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Community Resources and Development named a 'Program of Excellence'


December 15, 2010

Christopher Edginton, WLO, and Maria Allison, SCRD The World Leisure Organization (WLO), a non-governmental association, designated ASU’s School of Community Resources and Development (SCRD) a “Program of Excellence” in a signing ceremony on Dec. 3.  

Representing the WLO was the organization’s Secretary General, Dr. Christopher Edginton, who also serves as professor and director of the School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services at University of Northern Iowa since 1991.  Also in attendance representing the WLO was Dr. Roger Coles, dean of the College of Graduate Studies at Central Michigan University.  Representing ASU’s SCRD was Dr. Maria Allison, vice provost and dean of the Graduate College.  The signing ceremony took place in conjunction with the SCRD’s Graduate Symposium, in which PhD candidates presented their graduate research.

The WLO, founded in 1952, is an organization dedicated to fostering research and scholarship opportunities into leisure as a force for human growth, development and well-being.  As a World Leisure Program of Excellence designate, the School of Community Resources and Development receives recognition for continuing to provide research opportunities for national and international graduate students.  By working with leisure educators, researchers and professionals, master’s and PhD candidates are prepared to study policy, planning, community development and human service delivery models related to parks and protected areas, recreation programs and services, non-profit services, and tourism development and management.

The program prepares graduates for careers in higher education, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private sector businesses. The fields subsumed within Community Resources and Development are extremely diverse and involve the private, government and nonprofit sectors of the economy.  

For more information about the WLO, please visit their website: http://worldleisure.org/.  For more information about graduate opportunities within the SCRD, please visit the school’s website: http://scrd.asu.edu/.