Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
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Sports
Part 1: The most Important Incidents on Bowling Green State University’s (BGSU) Timeline
The Department of Recreation and Wellness provides opportunities to promote healthy lifestyles at the university and surrounding communities through competitive activities and hands-on educational experiences at personal and team level. The most important incidents on BGSU’s timeline include many Student Recreation Center’s visitors, awards and honors, grants, green initiatives, and alumni memories. BGSU’s indicates that the Department of Recreation and Wellness social change model to empower students, staff, communities, and other stakeholders to contribute to a better world.
BGSU has received several awards in facilities, wellness, and marketing, and staff. In 2016, the Student Recreation Center (SRC) won the NIRSA Outstanding Sports Facilities Award for innovative designs and expanded recreational facilities. The award reflects the university’s commitment to providing quality higher education and promoting a healthy lifestyle. University Business Magazine also recognized the SRC as one of the top ten newly renovated facilities with a newly designed front entrance. Also, it increased accessibility to the lower and upper levels of the facility (Bowling GreenState University para. 2). The institution also received the US Healthiest Campus Accreditation for promoting a healthy lifestyle and a standard workplace through integrated well-being support services.
BGSU has also received several Student Affairs Awards, including the Collaborative Effort Award in 2006-07, 2010-11, and 2015-16, and 2018 BACCHUS Program of the Year. The institution was also ranked second for NIRSA Creative Excellence (2018) for its marketing campaign “Step Up-Step In” that emphasizes bystander intervention to create a culture of shared respect at the university. Moreover, the institution has a history of receiving Administrative Staff Awards, Outstanding New Professionals Awards, and Outstanding Classified Staff Member, among others, due to excellent performance in various positions. The institution values its workforce in order to transform students and other stakeholders. Thus, the institution’s awards and honors indicate its commitment to state-of-art facilities, wellness, staff, and culture of shared respect to protecting human dignity.
Besides, the campus sustainability or green initiative engages students, faculty, staff, and communities in developing and implementing green projects. In 2009, the institution established the Student Green Initiatives Fund to further environmental conservation at the university. The Green Initiatives Fund allows students to contribute an optional $5 per semester towards financing the proposed projects. The university requires the proposed projects to support at least emissions reduction, waste reduction & resource conservation, and awareness, education, & outreach programs. Thus, the Green Fund committee evaluates the proposal’s feasibility and its alignment to the institution’s sustainability goals. Examples of the current green projects include electric car charging stations, reusable bags, the water bottle refill station, and outdoor LED lighting conversion projects. The university’s commitment to sustainability
Consequently, the university grants promote the community’s well-being through peer education and collaboration with societies, counties, and states. The university’s High Risk Drinking Grant promotes behavior change through peer education to empower individuals and community. In 2007, BSGU collaborated with the Medical Mutual of Ohio to create WellAware Program grants to support the current and retired faculty and staff members through health and wellness initiatives. The institution values health communities in Ohio. In 2012, the institution partnered with the Ohio Traffic Safety Office to establish Safety Communities Grant to save lives and reduce injuries through data-driven decisions. Likewise, the university supported 46 community-based programs to create awareness about seat belt usage, safe driving, motorcycle safety, fatal data review, and coalition building. In 20912, the university established the Campus Suicide Prevention Grant in 2012 to provide a more comprehensive approach to prevent suicide by educating stakeholders about warning signs of suicide, reducing stigma among individuals seeking help, promoting shared responsibility in saving lives, and providing on-campus resources required to prevent suicide.
The alumni association is a stand-alone program financed solely with students fees from 1979 to create lasting memories in the institution. Students create a lifelong friendship with the Student Recreation Center and allow future students to develop their lasting memories at the university. The approval of a $13.4 million renovation project by the Board of Trustees will create a state-of-art facility with better training equipment and increased natural lighting. Indeed, alumni connect through the LinkedIn group in order to share experiences, ideas, and passion in various recreational activities. Collegiate recreation develops leadership skills through collaboration, commitment, citizenship, civility, shared purpose, and self-awareness (McFadden and Stenta 9). Thus, the university contributes to social change by dueling individual values, group values, and community values.
Part Two: Professional Self-Definitions
Recreational sports professionals can use the leadership identity development model and the social change model of leadership to shape student employees’ management and provide value to the university community at large. Cilente (43) posits that the social change model (SCM) was established for college students in order to promote social change over their lifetimes. Social change occurs in daily due to the technological communication revolution. Approximately two-thirds of college students work at least part-time, while thousands work in their own campuses (Field para. 2).
A leader does not necessarily refer to individuals who hold a formal leadership position but a person who can effect positive change to improve others’ lives and the community (Cilente 45). Thus, all people are potential leaders in one way or another. Recreational sports professionals can apply SCM to prepare leaders for promoting positive social change. Focusing on an individual’s values is critical in leadership development. Thus, the “value-based” educational program equips students with shared human values, including service, self-knowledge, and collaboration in common civic agendas. Extramural sports promote group spirit and teamwork among college students (Mitchell 13).
SCM advocates for different approaches in teaching collegiate leadership skills. In 1996, the high education community adopted SCM to empower undergraduate students throughout the country. SCM focuses on developing social change agents through community involvement and impacting others (Cilente 51). The leadership model promotes positive social change through individual values (consciousness of self, commitment, and congruence), group values (collaboration, common purpose, civility, and controversy), and community values or citizenship. Likewise, recreational sports professionals should evaluate student’s hands-on experiences and interactions between individual, group, and community values.
Consequently, recreational sports professionals can use the college environment’s leadership identity development (LID) model to promote positive behavior change among students. LID is based on the grounded theory approach to the leadership process. The model guides sports professionals in developing leadership skills among students. LID model applies both linear and cyclical progress through six stages to enable students to improve their leadership process (Hall 39). LID model’s six steps include “awareness, exploration, leader identification, leadership differentiation, generativity, and integration” (Hall 35). Individuals should become aware of how individuals lead and influence others. Exploration or engagement involves sharing group experiences and making friends. Likewise, leader identification distinguishes leadership and followership. A leader ensures that the job is done while a follower helps the leader to accomplish the task (Hall 35). Leadership differentiation involves recognizing that a leader serves the organization through interaction with others. Besides, generativity focuses on sustainability by developing leadership among other team members. Moreover, the integration or synthesis phase involves internalizing oneself and interdependent with others. Thus, the LID model provides a step-by-step guide in leadership development.
Part Three: Programming and Risk Management
This section evaluates the recreational sports program at BGSU and Toronto Ryerson University. Risk management and programming are critical to the success of recreational sports programs. BGSU implements the principles of programming, marketing, and risk management to mitigate losses. Besides, BGSU is one of the leading universities in risk management, brand marketing, and event planning to mitigate risks. The university has invested in research, alumni, library, sustainability, green office, and climate action plan to achieve long-term goals. BGSU invests heavily in students, staff, and other stakeholders in order to achieve long-term goals. Skilled campus jobs empower students’ first-generation students and prepare them for the job market than their peers. The institution prepares students for various job classifications, including assistant specialists, supervisors, managers, and specialists.
On the other side, Toronto Ryerson University provides hundreds of jobs to students. The university makes students’ jobs more meaningful by supporting students in their endeavors. Toronto Ryerson University offers recreation and athletic services,
Ryerson University offers students campus jobs, including paid-internship programs that provide students with an opportunity to gain skills. The administration ensures that students’ jobs are more meaningful to enable individuals to achieve long-term career goals. A strong job position at Ryerson University provides students with a competitive advantage in the competitive labor market. The college ensures the security of the participants and facilitates the success of the program (McFadden and Carr 67). The ability to work within a team structure include establishing goals, evaluating students strengths and weakness, teambuilding, securing leadership positions, improving team performance, problem-solving skills, collaboration, and recognizing team members’ contributions. Hall, Cramp, and Fehtring (15) technical knowledge related to sports activities include accounting, event planning, human resources, relations, hospitality administration, management, and non-profitability management.
Part Four: Chapter 13-Special Events
The university can use its recreational sports facilities to offer various special events, including sports club games, intramurals, fitness, and aquatic classes. Special events differ from other events because they are not held regularly. The institution’s success in special events planning requires specific knowledge to plan and manage the occasion. When planning special events, the factors to include “feasibility study, financial planning, human resource plans, rules, registration plans, equipment, communication plans, awards, promotion plans, and evaluation plans” (Nesbit 231). Feasibility justifies the need to host a special event by evaluating the available cost and benefits data. According to Nesbit (231), a feasibility study involves defining the mission and goals, event size, scope, and expected guests. The institution should also benchmark to gain insight into situations that administrators lack adequate data to make an informed decision. Besides, financial planning is critical in budgeting based on the size and scope of the event. The income expected from the event includes registration fees, donations, sponsorships, spectator fees, advertising fees, and parking fees. On the other side, the expense for a special event includes ticket printing, trophy purchases, maintenance costs, merchandise for sale, local authority permits, personnel, food, and security.
Consequently, proper staffing is essential for the success of special events. Thus, the organizers should determine the required workforce, recruit volunteers needed, hire staff if need be, assign duties to all staff, plan a communication system, provide orientation and training, plan supervision, and payment plan or recognition of staff. Additionally, the administrators should evaluate rules and official programs based on the location and exceptions (Nesbit 236). Likewise, the organizers should assess risk, emergency, and crisis plans to enhance staff and visitors’ safety. The success of special events depends on planning and risk mitigation strategies to improve security.
Works Cited
Bowling Green State University. Bowling Green State University. n.d. 13 October 2020. <https://www.bgsu.edu/recwell/telling-our-story/history.html>.
McFadden, Cara W. & Carr, Julia Wallace. “Collegiate Recreation Student Employee as Student Leader.” McFadden, Donald A. Stenta & Cara W. Student Leadership Development Through Recreation and Athletics: New Directions for Student Leadership, Number 147. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. 65-76.
Cilente, Kristan. “An overview of the social change model of leadership development.” Wagner, Susan R. Komives & Wendy. Leadership for a Better World: Understanding the Social Change Model of Leadership Development,. 2009. 43-77. <https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/auth/lib/ohiostate-ebooks/login.action?returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Febookcentral.proquest.com%2Flib%2Fohiostate-ebooks%2Fdetail.action%3FdocID%3D918246.Created>.
Hall, Dave, & Cramp Catherine, & Fehring Kristal. Considering the Impact of Participation and Employment of Students in Campus Activities and Collegiate Recreation on the Development of the Skills Employers Desire Most. 2 March 2015. 13 October 2020. <https://nirsa.net/nirsa/2015/03/02/considering-the-impact-that-participation-and-employment-in-collegiate-recreation-has-on-student-development/>.
Field, Kelly. “Making Students’ Jobs More Meaningful.” The Chronicles of Higher Education (2017). 13 October 2020. <https://www.chronicle.com/article/making-students-jobs-more-meaningful/>.
Hall, Stacey L. “Linking the Leadership Identity Development Model to Collegiate Recreation and Athletic.” McFadden, Donald A. Stenta & Cara W. Student Leadership Development Through Recreation and Athletics: New Directions for Student Leadership, Number 147. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. 33-41.
McFadden, Cara W. & Stenta Donald A. Student Leadership Development Through Recreation and Athletics: New Directions for Student Leadership, Number 147. Vol. 14. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
Mitchell, Elmer D. Intramural athletics. New York: A.S. Barnes and Company, 1925.
Nesbit, Gordon M. “Special events .” NIRSA. Campus Recreational Sports; Managing employees, programs, facilities, and services. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2013. 231-244.