May 21, 2023 | Carla Santos
Dear alumni and friends,
It is difficult to believe that another academic year is coming to an end. It has been an eventful year in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism. I’m excited to share some of those events with you in this issue of RST E-News.
Professor Monika Stodolska, who has been with RST for more than 20 years, was named the Brightbill/Sapora Professor in Applied Health Sciences. Monika is an outstanding scholar, teacher, and mentor. She has served the department, college, campus, and profession in a variety of significant roles, and is renowned for her work in the area of culture and leisure. We celebrated Monika’s many accomplishments with an investiture ceremony in February.
RST assistant professor Sharon Zou applies marketing principles to her studies in tourism. She recently published a study of fee-based pricing at Indiana Dunes State Park that reflects her belief that parks and other tourism industries must build sustainable revenue models and not rely on state and federal support. We tell you about that study in this issue.
Alumnus Joe DeLuce, who gave so selflessly to this department and our students over the years, retired last December after a 43-year career in the park management industry. His last position was executive director of the Champaign Park District. Find out more about Joe as we wish him well in the next chapter of his life.
Finally, we celebrate the outstanding undergraduate and graduate students who have earned scholarships and awards this year in recognition of their academic, professional, and personal accomplishments.
I am so proud to be the head of this incredible department, to work with a phenomenal group of scholars and alumni, and to support them in mentoring our students. We continue to work hard to remain a leader in recreation, sport and tourism education, research, and public engagement. You have my pledge that we will do whatever it takes to make sure that our faculty, staff, and students have the resources to continue to shine.
In gratitude,
Carla Santos
Professor and Department Head
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