Improving Access to Healthy Foods

The Tower Garden project was born out of a real community need. In 2022, Clinical Assistant Professor Rachel Taniey, PhD, director of the MS in Nutrition and Dietetics program in the Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, surveyed users of Adelphi’s on-campus food pantry, Panther Pantry, to better understand what students needed. “We learned that students want to see fresh produce and an extended variety of items,” she said.

Armed with that insight, Dr. Taniey saw an opportunity to create a hands-on learning experience for graduate students. Through a , she received a to supply the fresh produce.

“The grant focuses on changing systems, policies and environment to improve access to affordable nourishing food, healthy food access and physical activity,” said Karyn Kirschbaum, PhD, Adelphi adjunct professor of nutrition, who has coordinated the CHSC grant through Western Suffolk BOCES for nearly 20 years.

At the center of the project is a novel piece of food technology: an aeroponic growing system that allows you to cultivate fruits, leafy vegetables and herbs in a single vertical column. Seedlings are placed into pods along the outside of the tower, with their roots exposed at the center. A reservoir at the base holds water and a mineral blend, which a submersible pump continuously pushes to the top of the structure. From there, the nutrient-rich water cascades downward, misting the exposed roots before returning to the reservoir below. The result is a full harvest in as little as five to six weeks—and because the system grows indoors, it produces continuously throughout the year.

A Hands-On Learning Experience

Growing fresh produce for the Panther Pantry is only one component of the project—education is the other. Every semester, graduate students can fulfill the required 130 hours of supervised community nutrition fieldwork through the Tower Garden.

That’s exactly the opportunity graduate students Alexis Provenz and Ellie Cohen were looking for. In addition to maintaining the garden, they assemble salad kits for Panther Pantry and organize educational events for the community.

The salad kits are a more recent innovation, born out of a simple realization. “We realized that maybe just bringing over bags of produce isn’t the most appetizing way to encourage college students to eat vegetables,” Dr. Taniey said. “So we put it all together in little to-go containers with a package of olive oil and a label that says ‘Just add protein from the pantry.’”

The food demonstrations take that mission a step farther. On March 10, Provenz and Cohen led a station at Adelphi’s Nutrition Fair, where they prepared dishes made entirely from Tower Garden and pantry ingredients. “We came up with two balanced and healthy recipes so students can replicate the recipes free of charge,” Cohen said.

The experience has already proven to be a valuable complement to classroom learning. “We learn what truly goes into planning and organizing events behind the scenes, how to troubleshoot problems creatively, and how to collaborate with professionals and peers in a real-world setting,” Provenz said. “It has given me a much deeper understanding of the work that goes into community nutrition programs and the impact they can have.”

What’s Next for “Keanu Leaves”

The Tower Garden project achieves two major goals of the MS in Nutrition and Dietetics program: increasing access to healthy food for Adelphi community members and preparing students for a career in nutrition.

“Our program is definitely rooted in community nutrition,” Dr. Taniey said. “We are increasing access for our community members, and we are also increasing knowledge of community nutrition for our dietetics students and really preparing them for a career in community nutrition.”

For Provenz, the project has shifted how she thinks about her field entirely. “This project has shown me that nutrition and dietetics is so much broader than simply ‘eating healthy,’” she said. “Dietetics is deeply connected to community health, food access, education and sustainability.”

And the project is still just getting started. Dr. Taniey recently submitted a research proposal for a case study of pantry users as they interact with the Tower Garden, food demonstrations and nutrition education materials. If approved, the study would bring a formal academic lens to an organic, hands-on initiative.

She also hopes to expand what the garden grows, adding more herbs and eventually vine plants like tomatoes. “We’re excited to explore what we do next,” Dr. Taniey says. “We’ll be thinking of new recipes and ways to get students involved.”

The post Growing Knowledge: How Adelphi’s “Keanu Leaves” Tower Garden Is Nourishing Students and Community appeared first on ĂÛŃżTV.

“With a mission focused on students first, we enhance academic learning in health and sport sciences, facilitate groundbreaking research and assist individuals eager to elevate their physical potential,” said exercise science professor Robert Otto, PhD, who has worked in the lab since 1981.

For Exercise Science Students, a Living Lab

Nestled within Adelphi’s exercise science facilities, located in the lower floors of Woodruff Hall, the lab transcends traditional textbook education. Here, exercise science students immerse themselves in hands-on learning experiences, actively measuring crucial physiological concepts such as metabolism and muscle function with state-of-the-art equipment.

The lab helps prepare students for careers in strength and conditioning and personal training, and it remains the only university-based adult fitness cardiac rehabilitation program in the New York tristate area.

Students earning their MS in Exercise Science, in particular, leverage the lab for critical research projects required for their degree. Current investigations are wide-ranging, spanning from evaluating compounds that enhance oxygen efficiency during exercise to analyzing the effects of beetroot juice on muscle blood flow.

Initially centered on metabolic testing, advancements over the years have introduced new equipment and innovative testing.

“We built this lab from the ground up,” Dr. Otto reflected. “Over time, we’ve incorporated body composition testing, force measurement and muscle activation analysis.”

For Elite Athletes, Machines and Measurements to Boost Performance

Today, exercise science students and researchers can assess body composition in the lab using tests like:

• Skinfold measurements
• Hydrostatic underwater weighing

These assessments provide vital insights into the balance between fat and lean muscle mass—essential information for high-performance athletes, and the health students who work with them.

Among its many features, the lab boasts a specialized cycle ergometer that measures physical work output with unparalleled precision. “It can range from zero to 2,500 watts in one-watt increments,” Dr. Otto explained. “This allows us to measure the force each leg produces with pinpoint accuracy.”

For high performance athletes like triathletes, that makes an impact on performance.

Dr. Otto shared the example of a competitive triathlete who consistently ranked among the top regional contenders. After undergoing efficiency testing and refining their training approach, the athlete saw a performance improvement of approximately 2 percent, a seemingly minor gain for some. But even 2 percent can make a tremendous difference in the field of elite-level competition.

“In fact, for elite athletes, a 2 percent improvement is monumental,” Dr. Otto noted, emphasizing the athlete’s subsequent success on the national stage.

Metabolic testing is another feature of the lab. By measuring oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production during exercise, researchers can gauge how the body metabolizes fuel. Dr. Otto further elaborates, “Understanding caloric expenditure at specific paces enables athletes to precisely plan their nutritional intake for competitions.”

Boosting Health and Wellness in the Community

While primarily dedicated to exercise science student education and research, the lab directly assists the broader community. Members of the public can schedule tests to assess resting metabolic rate, body composition and maximal oxygen consumption; valuable measurements for anyone looking to enhance fitness or manage weight.

“A resting metabolic rate indicates the minimum caloric intake needed for basic survival,” Dr. Otto explained, reinforcing the lab’s role in promoting health and wellness.

The lab’s long-standing presence on Long Island has set it apart from similar facilities, and Dr. Otto noted that students from other universities often visit to observe demonstrations and familiarize themselves with the innovative equipment.

Ultimately, the Human Performance Lab is more than a collection of machines and data charts. It embodies the intersection of scientific inquiry and human aspiration, empowering students, athletes and community members to gain deeper insights into the body’s performance and explore pathways for improvement.

Dr. Otto explained the mission of the lab with just a few words.

“We measure how the body works,” Dr. Otto concluded. “Then we use that information to help individuals perform better. “

The post The Science of Winning: Inside Adelphi’s Human Performance Lab appeared first on ĂÛŃżTV.

Erik Swartz, PhD, vice dean and professor in the ĂÛŃżTV Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, is leading the charge to tackle this issue. Using data from a long-term study conducted among high school football players in Hawaii, Dr. Swartz has once again demonstrated the efficacy of a training program that decreases the number of head impacts a player will experience during a game of tackle football.

He and his research team recently published two papers on the topic: “” (Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, July 2024)¹ and “” (Journal of Athletic Training, April 2024).²

Research on has been Dr. Swartz’s main focus for a decade. “HuTT^¼ is a bona fide intervention to try and control a medical or health problem, such as concussions or head injuries,” he said. Training that teaches players how to tackle and block without a helmet on, Dr. Swartz and his collaborators have found, ensures players are far more prepared when the helmet goes on at game time. The idea may seem counterintuitive, but Dr. Swartz’s research has shown over and over again that it works. “When players do this specific type of tackling training program during the season,” he explained, “they get better at keeping their head out of the way when they’re going into tackling and blocking in football.”

In Hawaii, a prominent attorney named Gary Galiher, JD, became passionate about the danger posed by CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) when he represented the case of a football player diagnosed after his death with CTE. Galiher’s foundation, which supports research into making football safer and reducing the frequency of traumatic head injuries in the sport, provided the means for Dr. Swartz and his colleagues to design a longitudinal study measuring the impact of ±áłÜ°Ő°ŐÂź programs at Hawaiian schools.

At five different high schools, among multiple different levels of play, from freshman to varsity, Dr. Swartz’s team helped coaches implement helmetless drills. They then assessed the impact of the drills using sensors embedded in the lining of players’ helmets during games.

Despite an interruption to their data collection process during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Swartz’s team was able to gather data from nearly 500 players. They analyzed the number and intensity of head impacts, as well as reported data from self-efficacy surveys conducted before and after the training intervention. “We also wanted to understand whether or not the participants were gaining in confidence in their ability to safely tackle and block,” Dr. Swartz said.

The results from the study were striking. Dr. Swartz’s team saw a significant reduction in the number of head impacts throughout the season for players who adhered to the training intervention on at least a 60 percent level. They also found a correlation between increased uptake of the intervention and increased confidence among players in their ability to tackle and block safely.

Although the study only measured physical impacts, and not medical outcomes like concussions, Dr. Swartz believes ±áłÜ°Ő°ŐÂź could one day meaningfully contribute to a reduction in head injuries among professional players.

By showing that coaches can train players out of receiving unnecessary impacts, Dr. Swartz’s research promises to support high school and amateur teams who cannot afford expensive equipment upgrades. “The NFL has gotten a lot of press around adding protective layers to helmets, which actually makes the work that we’re doing that much more important,” he said. “We’re getting the word out about other solutions.”

Read more in the 2025 issue of Academic & Creative Research Magazine, where we highlight the innovation and imagination shaping Adelphi’s academic community.

¹ Lloansi Rodriguez, I., Freemyer, B., Hashida, K., Tamura, K., Murata, N., Furutani, T., Gioia, G., Myers, J., & Swartz, E. (2024). Helmetless tackling training intervention and preseason self-efficacy effects on head impacts in Hawaiâ€Či High School football. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine.

² Swartz, E., et al. (2024). Head impact exposure in Hawaiian high school football: Influence of adherence rates on a helmetless tackling and blocking training intervention. Journal of Athletic Training.

About Erik Swartz, PhD

Erik Swartz, PhD, is vice dean and professor in the Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences. For more than 20 years, his research has focused on the prevention and acute care of head and neck injuries in football. Dr. Swartz has been published in over 30 scholarly journals, received grants from organizations including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Foundation and NFL Charities, and served on the NFL Head Neck and Spine Committee’s Subcommittee on Safety Equipment and Rules.

The post Turning Football on Its Head appeared first on ĂÛŃżTV.

Recently, a number of Adelphi faculty members have undertaken important work on the economics of health. They’ve sought to understand the financial burden of health events like chronic disease, physical inactivity, mental illness and even religious fasting. Through data analysis, computational models and qualitative interviews, they estimated the financial gains and losses that result from both positive and negative health outcomes.

Their discoveries etched society’s socioeconomic fractures in sharp relief. Perhaps the greatest toll on our healthcare system, they learned, is inequality itself.

All Health Outcomes Are Not Created Equal

For Alan Cooper, PhD ’95, MBA ’03, clinical associate professor in the ĂÛŃżTV Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, who began his career in the healthcare industry, it’s about time we reimagined the relationship between public health and economics.

Dr. Cooper co-authored “Risk Factors Affecting Life Expectancy Resulting in Premature Mortalities and the Accompanying Economic Losses” (Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, July 2024),¹ which calculates the cost of preventable deaths in the United States, revealing the interdependency of people’s well-being and their potential economic impact. Research like this, Dr. Cooper maintains, can be used to improve health outcomes while reducing economic losses.

The study examines modifiable risk factors (MRF) for chronic disease—including genetic, behavioral, lifestyle, socioeconomic and environmental—that lead to higher rates of morbidity and premature mortality. To detect potential disparities in outcomes among the population, Dr. Cooper and his team stratified the data by race and gender. Then they estimated overall economic loss over the lifespan for each crosscut of population.

The results were sobering. As the paper notes, “Premature mortality due to modifiable risk factors is not only a personal and family tragedy, but an economic one as well.” Deaths due to MRF amounted to nearly 40 percent of the total deaths nationwide, but represented nearly 50 percent of the economic loss—totaling $400 billion in just a single year.

When broken down by race and gender, the gap widened even further. Along both racial and gender lines, Native Americans and Alaskan Natives showed the highest proportion of deaths due to MRF as well as economic loss. The lowest proportions were seen in Asian and Pacific Islanders and whites.

Though the paper calls the total cost of these deaths “almost beyond comprehension,” Dr. Cooper believes his work can begin to turn the tide. “Public health officials can target awareness and treatment campaigns to those demographics that the study shows have higher mortality levels based on specific risk factors,” he said. “By using this data strategically, they can make informed decisions that enhance the overall quality of life for their constituents.”

For Some Children, Maintaining a Healthy Weight Is a Privilege

Every child’s eating habits are influenced by the world around them. But for children from lower socioeconomic groups, making healthy choices—and maintaining a healthy weight—can be particularly difficult.

Paul Rukavina, PhD, professor in the ĂÛŃżTV Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, has long studied how overweight and obese students can be better supported by their physical education teachers. But after years of research, “I came to understand that the problem is not just in the classroom,” he explained. “It’s a much larger structural problem. It’s children’s social interactions, it’s the quality of their school’s facilities, it’s the safety of their neighborhood, it’s their state’s educational policies. It’s a consequence of economic inequality.”

Dr. Rukavina turned his attention to the home, intent on bringing parents’ voices into the conversation. He and two co-authors, Xiao Ma of the Shanghai University of Sport and Weidong Li, PhD, of The Ohio State University, interviewed 44 parents of overweight and obese children, all of whom belonged to lower social economic classes in an urban area, for the article “Challenges encountered by parents from urban, lower social economic class in changing lifestyle behaviors of their children who are overweight or obese” (BMC Pediatrics, 2023).² The team asked parents how they engaged with their child’s lifestyle, including their expectations surrounding diet and exercise.

Parents with the best intentions were thwarted at every turn. “They lacked money and time to provide nutritious meals and physical activity opportunities, as well as the scientific knowledge to help their children lose weight,” Dr. Rukavina said. Parents also struggled to find affordable healthy food in their neighborhood grocery stores. Faced with so many structural barriers, parents cannot be expected to go it alone. According to Dr. Rukavina, schools can provide bias-free learning environments, healthy food options, parent education initiatives and even urban agriculture programs, while cities can build safe spaces for children to congregate and increase access to fresh produce. “We can’t necessarily reverse economic inequality,” he said, “but when institutions are aligned, children and families will have a much easier time developing healthful living strategies that prevent—rather than react to—health disparities.”

To Save Money, the United States Should Invest in Youth Sports

The amount of money our country could save by investing in youth sports might surprise you.

According to Meredith Whitley, PhD, professor of health and sport sciences at ĂÛŃżTV and research fellow at the Centre for Sport Leadership at Stellenbosch University, it’s in 11 figures.

Dr. Whitley recently co-authored several papers with members of PHICOR (Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research),³ based out of the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, that calculate the economic benefits of a more active youth population. She worked with PHICOR colleagues to simulate a future in which the United States meets the targets identified in Healthy People 2030, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The team built a computational model that could track a cohort of 6- to 17-year-olds over their lifetime, measuring the benefits of higher activity levels on each individual’s physical and mental health. “Our study is the first time we’ve been able to quantify the potential health and economic impacts of these changes across the country,” Dr. Whitley said.

In “Benefits of Meeting the Healthy People 2030 Youth Sports Participation Target” (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, May 2024),⁴ Dr. Whitley and colleagues used their model to predict what would happen if the nation’s youth sports participation rate (currently 50.7 percent) reached Healthy People 2030’s target of 63.3 percent. The value, they discovered, was immense: an increase of 1.8 million more quality years of life for Americans, along with an $80 billion reduction in medical costs and productivity losses.

In March 2024, another paper was published by Dr. Whitley and colleagues—this time in JAMA Health Forum—entitled “Health and Economic Value of Eliminating Socioeconomic Disparities in US Youth Physical Activity” (JAMA Health Forum, March 2024).⁵ This paper addressed disproportionately low physical activity rates, both in school and in organized sports, among youth of lower socioeconomic status. By eliminating or reducing these disparities, Americans could avert 383,000 overweight and obesity cases and 101,000 weight-related disease cases (such as strokes, type 2 diabetes or cancer), resulting in more than $15.6 billion in cost savings over the model cohort’s lifetime.

As national rates of sports participation and physical activity continue to plummet, even a relatively modest investment in policies and interventions could get us back in shape. “We are hopeful that the economic impact of low sports participation and physical activity rates might motivate policymakers, health officials and local stakeholders to increase access and support for youth sports and physical activity,” Dr. Whitley said. “These investments would pay for themselves.”

The Cost of Untreated Anxiety

Approximately 19 percent of Americans experience anxiety, per the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, costing the American healthcare system nearly $100 billion annually. Yet anxiety often goes unrecognized by the system’s first line of service: primary care providers (PCPs). Many anxiety symptoms can masquerade as unrelated somatic symptoms, which can lead a PCP to order unnecessary, expensive tests and treatments.

Roni Berger, PhD, professor in Adelphi’s School of Social Work, is calling for a new model. “There’s a growing recognition in medicine that our bodies, minds and souls are interconnected,” she said. “We need to develop holistic approaches to understand what’s going on and help.”

Dr. Berger and School of Social Work adjunct faculty Alissa Mallow, MSW ’83, DSW ’00, collaborated with colleagues Lindsay Standeven, MD; Virna Little, PsyD; and Jian Joyner in a new study on anxiety with Concert Health, a behavioral health medical group. They reviewed data collected by Concert Health to assess the efficacy of collaborative care, an evidence-based healthcare model that treats behavioral health issues in, as Dr. Berger puts it, “the settings people most often use.” Their findings were published as “Not screening for anxiety? Costs and solutions” (Medical Economics, April 2023).⁶

So how can healthcare providers help patients manage their anxiety while reducing costs? Dr. Berger says it starts with simply paying attention. “PCPs need to know what they’re looking for. If they are screening specifically for anxiety, there’s a lot they can do without referring someone to a specialist.” The more patients can be screened and treated in settings they trust, the more patients, providers and organizations alike will benefit.

How Does Our Physical State Impact Our Financial Decisions?

Cem Karatas, DBA, clinical associate professor in the ĂÛŃżTV Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, was curious about the relationship between people’s well-being and their economic decisions.

He relied on data gathered during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, to find out. Ramadan observers must fast from dawn to sunset, which leads to acute physiological changes, such as low blood sugar, dehydration and sleep deprivation. The psychological effects can be equally potent: upticks in mood, communal solidarity and sense of belonging.

Alongside Senay Acikgoz, PhD, a scholar from Turkey’s Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Dr. Karatas published “Do psychological factors exert greater influence on investment decisions than physiological factors? Evidence from Borsa Istanbul” (Borsa Istanbul Review, December 2023),⁷ which analyzed earnings announcements made by Turkish companies during Ramadan.

While many behavioral finance studies have investigated the impact of psychology on investments, far fewer have looked at physiological factors. Dr. Karatas’ paper is the first to explore the complex relationship between psychology and physiology—and, furthermore, integrate them into one unified model. “Separate models are insufficient, given the intricate interplay between human psychology and physiology,” he said. “The effects of sleep deprivation due to work should differ from those resulting from, for instance, sleep deprivation due to late-night game enjoyment.”

Despite a physiologically strenuous period of fasting, Dr. Karatas found that Turkish investors’ decisions were more heavily influenced by psychological factors during Ramadan. A collectively buoyant mood led investors to buy additional shares in companies that announced surprisingly strong earnings.

Those making financial moves like investments can use this knowledge to make informed—and more profitable—decisions. “Investors adopting a strategy of buying shares one or two days after positive surprises and selling after three months should take into account the Ramadan period,” Dr. Karatas and his colleague note in the paper. “While this strategy generally yields a positive abnormal return outside of Ramadan, 
 if the earnings announcement occurs during Ramadan, the strategy, on average, results in a negative abnormal return.”

Read more in the 2025 issue of Academic & Creative Research Magazine, where we highlight the innovation and imagination shaping Adelphi’s academic community.

¹ Putzer, G. J., Cooper, A., & Jaramillo, J. R. (2024). Risk factors affecting life expectancy resulting in premature mortalities and the accompanying economic losses. Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 43(7), 80–92.

² Ma, X., Li, W., & Rukavina, P. B. (2023). Challenges encountered by parents from urban, lower social economic class in changing lifestyle behaviors of their children who are overweight or obese. BMC Pediatrics, 23(1).

³ Martinez, M. F., Weatherwax, C., Piercy, K., Whitley, M. A., et al. (2024). Benefits of meeting the healthy people 2030 youth sports participation target. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 66(5), 760–769.

⁴ Martinez, M. F., Weatherwax, C., Piercy, K., Whitley, M. A., et al. (2024). Benefits of meeting the healthy people 2030 youth sports participation target. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 66(5), 760–769.

⁵ Powell-Wiley, T. M., Martinez, M. F., Heneghan, J., Weatherwax, C., Osei Baah, F., Velmurugan, K., Chin, K. L., Ayers, C., Cintron, M. A., Ortiz-Whittingham, L. R., Sandler, D., Sharda, S., Whitley, M., et al. (2024). Health and economic value of eliminating socioeconomic disparities in US youth physical activity. JAMA Health Forum, 5(3).

⁶ Little, V., Mallow, A., Standeven, L., Berger, R., & Joyner, J. (April 28, 2023). Not screening for anxiety? Costs and solutions. Medical Economics.

⁷ Acikgoz, S., & Karatas, C. O. (2023). Do psychological factors exert greater influence on investment decisions than physiological factors? Evidence from Borsa Istanbul. Borsa Istanbul Review, 23.

About Our Faculty

Alan Cooper, PhD ’95, MBA ’03, is clinical associate professor of management in the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business. He is a nationally recognized speaker in the areas of process improvement, customer satisfaction, leadership development and corporate learning, and is published on the subjects of leadership development and corporate education.

Paul Rukavina, PhD, is a professor of health and sport sciences in the Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences. He focuses his energy on three research interests: anti-fat attitudes toward obesity, inclusion of overweight and obese individuals in physical activity contexts, and comprehensive school physical activity programs.

Meredith Whitley, PhD, professor of health and sport sciences, explores the complex and multifaceted roles of sport and sport for development programs in the lives of youth from under-resourced communities in her research, along with the interrelated systems impacting youth and community development.

Roni Berger, PhD, is a professor in the School of Social Work and a licensed clinical social worker. Her primary areas of research are trauma and posttraumatic growth in cross-cultural context; immigrants and refugees; qualitative and combined research methods; remarriage and stepfamilies; and law guardianship. Dr. Berger is the editor of The Routledge International Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth.

Cem Karatas, DBA, is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Finance and Economics. He serves as the director of AACSB Accreditation and the chair of the Continuous Improvement Committee. Before joining ĂÛŃżTV, Dr. Karatas worked at several other universities across the U.S. as well as for a reserve bank, the military and a National Science Foundation-affiliated research center. His finance literature contributions focus on behavioral finance, climate finance and initial public offerings.

The post Health = Wealth appeared first on ĂÛŃżTV.

That’s why Meredith Whitley, PhD, professor of health and sport sciences at ĂÛŃżTV’s Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, recently applied for and received a $100,000 grant from the , a charitable organization focusing on men’s health, to lead a project to develop mental health guidelines for youth sports across the United States.

An athlete herself, Dr. Whitley had her own negative experiences that inspired her to pursue this work. Since then, she has published numerous high-profile studies and papers on the impact of youth sports programs, including research on the Homeless World Cup, improving access to sports for marginalized communities, and how youth sports participation can save the United States billions in medical costs. She also served on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition Science Board from 2020 to 2021, when it was focused on youth sports.

With this latest grant, Dr. Whitley and William V. Massey, PhD, associate professor at Oregon State University, are working together to tackle some of the most pressing mental health challenges facing youth in sports today.

We spoke with Dr. Whitley to learn more about her goals for this initiative.

How did you develop the idea for this project?

Our youth sports system in the United States is broken. It’s incredibly exclusionary and costly, and it can be detrimental. We’re also seeing the adultification or professionalization of youth sports as kids are expected to start competing earlier and earlier. It’s turned into this industry where making money is the focus instead of helping kids have really positive, enriching experiences and learn how to be active.

At the same time, we know that sport has the potential to promote mental health and well-being. It teaches kids how to be part of a team and gives them a sense of belonging. They can—and should—have a coach who believes in them and their abilities, and helps them get better day in and day out.

What are the biggest mental health challenges facing youth in sports today?

There are wonderful things that can happen in sport, but it can also be really harmful. Coaches can act in certain ways that not only ruin that moment or that day for a kid, but discourage them from being part of the sport moving forward. I have friends and colleagues who aren’t active because they had negative sport experiences as kids. That has lifelong implications. with Dr. Massey shows that.

To be honest, I had negative experiences playing in college for a coach who was singularly focused on winning, often at the expense of our well-being. It’s still something that sticks with me. It’s one of the reasons I do this work.

There’s also been a growing mental health crisis in our country. The pandemic worsened that and we’re still seeing it continue to grow. There’s an impact from social media as well. More now than ever, kids are scared to try things they’re not great at. There’s such a fear of failure and judgment. Some kids feel that if you can’t play in college or you can’t make it professionally, it’s not worth playing. There are all of these high expectations of what it looks like to be an athlete that can just be debilitating for kids.

Sports can be so good. And yet we’re messing it up.

How will the project address these challenges?

We are partnering with youth sport stakeholders across the United States to develop national, evidence-informed guidance on mental health in this sector. This will include actionable, targeted guidelines to support mental health in youth sport settings across the country, from recreational sports and club sports to school sports and beyond.

This is unfolding in four phases.

• First, we conducted a review of literature on the intersection of youth sport and mental health in the U.S; we screened close to 20,000 research papers and 87 program or organization websites.
• Next, we conducted 14 focus groups with youth sport athletes, parents, coaches, administrators and organizers across the country.
• We are now in the midst of surveying an advisory panel of 18 experts to help develop these guidelines and make sure they’re as rigorous, meaningful and feasible as possible. Those experts included an Olympic gold medalist, psychologists, a leader in the Department of Health and Human Services, and a leader of Nike’s philanthropic efforts in youth sports.
• In November, we’ll come together for a two-day workshop in New York City to finalize our mental health guidelines and develop a plan for dissemination and implementation.

What will these mental health guidelines entail?

Some will simply focus on providing the basic level of information and education that coaches, parents and sports administrators need, such as teaching them to recognize signs that a kid might be struggling or need support. Some will help coaches conduct a practice that is positive and encouraging so kids feel like they can develop the skills they need to be successful.

For a lot of these kids, their coach is an incredibly important person in their life and yet the training and the vetting that they go through is really minimal. I coached my oldest as a volunteer parent coach this past winter, and I wasn’t required to do anything—not even a background check. So some of these guidelines will focus on making sure that the people who have the most direct contact with young athletes are best set up to excel.

What are your hopes for this project and the future of youth sports in the United States?

The research is clear: The number one thing kids want in sports is to have fun. And if they’re not having fun, then they’re either going to walk away from it or they’re eventually going to burn out. If someone wants to be active, why are we discouraging that? Why are we not figuring out the best ways for them to have fun, move their bodies and be part of a team?

This doesn’t mean we take away competition or minimize talent development. These are part of the sports experience, and allow sports to be a microcosm for life. In sports, kids can learn how to regulate their emotions after losing a game. They get experience working toward a goal as part of a team. They learn how to handle pressure. These are all amazing lessons to learn, and when sports are done right, I believe they are the best place for this learning to unfold.

I even have a “pie in the sky” dream: A complete overhaul of the youth sports ecosystem. This means addressing the issues of professionalization and profit, which have created a system focused on early specialization and a “pay-to-play” model. This could be achieved by creating community-based leagues and programs that are accessible and affordable for all. The focus would shift from developing a small number of athletes to fostering a lifelong love of sport for all participants, with an emphasis on personal growth, skill development, and enjoyment over winning and financial gain.

Is this research having an impact on your teaching at Adelphi?

The classes that I teach are grounded in the disciplines of sport sociology, sport and exercise psychology, sport management, and sport-based youth development—so this research profoundly influences my teaching.

Ultimately, my work as a scholar directly informs my role as an educator, enabling me to equip students with a deep understanding of how to create supportive, enriching and mentally healthy environments for young athletes.

The post Changing the Game: An Adelphi Professor Is Developing the Nation’s First Mental Health Guidelines for Youth Sports appeared first on ĂÛŃżTV.

When Armijos chose to attend ĂÛŃżTV, the decision was simple. With a competitive and a distinctive undergraduate program in sport management, it was the ideal environment for someone passionate about the business of sports. “It was easy to see the value in a place that offered both academic rigor and a thriving athletics community,” she said.

Memorable Moments and Lessons Learned

Armijos’ time at Adelphi was marked by unforgettable moments that shaped her both as an athlete and a leader. The highlight of her student-athlete experience came during the 2001–2002 season, when the women’s basketball team won the conference title and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. However, her path to the tournament was far from easy.

“I tore my ACL just before the tournament,” she shared. “But there was no way I was missing the Big Dance. I played through the injury, all while keeping a smile on my face.” The team finished the season ranked No. 14 in the country, a testament to their resilience and drive, qualities that Armijos carried with her throughout her career.

Her education went beyond sports, though. A technology course with Leah Fiorentino, MA ’91, EdD, sparked her interest in the tech world. “Dr. Fiorentino’s passion for integrating technology with education inspired me,” Armijos recalled. “We built our own professional websites using HTML code, and I later returned as her teaching assistant, which gave me a deeper understanding of technology.”

Leveraging Leadership Into a Career Path

Armijos was more than just a student-athlete. Under the mentorship of Coach Kim Barnes-Arico, she said, she learned vital leadership lessons that would guide her professional journey: “Coach Barnes-Arico had an unwavering enthusiasm that pushed us to give our best every single day. Her relentless drive to succeed left a lasting impact on me, and it influenced my own coaching and leadership style.”

It wasn’t just about athletics for Armijos; it was about discovering her voice and leadership potential. “Adelphi helped me define my leadership style and provided a foundation for my career in education,” she said.

Even after graduation, Armijos’ connection to Adelphi remained strong. In 2013, she returned to the University to earn a , further solidifying her commitment to growth and education.

A Life Fueled by Passion

After graduating from Adelphi, Armijos’ career path took her into the world of athletics administration. Her dream was to become an athletics director, and she made that dream a reality. “Adelphi instilled in me a love for what I do. When passion drives your work, it doesn’t feel like a job—it feels like you’re living your dream,” she reflected.

Her early career involved teaching physical education and coaching multiple sports, giving her invaluable experience in athletics development. In 2013, she was given the opportunity to build a brand-new high school athletics program from the ground up. Over 15 years, her leadership helped the program grow into a powerhouse, securing 35 championships in the process. “The most rewarding moments came when my students accomplished skills they once thought were impossible. Watching them believe in themselves was pure magic.”

However, in 2022, Armijos faced an unexpected setback when the new administration at the school reassigned her, and she faced an uncertain future.

From Setback to Startup: Embracing the Tech World

Armijos’ challenges led her down an entirely new path. Inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit she encountered at startup pitch events, she decided to combine her passion for technology with her love of athletics. In June 2023, she took a leap of faith. Armed with her newfound knowledge of coding and a desire to create solutions, she founded , a platform designed to streamline the hiring process for athletics coaches. It allows them to create digital rĂ©sumĂ©s with pictures, videos and audio, while employers can quickly find the right coach, reducing hiring time from days to minutes.”As an athletics director, I faced the challenge of filling coaching positions in the middle of a season,” Armijos explained. “Next Athletics Pro was born out of that need—creating a marketplace that connects coaches and employers more efficiently.”

Today, as CEO and founder of Next Athletics Pro, she leads the charge in revolutionizing the way sports organizations connect with coaches. “Having experienced both sides of the industry, I understand the challenges coaches and employers face,” she said. “Now I work with my tech team to continuously enhance the platform and expand our reach.”

Her proudest accomplishment remains her work in building a new athletics program from the ground up, but her latest venture brings her full circle—combining her love of sports with her growing expertise in technology.

Giving Back and Looking Forward

Armijos continues to be an advocate for education and community involvement. She has organized events like a varsity basketball doubleheader at the Barclays Center and donated used uniforms to children in Cameroon, Africa. “It’s about creating impact both locally and globally,” she said.

For current and future Adelphi students, Armijos has simple but powerful advice: “Start each day with gratitude, and when you hit your lowest points, return to it. In the face of adversity, remember—you are in the driver’s seat. You can either choose to be a victim, or you can take control, transform your pain into power and carve your own path forward.”

Armijos’ achievements have not gone unnoticed. In 2014, she was inducted into the ĂÛŃżTV Athletic Hall of Fame, and she has received multiple awards for her leadership in athletics. Her journey from student-athlete to tech entrepreneur exemplifies the possibilities that await those who combine passion, dedication and a willingness to innovate.

Armijos’ journey is far from over, and as she continues to innovate at the intersection of sports and technology, her story will inspire future generations of Adelphi Panthers to reach for their dreams and never give up.

The post From Athlete to Innovator: The Journey of Eliana Armijos ’03, MS ’13, From Adelphi to Entrepreneur appeared first on ĂÛŃżTV.

Erik Swartz, PhD

Erik Swartz, PhD, professor and vice dean of Adelphi’s Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, has been working for 10 years to teach football players tackling techniques that allow them to avoid contact to their head. The program he has developed— “helmetless tackling training” or (the “u” has been added to make the acronym sound like a quarterback’s call to have the ball snapped)—involves a series of supervised drills where players remove their helmet and shoulder pads to practice a safer form of tackling.

With the NFL and college playoffs at hand after a season when concussions and even fatal head injuries made news, we talked with Dr. Swartz, who oversees the Ammon College departments of Health and Sport Sciences and Communication Sciences and Disorders, about the program and the encouraging research it has produced.

How did you decide to get involved in efforts to reduce head injuries in football?

My background is in athletic training, and I’ve worked as an athletic trainer where I was responsible for treating injuries on the football field. One of the things that scared me the most was if there was a catastrophic head or neck injury. I was trained to care for players medically, but the problem on the field is that the equipment they wear to prevent injury becomes a barrier to treatment. So I spent the first part of my career as a researcher focused on the best way to remove equipment to access the airway and chest in an emergency situation in order to provide rescue breathing.

Eventually, I became more interested in ways to prevent head and neck injuries, especially as helmet-to-helmet hits became more common in football. I’d been playing rugby for a number of years, and I never saw anybody lead with their head when making a tackle, and I never saw head-to-head contact. That’s mainly because rugby players don’t wear helmets, so it’s natural for them to keep their head out of the way.

So I began thinking about ways to bring this natural instinct to keep your head out of the way into football.

So are helmets themselves a part of the problem?

Well, helmets are required in football, and for good reason. But they introduce what is called risk compensation. People adjust their behavior to the risks they perceive, and the introduction of protective equipment can create a false sense of security.

Football itself is a good example, because before helmets were required, the game had fewer deaths and catastrophic spine injuries. But once helmets started to be required and got better, players started tackling headfirst. Things like spear tackling, when players launch themselves headfirst into ball carriers—that didn’t exist before helmets were required.

Football has created rules to make it illegal for players to use their helmet to tackle, and new designs and materials have made helmets better able to protect the head and absorb impact forces. But those advances in technology continue to perpetuate that false sense of security. So the football helmet actually is a large piece of what enables headfirst contact.

How can helmetless training help reduce headfirst tackling?

It can reinforce players’ natural instinct to protect their head. Our training drills are designed to ingrain the motor control to keep the head out of the way and to absorb the impact of a tackle with the shoulders and top of the chest. The idea is that players will then react appropriately in full-contact situations.

How does ±áłÜ°Ő°ŐÂź training work?

The ±áłÜ°Ő°ŐÂź program is composed of a series of helmetless drills performed in practices throughout the football season. The initial drills are very basic; players practice keeping their head on the proper side of a stationary tackling dummy, depending on which shoulder they’re using. Players then perform drills practicing the same technique on a teammate holding a tackling shield. The final set of drills are more dynamic, as teammates holding shields move unpredictably, requiring players to react quickly and correctly.

Research is an integral part of your program. Have you found that helmetless training is effective?

±áłÜ°Ő°ŐÂź was developed as an evidence-based program with a goal of discovering whether helmetless training would lead to fewer head impacts in practices and games, tracking those impacts using sensors. When we conducted our first study, players who participated in helmetless drills reduced head impacts by 30 percent by the end of just one season of drills.

We’ve been conducting studies with high school football teams in Hawaii since 2019, and what we’ve found is even more encouraging. Players who participated in our drills at least 60 percent of the time significantly reduced head impacts over the course of a season.

How are you getting the word out about the effectiveness of the program?

We’ve been working hard advocating our approach, promoting the program as much as we can. We’ve published our research in professional publications like the , hosted conferences and appeared on news programs. I was about the program.

The NFL is aware of our efforts. We won one of their Head Health Initiative grants, which supported a study across five high schools. I was on an NFL medical subcommittee for a number of years as well.

Has helmetless training been widely adopted by teams?

You would think it would be, but we do encounter skepticism. Coaches, I have found, don’t necessarily like to be told what to do, especially from someone who’s not a coach. Or they feel they’re already teaching proper tackling themselves.

Our hope, though, is that it can be something that is incorporated into football on a widespread basis, most importantly on the youth and high school levels.

The post Tackling Head and Neck Injuries in Football: One Professor’s Surprising Solution appeared first on ĂÛŃżTV.

A 2011 Adelphi graduate and former four-year volleyball standout, Mau has broken new ground in the world of sports, recently stepping into the role of senior athletic trainer with the NBA’s New York Knicks.

Mau’s journey, marked by perseverance and a passion for both sports and medicine, serves as a beacon for women and individuals of Asian and Pacific Island heritage in a traditionally male-dominated profession.

Starring on the Volleyball Court at Adelphi

Mau’s love for sports began at a young age on the beautiful sun-drenched shores of Oahu.

Volleyball, a sport deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture, gave her the chance to travel and compete, providing an early view of a world beyond her island home. “It gave me a great outlook on what’s out there,” Mau recalled.

She idolized Olympians like Robin Ah Mow—a fellow Hawaiian and now the head women’s volleyball coach at the University of Hawaii—as well as Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor. Mau felt especially connected to May-Treanor’s achievements despite being “on the shorter side” for a volleyball player, a challenge Mau could relate to at her own 5-foot-6-inch stature.

Mau’s journey to Adelphi was fueled by a desire to pursue volleyball at the college level and explore life on the East Coast. In 2007, she traveled nearly 5,000 miles from Hawaii to Long Island, where she quickly made her mark on . Over her four-year career, she amassed more than 3,000 assists and still ranks among the University’s leaders in both career assists and digs.

“I knew that I wanted to play volleyball in college and go far away from home,” she reflected. Adelphi became a second family to her, a community where she found support and lifelong friendships.

Earning Her Degree in Exercise Science

It was also at Adelphi where Mau discovered a passion for athletic training, often taping her fellow athletes’ ankles. Her degree in exercise science laid the groundwork for a career that would eventually lead her to the NBA.

“The exercise science program and my experience at Adelphi helped me see both sides of athletic training,” she explained. “Majoring in exercise science gave me an opportunity to learn the foundations of sports medicine and the tools to jump-start my athletic training career.”

After earning her BS in Exercise Science at Adelphi, Mau went on to earn a master’s degree in California and spent three years as an assistant athletic trainer at the college level. She entered the pros in 2016 as head athletic trainer for the South Bay Lakers, the NBA G League affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers.

On to the NBA

Mau with Mavericks’ guard and 5-time NBA All-Star Luka Dončić. He is holding the trophy he received as the MVP of the Western Conference Finals.

Her big break came in 2019 with a call from the Dallas Mavericks, where she served as assistant athletic trainer for five years. It was a dream job at the top level of the American sports world, which she made the most of.

She helped win the NBA’s Athletic Training Staff of the Year award in her second and third seasons with the team. She spurred innovation, introducing a new wellness concept to the league by adding the NBA’s first emotional support animal to the training staff, a mini Bernedoodle named Bailey. And she had the thrill of playing an important role in the team’s march to the 2023–2024 NBA Finals.

Mau made her debut as the Knicks’ senior athletic trainer this season. Working with a team as iconic as the Knicks—particularly in a city as diverse as New York—is both a professional and personal triumph for her.

“The excitement around the Knicks is like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” she said.

Her return to the East Coast also brings her closer to family and allows her to work with Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ star who became her friend when he played with the Mavericks.

Breaking Down Barriers

In addition to her professional milestones, Mau sees her position as an opportunity to inspire others, particularly women and minority communities. As a woman of Asian and Pacific Island heritage, she’s passionate about breaking down barriers and proving that success in high-level sports is possible for people from all backgrounds.

“It’s about showing other girls from Hawaii that they can move away from home, do things at the highest level, and that it is possible,” she said. With her unique path and perspective, Mau is reshaping what it means to be an athletic trainer in the NBA.

Mau’s story, from her early days in Hawaii to her achievements with the Knicks, is a testament to pursuing one’s dreams.

For those lucky enough to work alongside her—or for any young athlete watching from afar—she represents a trailblazer who, with every step, redefines what’s possible.

The post Panther in the Pros: Heather Mau ’11, Senior Athletic Trainer for the New York Knicks appeared first on ĂÛŃżTV.