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Professor of Rec and Leisure Studies Elected to National Board Writer: Catharin Shepard, 706/583-0811, catharin@uga.edu Contact: Diane Samdahl, 706/542-4333, dsamdahl@uga.edu
Diane Samdahl, a professor in the recreation and leisure studies program, has been elected to the Society for Park and Recreation Educators (SPRE) Board of Directors.
Samdahl, who is in the department of counseling and human development services, will serve a three-year term on the board.
Her research interests focus on the sociology of leisure, particularly women’s leisure. She is the author of Hawk Chicks, a 2006 book of nature photography featuring the nesting activity of red-shouldered hawks. She co-authored The Diverse Worlds of Unemployed Adults: Consequences for Leisure, Lifestyle, and Health in 2004. She has also written several book chapters and many articles in scholarly journals.
Samdahl was elected a Fellow in the Academy of Leisure Sciences in 2005 and received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Society of Park and Recreation Educators in 2004. She received the D. Keith Osborn Teaching Award from the UGA College of Education in 2002.
Samdahl has served on the graduate faculty since coming to UGA in 1992. She received Ph.D. in leisure studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.