Kristen Marie Gould Endowed Lecture on Sport for Children and Youth

You are invited to attend the Kristen Marie Gould Endowed Lecture on Sport for Children and Youth Thursday, September 16 starting at 4:30p.m. in the Erickson Hall KIVA.

This endowed lectureship was instituted in 2013 by Dr. Dan Gould, Director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports (ISYS), and his wife Deb Lee Gould in honor of their daughter, Kristin Marie, who died at 21 months of age from a rare genetic disorder. Albeit short, Kristin’s life was meaningfully enriched by the joy of engaging in play, sport, and physical activity. This inspired Dr. Gould to commit his career to pursuing research and outreach projects that would improve the quality of young people’s lives through engagement in developmentally sound sport and physical activity experiences. His return to Michigan State University to direct the ISYS and the establishment of this endowed lecture with Mrs. Gould is an extension of this commitment that our department deeply values.

The speaker this year will be Dr. Jacqueline (Jackie) D. Goodway who is Professor and Program Chair of Kinesiology in the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University. Her Ph.D. is from Michigan State University in motor development. Dr. Goodway’s research agenda focuses on promoting an “Active Start” in young children who are economically disadvantaged and elucidating the role motor competence plays in leading a physically active lifestyle and maintaining a healthy weight. This work is framed within the larger picture of physical literacy and supporting children’s physical literacy journeys from early childhood into adolescence. Dr. Goodway was the first investigator in the field to highlight that young child growing up in poverty demonstrate significant delays in their fundamental motor skill competence, regardless of geographic region, culture, or gender.