James Pivarnik is a professor of kinesiology and epidemiology and is also the Director of the Center for Physical Activity and Health. Photo by Kurt Stepnitz

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan State University kinesiology professor is taking over as president of the American College of Sports Medicine, the largest exercise medicine organization in the world.

James Pivarnik, who also is Director of the Center for Physical Activity and Health in MSU’s Department of Kinesiology and a professor of epidemiology, is assuming the post during the group’s annual conference May 27-30 in Seattle.

Pivarnik, who came to MSU in 1994, studies the exercise responses of females — particularly during pregnancy — and children, both healthy and those with chronic diseases. He recently helped the federal government create the first-ever physical activity guidelines, focusing on how much exercise women should get during pregnancy.

“Passing the gavel to Dr. Pivarnik is a privilege for me, because it’s placing the association in hands capable of sustaining our leadership in sports and exercise science while also building on the momentum we have on public health programs,” said outgoing ACSM president Mindy Millard-Stafford of Georgia Tech University.  “Jim is a visionary, and he is fiercely dedicated and loyal to students, whom he sees as the future of these disciplines.”

ACSM, founded in 1954, has more than 20,000 members committed to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of sports-related injuries and the advancement of the science of exercise. For more information, visit http://www.acsm.org/.

For more information on MSU’s Department of Kinesiology, visit http://www.educ.msu.edu/kin/.

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