.
Diane Gill
Professor Emerita of Kinesiology, UNC Greensboro
Julie Martens, née Simon, was accepted into the program in 1973, coming to Illinois specifically to study with Rainer. (They would get married nearly 20 years later).
“[Tara Scanlan and Diane] had an office out at the Children’s Research Center right next to Rainer’s. As I got to know them, we used to be out there every evening. They said, “Come on out, you can study at night with us,’” Julie said. “That’s how I got involved with meeting the other students, then I got an assistantship and got where I wanted to be.”
The scientists would run experiments, hop over to the nearby cafeteria in the Adler Mental Health building for lunch and sketch out ideas for new research designs on napkins. Those early days were “invigorating,” Martens said.
By 1980, U. of I. was the premier place of study for sport psychology, alongside Penn State. They had turned the topic into a formal graduate program, and the field was continuing to blossom. In 1979, Dan Landers and Rainer co-founded the Journal of Sport Psychology, where Landers was the inaugural editor-in-chief.
As the field grew in relevance, new pathways opened up and Illinois sport psychology spread across the country. Sport psychology got a “big break” when the Olympic Training Committee allowed athletes to be advised by professionals who weren’t clinicians or psychiatrists, Roberts said—sport psychologists could now help athletes develop strategies to perform under extreme stressors.
“The U. of I. was very special. And the thing that stuck with me was we attracted such good students. We generated a reputation, and students wanted to come here from all over the world,” Roberts said. “We didn’t realize it, but we were pioneers.”
‘No better program in the world’
Between visits to their old labs and offices, the sport psychology legends visited classrooms in Huff Hall where there used to be a swimming pool, and walked on floors of Freer Hall that were once open air.
“In Freer and Huff, things have changed, which is good in many ways. You wouldn’t want the same stuff you had 50 years ago,” Gill said.
Over the weekend, the sport psychology crew took the 40-minute drive to Allerton Park in Monticello, where they hosted the nation’s first conference in sport psychology: the North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) in 1973.
Several of them later served as executives and presidents of the society. The first conference also planted the seeds for Human Kinetics, the Champaign-based publisher of sport and exercise science founded by Martens and his first wife, Marilyn.
Though a formal sport psychology program no longer exists at Illinois, the field has expanded and evolved. The Department of Health and Kinesiology continues to study the psychological aspects and benefits of physical activity.
Rainer Martens speaks to his former Sport Psychology colleagues, and the current-day faculty of Health and Kinesiology.
“I think of it as one field. Physical activity—whether it’s high-level athletics or recess play—is all one field,” Gill said.
After walking through their old stomping grounds, the group met with current-day faculty and students of Health and Kinesiology for lunch in Freer Hall.
“This was the group that got sport psychology a foothold in this country,” said HK Professor Steve Petruzzello, who runs the college’s Exercise Psychophysiology Laboratory. “It’s wonderful to see these folks back here, to see their eyes light up as they’re walking around the halls, seeing spaces that look familiar and some that are completely unfamiliar.”
What remains from this era of sport psychology, and even the early days of Athletic Research Laboratory, are questions on the relationship between physical activity and psychology—including personality, stress, cognitive factors and affect, or feeling states.
“Faculty currently study these kinds of topics in older adults and children, in diverse populations, and in more specialized groups like tactical athletes,” Petruzzello said. “So really, the pioneering work of Coleman Griffith at Illinois over 100 years ago has evolved and developed into what it is today.”
Before heading off, the sport psychologists dispensed career advice with some of the rising graduate students and faculty. Linda Harrison obtained her Ph.D. from the program in 1987—she opted to go into the publishing industry instead of academia, but she credits her time at Illinois for developing her abilities to think and ask questions.
“The grad students all benefited from the historic founding fathers of sport psychology and the scholars who picked up the torch to carry the program to the next level,” Harrison said. “I am sure there was no better program in the world than the one offered at U. of I.”
Editor’s note:
To reach Ethan Simmons, email ecsimmon@illinois.edu The College of Applied Health Sciences and Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics are celebrating 100 years of Huff Hallthis fall.
