Congratulations Louis!

(He's not a self-promoter, but I'll do it for him!)

Harrison Honored for Outreach to Underserved Populations

Dr. Louis Harrison, Jr., was honored with the 2009 E.B. Henderson Award at the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance’s (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition on April 4.

The prestigious award is presented annually by the AAHPERD Social Justice and Diversity Committee to one member in higher education who, through numerous years of proven service, dedication, scholarship and mentorship has increased involvement of ethnic minorities and underserved populations in AAHPERD.

Harrison is an associate professor in the College of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin. His research has focused on the influences of race related self-schemata and African American racial identity on physical activity choices and performance. The purpose of this line of research has been to investigate factors that influence sport and physical activity participation, as well as identity development patterns of African Americans. Due to his work, physical activity scholars and health professionals have gained a deeper understanding of the racial labels ascribed to particular sports and physical activities and to how these labels affect participation, persistence, effort and performance. Scholars now have a guide that allows them to help underserved minorities develop a physically active.

The award commemorates Edwin Bancroft Henderson (1883-1977), an athlete, basketball pioneer, physical educator, civil rights advocate and author who for three quarters of a century preached racial unity through sports. Henderson is widely recognized by sports scholars and basketball historians as the first person to introduce the game of basketball to African Americans on a large-scale basis. One of his major scholarly contributions was “The Negro in Sports,” written in 1939. It was from this work that sports legend Arthur Ashe built his three volume series on the African American athlete.