Education professor wins international Young Scholar Award
Posted: May 27, 2015 6:00 a.m.
Dr. Lee Schaefer is the only Canadian who will be honoured for his research at an international conference in Spain in July. Photo: U of R Photography.
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What a difference a year makes.
Education professor Dr. Lee Schaefer attended the International Association for Higher Education in Physical Education (AIESEP) global conference for the first time last year in New Zealand. He says “I was star struck. All of these people from Europe, New Zealand, and Australia whose work you have been reading are now standing in front of you presenting. I left the conference inspired – and made a commitment to become more involved in the association.”
Well, he will certainly be more involved at this year’s conference, which will be held in Madrid, Spain, July 8 to 15, 2015.
Dr. Schaefer will be called up on stage and presented with a Young Scholar Award from AIESEP. The award recognizes beginning scholars in the area of physical education and sport pedagogy who have made significant contributions to the field and portray scholarly promise for the future.
“My Dad is also going to be coming to Spain with me in July to watch the award ceremony, so it will be really special to have him there for that,” he says.
Dr. Schaefer is the only person in Canada to be so honoured. The other winners are from Australia, Belgium, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
“I was shocked when I found out that I had won the award. I’m really humbled. It means a lot to be recognized by an international organization that includes many of the most prolific researchers in the physical education pedagogy area. There are a number of amazing young scholars across Canada so to be chosen is really an honour,” says Dr. Schaefer.
Dr. Schaefer and the other winners have had their registration fees waived for the conference.
“Recognition like this makes you feel like the research and academic work you are doing matters to others, which is a great feeling. It was also certainly nice for family and friends to see this and get a sense of what I am actually doing at the university While this is an individual award, there is no way that it would have even been remotely possible without the support of my family – Laura, Everlee and Cove – and the collaboration of a number of friends and colleagues.”
Dr. Schaefer earned his B.Ed. at the University of Regina, and his M.Ed. and Ph.D. at the University of Alberta.
“This shows the increased emphasis and support for research is allowing faculty more opportunities to get their work out there,” says Dr. Schaefer. “As a beginning scholar I had reduced course time as well as a non-teaching semester that really allowed me to set the foundations for a solid research program.”
Over the last decade the University of Regina has led all other medium-sized universities in “research impact” according to Thomson-Reuters and Web of Science data. This means that the work of U of R professors was cited more than any other university. Research Impact is a real area of strength at the University – and one of the three priority areas in our new Strategic Plan.