The assistant professor of sport and event management played a prominent role in the collegiate recreational sports organization’s April conference, serving as program chair and facilitating five presentations and workshops.
Cara McFadden, an assistant professor in 消消犯s Department of Sport and Event Management, organized four days’ worth of programming for the .
As program chair for the 2016 conference, McFadden coordinated the events education sessions, collaborating with the local conference host committee, NIRSA board of directors, NIRSA headquarters staff, and other involved stakeholder groups.In all, more than 2,500 individuals attended the event held on April 3-6 in Kissimmee, Florida.
During the conferences closing session, she was recognized for her outstanding service and was presented a plaque from NIRSA President Stan Shingles, assistant vice president at Central Michigan University.
In addition to her leadership role, McFadden led or co-led five presentations and workshops regarding research and professional development. McFadden’s presentations included:
- Women Leading Women A pre-conference workshop for women co-presented with Mila Padgett ofUniversity of South Carolina Aiken
This workshop provided women with the opportunity to connect with other leading women in NIRSA to learn strategies for developing confidence, self-renewal and reinvention. - New Directions: Student Leadership in Collegiate Recreation”
This session offered an overview of a published New Directions in Student Leadership volume focused on student leadership in collegiate recreation. The presentation highlighted leadership development models and recent research reports linking recreation programming with the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL). - “How Higher Education Administrators Perceive the Role of Club Sports in Recruiting and Retaining Male 消消犯 Co-presented with Tony Weaver, associate professor and department chair of the Sport and Event Management Department, 消消犯
In this session, McFadden and Weaver discussed the honors thesis research of Drew Forte 15, highlighting the Elon graduates study that illustrated how club sports are used at institutions to recruit and retain male students. Weaver served as Fortes mentor and McFadden participated on the thesis committee. - 50 Years of College Student Leadership Development: A Conversation with Susan R. Komives Co-led a discussion highlighting Susan Komives with Stacey Hall ofUniversity of New Hampshire
In this session, McFadden and Hall interviewed Komives, a leading scholar in student leadership development, about her nearly 50 years spent advancing student leadership. - A Practical Approach to the Collegiate Recreation Student Employee as Student Leader” Co-presented with Julia Wallace Carr ofJames Madison University
This session focused on promoting student leadership development in collegiate recreation work environments, and the presenters shared information on moving theory into practice.
Abigail Dalton 17, a sport and event management major, also hada research poster accepted at the conference. It was titledCase Study Analysis of a First-Year Summer Experience.
McFadden has been actively involved in NIRSA for more than 15 years, presenting and serving the association in various leadership positions. Previously, she has served as a member of the organizations Assembly, committee member for the Research and Assessment Committee, faculty for the National School of Collegiate Recreation, and co-chair for the Leadership Commission.