Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies, SUNY Cortland

Home
United States
Cortland, NY
Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies, SUNY Cortland

Mission: We educate leaders who improve the world through recreation, parks and leisure. and abroad.
(1)

When you major in one of our recreation programs, you follow in the footsteps of a long line of leaders in the field. Our faculty are highly respected teachers and scholars who will give you the personal attention you need to succeed. You’ll have the opportunity to do internships and fieldwork in parks, hospitals, recreation departments and other settings in the U.S. Our definition of “classroom”

is extremely broad — you can get academic credit for kayaking, backpacking, rock climbing and other outdoor adventures. Cortland has the longest-running and most comprehensive recreation program in New York and is one of only three U.S. colleges with national accreditation in all four of its recreation majors. Our alumni network of accomplished professionals, combined with your Cortland degree, will put you on the path to a rewarding career.

07/23/2024

Good afternoon all. I believe most of you know this but I am taking this chance to tell you some news. Tomorrow Wednesday July 24, 2024 will be my last day in the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies department. I have accepted a position as the Associate Dean in the School of Professional Studies. I have been in this department for 25 years. My 26th year will start for me with a new challenge. It would be impossible to put into words what this department has meant to me. As a young Ph.D. student I was told to apply for this job because "Cortland will teach you how to be a professor". I hope I have learned that and I need to thank my colleagues, our alumni and of course our students for helping in this process. It has been my honor to be associated with this department. This is a very different department than the one I began with. We have grown, developed and changed to serve our students. As I leave I know I am not going far but I will greatly miss working with this current faculty and curriculum. Ken Cohen will now take the Interim Chair position for the next year and the department will work to elect a new chair by the end of next academic year.

06/18/2024

05/17/2024

Congratulations to our wonderful Graduates! We are so grateful to have grown with you over the past 4 years. Can't wait to hear what comes next for all of you!

04/25/2024

Come and take a stab at walking the Slackline! We're here until 3:30 :)

04/25/2024

Come by the SLC Lawn for a break from the stress of.the end of.the semester today from 1:30-3:30!

04/23/2024

Eat food cooked on the fire at the Spring Fling Rec Fest on Thursday from 1:30-3:30 on the SLC front Lawn. We're having s'mores for dessert!

04/22/2024

Join us Thursday for the Spring Fling Recreation Festival! Take a break with the Slackline competition, yard games, s'mores and other activities.

04/18/2024

2000 RPLS Alumni Kristen Hansen (Machan) doing great things for the San Antonio community. We are so proud of you!

04/17/2024

Don't forget to select the Metcalf Endowment as your designee for your gift today! Your donation will go directly to supporting student experiential learning and professional development.

04/17/2024

It's Cortland Challenge day! Scan the QR code to give back to your department. Choose the Metcalf Endowment as your designee to support student experiential learning and professional development - No donation is too small!

04/15/2024

Congrats on guessing Ranger Rick (played by .png ) as the culprit for the Whodunit Forest Fire mystery. So proud of our fabulous students and the most unique conference session we've ever attended.

04/15/2024

leading students at the NYS Recreation and Parks Society Conference in a "Wilderness Whodunit: Forest Fire Mystery". We'll see who the culprit is!

04/12/2024

Good morning. I am asking for a favor. I need a few alumni/intership supervisors to talk to our accreditation visitors. It will be an hour in Cortland on April 22 from 4-5. If you can do this please let me know [email protected]

04/11/2024

Holi yesterday was a wonderful success - we loved experiencing the joy of togetherness, and the weather was cooperative! The students in REC 427: Cultural Events did a great job planning and putting this wonderful event on.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and a special thank you to our partners: the Presidents office, Provosts office, International Programs, History Dept, International club and the Clark Center for Global Engagement. More photos to come!

04/10/2024

Special thanks to REC 427 for all of their hard work on this event. A huge shout out to Esther VanGorder for all of her work! Would you like to be a part of planning an event like this??? Check out the classes in the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies, SUNY Cortland Department!

Holi Celebration was a success! Come by to help eat up the food!

04/10/2024

Holi Celebration was a success! Come by to help eat up the food!

04/08/2024

Join us Wednesday for our Holi Celebration! Keep an eye on social for any rain location updates.

04/05/2024

Join us Wednesday April 10 from 3-5 on Moffett Lawn to celebrate Spring and Togetherness

04/04/2024

Join us Wednesday April 10 from 3-5 on Moffett Lawn to enjoy other traditional HOLI snacks.

04/03/2024

Join us at one of our 6 fire pits to burn negativity away while we enjoy traditional Indian food on Wednesday April 10 from 3-5 on Moffett Lawn

04/02/2024

Come to HOLI on Wednesday April 10 from 3-5 on Moffett Lawn!

03/29/2024

We are so excited to invite our new Administrative Assistant, Katie Palmer-Smith. Stop by the main office to say hello to the new face of the department. Welcome to the family Katie!

03/24/2024

Another brag. Coach Sulekha is a alumni of our TR program and worked in long term care before coming back to coach. Now she is National Coach of the Year. We could not be more thrilled.

03/24/2024

We need to share with folks. Dr. MacDonld is currently our Interim Dean and a great friend of the department.

When you think of “research” P.E. is not the first subject to come to mind. For our next feature, we're shining the spotlight on SUNY Cortland distinguished service professor and interim dean of the School of Professional Studies, Dr. Lynn Couturier MacDonald.

She has spent her career developing national standards for K-12 Phys. Ed. programs. Prior to SUNY Cortland, she had stops at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Springfield College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). With her expertise, she helped the Red Dragons maintain their status as a national leader in physical education studies.

As a former President of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), Dr. MacDonald helped to create the framework to combine the basics of physical education with the study of how people learn. She then tested those theories with people in the field so teachers and coaches can be successful in their classrooms with the goal of helping teachers address the average student in class, not the superstar athlete.

Dr. MacDonald jumped into this field of research like most others; she was an athlete in high school and with her love of sports firmly in place, she planned to become a physical education teacher. She never would have guessed where her path would lead. After teaching P.E. and coaching at all levels, including high school and college, she earned her D.P.E. and moved into higher education to help improve the field by training the next generation of teachers.

After years of work on the national standards and earning numerous honors in her field, including SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service (2017), Lynn felt called back to her passion for women's sports history and currently has a research project in the works.

03/21/2024

Join us for HOLI, celebrating spring and togetherness with food, fire, and color! April 10, 3-5pm on Moffett Lawn

03/04/2024

UNIV304 is one of the best volunteer abroad programs for college students; its focus is international sustainable development and works to enhance your first...

03/04/2024

Check out the Bulletin News Article on our new Tourism major starting this Fall!

SUNY Cortland’s newest academic major in tourism and recreation will introduce students to life-changing experiences across the world and prepare them for a booming global industry.

02/16/2024

Don't miss the keynote for this year's TransAction Conference! Register to come In-Person or join virtually

Address

PO Box 2000
Cortland, NY
13045

Website

http://cortland.edu/rec/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies, SUNY Cortland posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies, SUNY Cortland:

Videos

Full-Time Job Opportunity for Hanover NH Parks & Recreation. Interested? Apply at government jobs.com/careers/hanovernh

Another great Outdoor Education Program (OEP) on the books! Love bringing all of the majors together at our fabulous Adirondack Campus. As always, great memories were made! We already can't wait to see you all again in the Fall :)

Another great employment opportunity for our Alumni!

Congratulations REC Alumnus Gregg Houck! Gregg has been appointed the new New Director of the Ithaca Youth Bureau.

Registration is open for the Certified Playground Inspector Courses hosted by the National Recreation and Parks Association. Sign up at: newyorkstaterecreationampparksociety.wildapeicot.org/CPSI

Congratulations to our students for completing the Interpretive Guide Certification!

So good to see students back on campus today! We missed you.

Another life-changing EcoTourism course in Hawaii. Don't miss your next chance to go!

New York State Civil Service Exams for Park Manager and Park Supervisor. This exam is administered once every four years. If you want to get in to NYS Parks, this is the exam to take. We are very excited to announce that The Department of Civil Service has released the examination announcements for Park Supervisor 1 (Grade 11), Park Supervisor 2 (Grade 14), Park Manager 1 (Grade 18), Park Manager 2 (Grade 21), and Park Manager 3 (Grade 23). The exams are scheduled for March 2, 2024**. The web links to each of the exam announcements can be found below. Please note that the deadline for filing examination applications for these exams is January 17, 2024. We encourage all Parks employees who meet the minimum qualifications to apply as soon as possible! Civil service exam application fees are now waived for all New York State civil service exams. You will need a personal NY.gov ID to apply for these examinations. If you do not have a personal NY.gov ID, you will need to create an account by using the underlined link in red. If you are currently serving provisionally in any of the Park Manager or Park Supervisor titles, it is very important that you take the exam for that title!! We intend to follow up with all employees serving provisionally in these titles to reinforce the importance of taking the exam. Park Manager 1 https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/announcements/oc/21-000.cfm Park Manager 2 & 3 https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/announcements/oc/21-004.cfm Park Supervisor 1 &2 https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/announcements/oc/21-002.cfm

Happy break everyone! Travel safe and rest up - you've earned it!

Take care of yourself during finals week! Your physical and mental health always come first.

It's the last week of classes! Things can pile up, but remember to take a break. Taking care of yourself should always be the first priority. You got this!