The recreator: Volume 1, Issue 1

Greetings from the Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation. I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce this inaugural newsletter to you. It has been the most trying of times over the past year for so many of us, to say the least. We have struggled with a relentless pandemic, systemic racism, environmental catastrophes, a weak economy, and a contentious
election. That said, it is somewhat miraculous that through it all, UNC Greensboro and our department have continued to thrive.We have also made several exciting changes to our staff in the current academic year. Dr. Brent Wolfe was hired as a tenured, Associate Professor of Therapeutic Recreation. His research is in adapted sports, along with focusing on the lived experiences of people with disabilities and giving them a voice to share their perspectives. Dr. Wolfe also serves as the Executive Director of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA), the national organization representing recreational therapists across North America. He joins six other CTR faculty members all of whom are doing great work through teaching, mentoring students, and pursuing community scholarship.

CTR remains vital and prominent within the School of Health & Human Sciences. Our department held steady in the fall semester, serving 192 undergraduate students and 39 graduate students, our largest graduate student cohort to date. Moreover, I am pleased to report that students of color comprise nearly 25% of our student body. In light of current events, CTR faculty and staff have been delving deeper into issues of structural racism in order to serve our diverse student body. We have opened our eyes wider to appreciate, acknowledge, and incorporate important new perspectives and approaches to our teaching, mentoring, and scholarship.

Dr. Stuart Schleien, CTR Department Chair