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UO E-clips, Dec. 15-17
Top stories for December 15-17, 2007: The Eugene Register-Guard profiles the UO's Michael Strong, who, puts passion into his profession as director of Outdoor Pursuits; exercises for older athletes can benefit others, a report by the Daily Herald of suburban Chicago, which includes work by the UO's Marjorie Woollacott; The Oregonian reports on a study of a key college ranking on how many high school grads go on to college, and in Oregon, the answer is an ouch
Making passion his profession (Register-Guard): Work hard, play harder. Or, if you’re lucky, find a career that affords you the opportunity to do both. For Michael Strong, the University of Oregon’s Outdoor Pursuits program director, passion became profession when he landed his job 21 years ago. Now he spends his days teaching students about everything from ice climbing to snow camping. “It’s hard to call it a job,” he said. “Seeing what happens when students learn to push their limits, even just a little, is so energizing.” It’s been a winding road for Strong, who started his education career in fall of 1977 teaching high school gym in Whitehorse, a city in Canada’s Yukon territory.
Lessons learned: Exercises for older athletes can benefit others (Daily Herald, Illinois: Sports medicine, long geared to the needs of young athletes, is branching out to help older people remain active and athletically competitive as they age. And while much of the new attention is focused on so-called masters athletes -- those over 40 who regularly compete in organized events -- doctors and trainers say many of the strategies and services these athletes use can help anyone improve their workouts and other daily routines to stay active and healthy. … Balance, in particular, is emerging as an important element for older people, according to doctors, researchers and the guidelines. Older muscles are smaller and slower and respond less efficiently when we need to brace ourselves, making us more vulnerable to falls, says Marjorie Woollacott, director of the Motor Control Lab at the University of Oregon's Department of Human Physiology in Eugene.
The key college ranking: How many make it to college (Oregonian): For the past few months around here, people talking about college rankings have meant the University of Oregon football team. But every so often, different ways of ranking colleges slip into the news. And sometimes, they can be just as sad. "Oregon currently stands ahead of the nation in the percentage of students completing high school," calculated Jobs for the Future, a Boston-based think tank working on expanding educational and work-force opportunities, "but is one of the lowest-performing states in the percentage of recent high school graduates going on to college." As Duck football fans often said recently: Ouch.