Professor Donna Pastore with nominators Packianathan Chelladurai and Scott Kretchmar after being inducted as fellow into the National Academy of Kinesiology.
Pastore is fourth active EHE professor named National Academy of Kinesiology Fellow
"Dr. Pastore has made significant contributions to the field of sport management," said Philip Ward, professor of kinesiology. "She has trained a generation of doctoral and master's degree students. She is deserving of the highest honor that the National Academy of Kinesiology can bestow."
In September, Donna Pastore became the latest professor from the College of Education and Human Ecology to join the National Academy of Kinesiology (NAK) as a fellow.
The professor of sport management is the fourth Ohio State kinesiology professor chosen for the prestigious honor. She joins professors Samuel Hodge (2016), Ward (2015) and Carl Maresh (2005) as NAK Fellows at Ohio State.
“I was surprised and I was thrilled,” Pastore said. “It’s very prestigious and there are not a lot of sport management people in it.”
Pastore was nominated by Professor Phillip Ward and former colleagues Packianathan Chelladurai, David Porreta – both EHE faculty emeriti – and Scott Kretchmar, who worked with Pastore at Penn State University. Each nominator also is a NAK Fellow.
“Donna’s record is stellar on all counts – a terrific scholar, a state and national leader, a person with a clear track record of engagement,” Kretchmar said. “I was the first person to hire Donna (at Penn State). I remember thinking how lucky we would be to hold onto her for more than a couple of years.
“She needed to spread her wings at the main campus of a respected Research I institution … and her superb academic and leadership record would indicate that she found the right home (at Ohio State).”
Pastore has been an Ohio State professor since 1991. Throughout her career she has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, been awarded 18 grants and has given nearly 200 national or international presentations related to sport management.
She also received the Earle F. Zeigler Lecture Award, the Sport Management Lifetime Achievement Award and the Mabel Lee Award – all top distinctions from national kinesiology associations.
“Her hard and sincere work both in teaching and research contributed greatly to the rise of Ohio State’s sport management program to be the preeminent one in the country and the world,” Chelladurai said.
Pastore credits much of her success to the willingness of other faculty to lend a hand during her career.
“There are a number of faculty who were here (at Ohio State) who are also fellows, and they gave so much,” she said. “I am very thankful for that opportunity and I’d like to give back to Ohio State University for future fellows and to advance the NAK.”
In fact, she already is giving back through her research and practice in mentoring and coaching to mid-career professors. Her research indicates that departments and universities can do more to mentor associate professors. She is currently on a committee exploring how to make this a reality.
And as a NAK Fellow, Pastore said she, and the six other new fellows inducted with her, sees the future of the academy as one that has more intradisciplinary collaboration. There are several subdisciplines in kinesiology and each of their own associations.
“We have to continue to work together so we can advance kinesiology as a whole, instead of individually,” Pastore said.
