It will be a very busy year for Campus Recreation and not just in regards to the expected number of CRC participants!  This academic year Campus Recreation has the honor of presenting at numerous, high-profile conferences on a variety of topics ranging from assessment to the importance of managing facility costs to risk management.   

Last September, Dr. Christie Stewart, associate director of Healthy Lifestyle Programs, and Michael Edwards, director of Campus Recreation, recently presented at the Georgia Recreational Sports Conference at Clayton State University on "Aligning Learning Outcomes with Transferable Skills in Campus Recreation." The two demonstrated how campus recreation can play a primary role on university campuses in assisting students in the development of transferable skills. This session also addressed promising practices in assessment by providing examples of the assessment of student programs in Campus Recreation and how this data is used for decision-making with regard to future programs and services.

This November, Matt Marcus, program coordinator for Outdoor Recreation Georgia Tech  (a.k.a. resident engagement software guru), will present at the 2012 AORE (Association of Outdoor Recreation Education) conference on "30 New Ways to Use New Technology to Improve Your Program." Matt will present a sampling of more than 30 new software, hardware, and website technologies that are easy to learn and implement for free or at minimal cost that help increase audience engagement.

At the Athletic Business Conference on November 28-December 1, Michael Edwards will be a member of two panel discussions. One of the topics "Linking University Strategic Plans to Student Development Through the use of Learning Outcomes in Campus Recreation" will illustrate how a variety of experiential learning offerings in campus recreation programs can create opportunities to develop effective communication, leadership and interpersonal relationship skills, as well as to work as a team in a multicultural environment. The second panel discussion "Money. It's Not a Dirty Word. Strategies for Cost-Effective Design, Management and Sustainability" drills down on the importance of managing start-up and on-going operation costs while perserving the long-term function of the facility.

This coming spring semester, David Knobbe, assistant director of Outdoor Recreation Georgia Tech, and Dan Hazlett, assistant director for Intramurals, in partnership with the newest member of the ACC, the University of Notre Dame, will present at the NIRSA Conference, March 4-7, 2013, on "Fostering an Effective Risk Management Culture." The two will deliver an overview of how the Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center fosters shared understanding of risk management responsibilities and maintains this culture through a variety of cost effective and engaging methods including drills, blogs, and home-crafted videos.