Faculty & Affiliate Teaching Awards: Diane Samdahl

Institute for Women's Studies Affiliate Professor Diane Samdahl, an associate professor in recreation and leisure studies, has received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Society of Park and Recreation Educators (SPRE). This competitive award is the highest recognition of teaching for the Society of Park and Recreation Educators, a national professional organization.

The SPRE, a branch of the National Park and Recreation Association (NRPA), gives the annual award to recognize demonstrated outstanding ability as a teacher of leisure services. The award was presented to Samdahl at the annual SPRE conference in October.

Samdahl's interests are in the sociology of leisure, with particular emphasis on women's leisure. Her recent work has looked at leisure as a site that reinforces gendered hegemonic discourse and challenges the traditional view that leisure is “self-expressive” and inherently positive.

The SPRE award is given each year to an educator based on the following criteria: quality of teaching and ability to motivate students to learn; academic advising, counseling and working with the extracurricular activities of students; participation in instructional, course, and curricular improvements; department recognition for outstanding teaching; and professional improvement in teaching for self and peers.

Samdahl, who joined the UGA faculty in 1992, teaches courses in basic theory and research methods for undergraduate and graduate students. She received the College of Education's D. Keith Osborne Teaching Award in 2002.

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