Leadersand Legends By Shannon Langone


The 125-year history of Springfield College boasts many people whose ideas, discoveries, and leadership have deeply affected the College’s foundation and development. Some of their stories are well known; others have less frequently been told. Yet the contributions of these individuals have endured and continue to shape the College today.


Leadership Through Research


THROUGHOUT THE LAST 125 YEARS,many scholars have left their mark on the College. Two in particular conducted research that cemented the College as a premier source of innovation in the field of physical education and fitness: Dr. Peter V. Karpovich,M.D. ’29, and Dr. Thomas K. Cureton ’29, G’30. Karpovich, a famil- iar figure at Springfield College, was a faculty member from 1927 to 1975 who led groundbreaking research and conducted experi- ments in the physiology of exer- cise and sports medicine. He also


Peter V. Karpovich


was one of the founders of the American College of Sports Medicine in 1954. The work of Cureton,who was at the College in various capacities from 1929 to 1941, ushered in many modern views on cardiovascular health, fitness, and the importance of research in physical education. As we survey the Springfield College


campus today, the legacy of these two men is apparent in many ways. The College is respected as a leading institution in training


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physical educators, and the field itself has experienced immense growth. The physical education as well as exercise science and sport studies departments, including athletic training, exercise physiology, strength and


Both Karpovich and Cureton


used research to disprove some prevailing attitudes and assumptions of their time.


conditioning, sport and exercise psychology, and health promotion and disease preven- tion, attract students and prepare them for professional careers at both the undergradu- ate and graduate levels. The yearly Karpovich Lecture brings to the


campus some of the most outstand- ing leaders in physical education to speak about the latest innovations, discoveries, and research. There are also new facilities dedicated to research in these areas of study— state-of-the-art facilities in which Springfield College students and faculty can still conduct cutting-edge research. The newWellness and Recre- ation Complex,which was recently recognized with a 2009 Outstanding Sports Facilities Award at the annual conference of the National Intramural-Recre- ational Sports Association, includes the new


Wellness Center,where students and athletes have access to some of the latest and greatest exercise and equipment, and the Field House with a dedicated strength and conditioning facility. In addition, the Athletic Training/ Exercise Science facility that includes a Human Performance Laboratory and other state-of-the-art labs opened the same day in September 2008. The College also recently established the


Center forWellness Education and Research, where students and faculty members can conduct—and have access to—the latest research on wellness.“This new center,” says President Richard B. Flynn, Ed.D., H’03,“is a natural for Springfield College.We’ve had an international reputation in physical educa- tion, sport, and fitness for more than a century. . . . This center continues the College’s tradition of excellence in health and wellness.” Both Karpovich and


Thomas K. Cureton


Cureton used research to disprove some prevail- ing attitudes and assumptions of their time: that bodybuilding and strength training


left athletes musclebound and without flexi- bility, and that cardiovascular exercise after a


TRIANGLE 1 Vol. 81, No. 3


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