Cara McFadden heads to Texas, presents at NIRSA conference

The assistant professor of sport and event management led three separate presentations relating to her work with a new Wiley book series, titled “New Directions for Student Leadership."

During the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Exposition, Cara McFadden (right) of Elon University presented twice with Don Stenta of the Ohio State University. The conference was held March 30 through April 2 in Dallas, Texas.   

During the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Exposition, Cara McFadden (right) of Elon University presented twice with Don Stenta of the Ohio State University. The conference was held March 30 through April 2 in Dallas, Texas.   [/caption]​Assistant Professor Cara McFadden in Elon University’s Department of Sport and Event Management presented at the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference & Recreational Sports Expo, held in Dallas, Texas. During the four-day conference, scheduled March 30 through April 2, she led three presentations related to her work with a new Wiley book series, titled “New Directions for Student Leadership” (NDSL). The series will premiere in fall 2015 and includes four issues.

McFadden oversaw an issue titled “Student Leadership Development through Recreation and Athletics,” which is designed to engage higher education professionals with concrete competencies that will enhance their understanding of how students’ leadership capacity is developed in recreation and athletic environments.

While in Texas, McFadden teamed with Julie Wallace Carr of James Madison University to present “Collegiate Recreation Student Employee as Student Leader.” Wallace Carr is the senior associate director for JMU’s University Recreation and an associate professor in the School of Hospitality, Sport & Recreation Management.

The Elon professor also partnered with Don Stenta of the Ohio State University for two presentations, titled “The Social Change Model of Leadership and Recreation” and “New Directions: Student Leadership in Collegiate Recreation.” Stenta is OSU’s director of student life recreational sports and a lecturer in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

McFadden and Stenta served as co-editors for the upcoming NDSL issue, and they penned a recent article highlighting their work.

McFadden also co-authored two chapters, “Connecting Collegiate Recreation and Athletics to Leadership,” and “Collegiate Recreation Student Employee as Student Leader.” Additionally, Tony Weaver, associate professor in the Department of Sport & Event Management, co-authored a chapter, titled “Intercollegiate Athlete as Student Leader.”

NIRSA is sponsoring the NDSL issue and plans to send a copy of the publication to its institutional members shortly after its release.

In addition to her work in the Department of Sport and Event Management, McFadden is the faculty director for Elon’s Danieley Neighborhood.