University Distinguished Professor and Chairperson Emerita Deborah J. Feltz received the 2024 Hetherington Award from the National Academy of Kinesiology. 

“The Hetherington Award is the ultimate form of recognition and appreciation that an academic in the field of Kinesiology can receive,” said Paddy Ekkekakis, professor and chair of the Department of Kinesiology. “One might say that it is Kinesiology’s ‘Lifetime Achievement Award,’ reserved only for the very few who have had a truly profound and long-lasting positive impact on the discipline of Kinesiology. Deb Feltz certainly fits this description and has been a visionary leader not only for our department but also for the field of Kinesiology as a whole. All of us, her colleagues in the Department of Kinesiology, want to express our most heartfelt congratulations for this richly deserved honor.” 

The Hetherington Award is named after Clark W. Hetherington, the association’s first-ever member and president. Impressively, several Spartan faculty and alums have received the honor, including Henry Montoye (1990), Wayne Van Huss (1991) and Vern Seefeldt (1998).  

Feltz formally received the honor during the National Academy of Kinesiology’s annual meeting. MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz gave the opening Ranier and Julie Martens Invited Lecture on “Preparing Kinesiology’s future leaders with an ever-changing higher education landscape.”