January 11-17, 2016 marks the 8th annual StFX Faculty Appreciation Week, presented by StFX Athletics. All current and retired StFX faculty members will receive free admission to this week’s varsity games upon presentation of their StFX faculty ID card.
On Friday, Jan. 15th, StFX Athletics will recognize our 61 CIS Academic All-Canadians (StFX student-athletes with 80% average or higher) at a celebratory breakfast. Each Academic All-Canadian will invite a faculty member to join in the celebration.
As part of Faculty Appreciation week, StFX Athletics will be profiling various faculty members on our website. Today we feature Dr. Charlene Weaving from the Human Kinetics department.
A native of Florenceville, NB, Dr. Weaving graduated from Acadia University with a Bachelor of Kinesiology in 1999. She played varsity rugby while at Acadia and continued to play during her graduate career at The University of Western Ontario (UWO). She received her Masters of Arts in 2001 at UWO and defended her Ph.D. in April, 2005 in sport philosophy.
Her experience of playing rugby coupled by 10 years of summer work in the Northern Ontario tree planting industry have inspired many of her research projects. She is a self-declared passionate Olympic Games fan and researches ethical issues surrounding the Olympics. Charlene joined the StFX Human Kinetics faculty in 2005, and in 2007 was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award. She has served as the faculty advisor for the X-Women rugby team for the past number of years.
What inspires you on a daily basis as a faculty member at StFX University?
StFX students are the best. They are keen, fun, unique, engaged and ultimately make my job as a faculty member so enjoyable. I am inspired daily by what my colleagues are able to achieve in their research pursuits and how successful our athletic teams are given that X is a small undergraduate university located in small town in Nova Scotia.
One of the most inspiring moments I experienced, was in November, 2012 when StFX hosted the CIS women’s rugby national championship. The team won the gold medal in front of a record breaking crowd. Some 5000 individuals cheered them on—it was a huge moment for women’s sport. And, that same team ended up with 13 Academic All-Canadians!!
How does involvement in athletics complement success in academics for students?
Various research studies have found that participation in athletics can lend to improved performance in the classroom. For example, see: Conroy (2010), Lally and Kerr, (2013), and Sherry and Zeller, (2014). Specifically, university athletes tend to possess fairly solid time management skills when attempting to balance classwork requirements with a busy practice and game schedule. Student athletes who are able to apply work ethic and determination necessary for success in their sport into their academic pursuits are strong students who maintain a high academic average.
What motivated you to become involved with Athletics at StFX?
I played varsity rugby during my undergrad and grad studies, so to have the opportunity to still be involved with the rugby culture and work with these fantastic women, and Coach Cavanagh is heaps of fun and inspiring.
What advice do you have for students trying to manage their time?
Balance and work ethic. Plus a whole bunch of other stuff that is too lengthy to include :)