After extensive and careful consideration, the  NIRSA Foundation and the NIRSA Research and Assessment Committee are excited to announce that Laura Morris, Assistant Professor in the Recreation, Sport Leadership & Tourism Management program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington has been awarded one of NIRSA’s 2018 research grants!

This year, many exceptional proposals were received and identifying the most deserving recipients was a challenging task. The NIRSA Foundation and the NIRSA Research and Assessment Committee are grateful for all the applicants and their continued support of our mission and passion for research on the impact of campus recreation.

See related: NIRSA to support research on “the impact of health and wellbeing education on retention rates;” “the impact of LGBTQ diversity training on attitudes and competencies;” and “on recreation professionals’ engagement with social justice”

Laura Morris’ project seeks to explore the relationship between campus recreation participation and psychological wellbeing. Results will help to identify the mechanisms by which participation in campus recreation influences happiness. Such information will inform campus recreation and student affairs professionals how to potentially structure recreation programs to maximize student wellbeing and thereby, their success (i.e., retention and graduation).

This project is supported by the NIRSA Foundation

The NIRSA Foundation continues to support research that broadens the knowledge base in the field of campus recreation. The NIRSA Research Grant Program funds original, scholarly research projects that advance the knowledge base and practices of our profession. Previously funded research projects and the recipients can be found on the NIRSA Research Grant webpage and many of their contributions to the literature can be found in the Recreational Sports Journal, the scholarly publication from the NIRSA Foundation dedicated to publishing empirical, theoretical, and applied research in the field. NIRSA members have free access to current and archive issues of the RSJ.

The results of this project will be shared at an upcoming NIRSA Annual Conference and may also be featured in an future issue of the RSJ.

  • For more information about the NIRSA research grant program, contact Ruben Guzman, Research Coordinator at NIRSA Headquarters.
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Adrienne Ansel is currently the Student Supervisor of Fitness at Bowling Green State University and a member of NIRSA's Research and Assessment Committee; she can be reached at aansel@bgsu.edu.