Chair's Corner

Welcome to the Fall 2024 Communicator. I hope you are enjoying the holiday season. As you will see in the following pages, our students and faculty continue to do great work and represent us at the local, national, and international levels. This fall, Suzanne Caughlan, our long-time yoga instructor, is retiring. We wish her all the best as she moves on to new adventures.

This fall, we held a social event for our students at the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center (SRAC). Students were welcomed to a taco bar, and many of our faculty and staff were there to share food and great conversations. We plan to make this a regular event, taking time to have opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to get to know one another outside of the classroom and develop a sense of community.

On a very sad note, Coach Yoshiro “Yosh” Uchida, a faculty member in the Kinesiology department, passed away at the age of 104 in June 2024. The SJSU and greater San Jose and judo communities came together in September to celebrate his life and memory. The university created a video
celebrating his life and legacy. He will be missed, and we know the judo community will keep his spirit and memory alive.

We continue to benefit from the wisdom of our Kinesiology Advisory Board. This semester, one of our board members and alumni, Eric Manuta of the San José Sharks, was kind enough to host us at SAP. The commitment of this group is inspiring, and we see their appreciation for their time at SJSU and their desire to give back to the department and our students.

This March 11-12, 2025, we will once again be participating in the SJSU Day of Giving Efforts. A hearty thank you to those who contributed to our fundraising efforts last year to support student travel to academic conferences and other educationally enriching experiences! Please know that we always
welcome your donations to support our students, faculty and staff in their research, travel, and professional development.

As always, I want to thank all our students, faculty, and staff who make the Department of Kinesiology a vibrant place, where we continue to work to keep us all moving. Your continued generosity helps us to support the academic mission of the department and support our students.