University Perspective by William McKinney, Ph.D.
As a condition of accreditation, every university leisure studies department is required to demonstrate evidence of consultation with practitioners (Part I, Standard 3.06, "Standards for Baccalaureate Programs in Recreation, Park Resources and Leisure Services," National Council on Accreditation). Consultation with practitioners works best when it is organized, purposeful and frequent. The vehicle used to establish consultation with practitioners for many academic departments has been an "Alumni Advisory Board." Over the past ten years, the Department of Leisure Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), has actively sought to develop its Alumni Advisory Board (AAB). The AAB consists of twelve members serving staggered three-year terms. A majority of the board members must be alumni of the department, while other positions are open to friends and supporters. The AAB can provide services well beyond basic consultation to an academic department. In fact, in this example, the Alumni Advisory Board is the reason for the continued existence of the Leisure Studies Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. UIUC's Department of Leisure Studies is one of the oldest academic programs in the field of recreation and leisure studies, and it has consistently been ranked among the top three The Alumni Advisory Board is the reason for the continued existence of the Leisure Studies Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. departments of its kind by measures of scholarly productivity and in reputational studies. The department offered its first recreation course in 1932 and awarded its first bachelor's degree in 1948, master's in 1962 and doctorate in 1972.
It has limited enrollment of 220 undergraduates, who enter the
department with an average ACT score of 28. Approximately
35 master's students and 25 doctorate students are enrolled
in the department's graduate programs. Acceptance to
the Ph.D. program requires a minimum score of 1, 700
on the Graduate
Record Examination (GRE).
The research expertise of the faculty
has played a central role in the development
of the knowledge base for the
field. The department's faculty are
consistently ranked as "excellent
teachers" by their students, and all
faculty teach across the three degree
levels. The department also has a long
and distinguished record of public service
and outreach to citizens of the
state and the field's professional organizations
and associations.
Yet, despite the strength of UIUC's
Leisure Studies Department, its very
existence was challenged as we entered this decade.
At the conclusion of the 1989 academic year, five faculty
members left the department to assume faculty positions at other
universities. Each departing faculty member had been offered
a promotion, a significant salary increase, or both. The following year, the department
filled the five faculty positions with
temporary appointments and began the search for full-time re-
Illinois Parks & Recreation * November/December 1996 * 27
placements. However, prior to filling the positions, the College
of Applied Life Studies, which includes the Department of Leisure
Studies, was assessed the largest retrenchment tax (or reduction
in state funding) it had ever received. The only way to
pay the tax was by eliminating faculty salary lines. With five
positions open in the department, it lost three faculty positions
to the university tax.
In 1992 the department was again assessed the largest tax
for retrenchment in the college and was forced to extract one
more faculty line and two half-time secretary lines from the
budget and from operations. This level of reduction—about a
40 percent reduction in assistant, associate and full professors
and support staff—made the department very susceptible to
complete elimination. But there is still more to add to the tenuous
position of the department.
During the fall of 1992, the chancellor of the university
appointed a university-wide study committee to determine
whether the College of Education and the College of Applied
Life Studies could be consolidated into a single college. This
would eliminate the indirect, overhead and burden cost of two
colleges administrations and simultaneously create a new college
encompassing a much broader breadth and depth of teaching,
research and service.
The final report of this committee identified the Department
of Leisure Studies as too small to function as an independent academic unit.
It recommended the separation of the Leisure Behavior
and Leisure Service Management faculty and
ultimately the elimination of the Leisure Studies program at
the undergraduate, master's and doctorate levels at UIUC. Department
faculty were unanimously opposed to splitting the
faculty and eliminating the academic programs, but were faced
with the reality of a university-wide committee report.
The advisory board took action by first meeting with the
dean of the College of Applied Life Studies. The purpose of the
meeting was to recognize the statewide, national and worldwide
leadership of the department and to tell the dean that they
would not accept the splitting of faculty nor elimination of the
curriculum.
Next, the AAB initiated a letter-writing campaign. The campaign
was not just for alumni of the department, but also for
friends and individuals who recognize the value of parks and
recreation and leisure services and the necessity of the UIUC
program for this field. More than 1, 400 letters were received
by the president of the university. The academic and professional
leadership of our field as well as doctors, lawyers, bankers,
teachers and nurses, asked the president to support and retain
the Department of Leisure Studies at the University of Illinois.
This remains only a part of the total action of the AAB. A
number of the AAB members are directors of park districts
throughout the state. As directors they work directly for boards
that are elected and these board members often have close relationships
with elected state legislators. In April In April of 1993 the State
of Illinois House of Representatives adopted a resolution.
The resolution contains ten "Whereas" statements (i.e.,
"The members of the Chamber recognize and support the value
of and continued need to train leaders in the field of public
parks, recreation and conservation for the long-term health and
well-being of all citizens and our state.") and four "Resolved"
statements (i.e., "That the University take whatever action is
necessary to assure that the Department of Leisure Studies retain
its full departmental status in the long-term planning for
the University").
Finally, the AAB met with the chancellor of the university
to communicate its commitment to the long-term maintenance
of an academic department in leisure studies at the University
of Illinois. Inside Illinois, the university newspaper, printed the
first formal reaction of the chancellor to the Health and Human
Development Committee report. The chancellor said "his one
strong disagreement with the report was a recommendation that
the Department of Leisure Studies be split between a new college
and the College of Agriculture." He suggested instead that
"the department be kept intact."
Today, the Department of Leisure Studies is an independent
academic program on the UIUC campus. Faculty appointments
have been restored with new and outstanding faculty.
Student demand exceeds capacity, and the AAB continues to
meet frequently to provide direction for the department.
Few would argue that all growth, developmental learning,
experimentation, creative action, and life enhancement takes
place entirely within the school or workplace. Children develop
in their play; youth relate as much in leisure as in school; families
express and develop their relationships in leisure; retired
and displaced workers find meaning and sense of membership
in society through their leisure; and yes, much of the social ills
affecting this nation are the result of inappropriate uses of leisure time.
In short, leisure is a domain of life, distinguishable from
other domains such as work, school, and healthcare. Likewise,
leisure is important for inclusion as an academic department at
our major research universities.
Leisure is worthy of study; the best study in the most inclusive
of contexts. Such study needs to be global rather than
insular, employing a full complement of disciplines and perspectives.
It calls for our best resources and for investment that
is not threatened by every wind of political change or economic
constriction. It is worthy of study because it is important in the
whole process of being and becoming human.
Thanks in no small part to the efforts of an Alumni Advisory Board,
the chancellor of the University of Illinois was convinced of the importance of leisure
and professional preparation in parks and recreation for society in general and the state
of Illinois. Thankfully, the work of the AAB far exceeds the
requirement to consult with practitioners.
Dr. William McKinney is the head of the Department of Leisure
Studies at the University of Illinois. Urbana-Champaign
(UIUC). He earned a bachelor's degree in Community Recreation at
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, a master's
in Park and Recreation Administration and a doctorate in Leisure Studies from UIUC.
28 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * November/December 1996
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