|
(Formerly
Western College Physical Education Society)
See Our List Of Distinguished
Board Members and Past Presidents
The first meeting of the Western College
Physical Education Society (WCPES),
originally the Western College Men’s
Physical Education Society (WCMPES), was
held at the University of Utah in the Fall
of 1956. A small group of college and
university physical educators from Western
states met to discuss inequity in selecting
sites for the College Physical Education
Association’s (CPEA) annual meetings. From
this initial meeting came recommendations
that CPEA meet periodically in states west
of the Mississippi or provide for a CPEA
western division.
After the Utah meeting, questionnaires were
distributed to western college and
university male physical educators by E.C.
Davis of USC. In response to the
questionnaires, the following decisions were
made:
1. Meet independently from CPEA.
2. Deal only with the topic of
physical education.
3. Use a round table discussion format
without presenters or panels. In effect,
each member is to participate and serve as a
resource person.
4. Limit the program to the discussion
of two or three problems or issues.
At CPEA’s national meeting in 1957, WCMPES
elected to meet independently in Reno in
October 1958. A committee was formed to
draft an Operating Code. The Code, limited
to one typewritten page, set forth
conditions for continuing the format as
prescribed by its charter members.
After CPEA’s demise, and the subsequent
formation of the National Association of
Physical Education in Higher Education (NAPEHE),
overtures were made by WCMPES to amalgamate
and/or meet jointly with the Western Society
for Physical Education of College Women (WSPECW).
WSPECW rejected the offers. In 1986, WCMPES
chose to drop the “M” from its title and
open its membership to all college and
university physical educators.
The Dr. G.A. “Art” Broten Scholar program,
originated by Bob Ritson and others in 1987,
encouraged the involvement of younger
college and university physical educators in
WCPES. A call for papers is made annually
with time allotted in the conference program
for presentation of these papers. Dr.
Broten finances the program, and monetary
awards are given to these young scholars to
help defray travel costs to the conference.
In 1988, Sam Winningham from CSU Northridge
commissioned a WCPES logo. John Ostarello
from CSU East Bay modified the logo in 2005
to reflect the name change to WSKW and to
provide a more modern appearance. In 1994,
Jerry L. Ballew of the University of Nevada,
Reno created a motto, “Where the conferee is
the program and mentoring and networking are
the foundation.” The motto reflects the
position of the Society and provides the
basis for unique professional conferences.
In order to better represent the work of the
Society and in recognition of the trend in
the profession to move away from the term
‘physical education,’ the membership
initiated action to change the name of the
organization. Following the 2004 meeting,
the membership approved a name change to the
Western Society for Kinesiology and Wellness
(WSKW) to inaugurate its 50th
anniversary |
