Morton distinguished professorship awarded to Dr. Jennifer Etnier

Posted on April 22, 2019

Photo of Dr. Jenny EtnierUNCG is proud to announce the new recipient of the Julia Taylor Morton Distinguished Professorship in Life and Health Science, Dr. Jennifer Etnier, professor of kinesiology. Etnier is a nationally and internationally recognized authority on the cognitive benefits of physical activity. Her work is especially important as she probes the relationship between physical activity and cognitive decline, with particular attention to people who may be at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Etnier has been a faculty member at UNCG since 2004. She was promoted to professor in 2010, and she has served as director of Graduate Studies (2011-2015), interim department chair (2007-08), and associate department chair (since 2017).

She has published three books (in several editions), more than 75 peer reviewed journal articles, and 17 book chapters. She has been instrumental in securing a dozen external grants and has received more than $8 million in external funding.

In 2013, she was selected as a fellow by the National Academy of Kinesiology, an organization whose membership is limited to 250 of the most widely respected Kinesiology professionals in the US. In 2009 she was recognized as a fellow by the American College of Sports Medicine. Among her many honors and awards, she won the School of Health and Human Sciences Teaching Excellence Award (2016), the UNCG Graduate School’s Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award (2014), the HHS Graduate Mentoring Award (2013), and the UNCG Alumni Teaching Excellence Award (2011).

Interim Dean Dave Demo said, “I’m delighted we have this opportunity to recognize Dr. Etnier’s stellar record of accomplishments. I can think of no one who could make better use of this position to teach and mentor students in the life sciences.”

About the Professorship:

The Julia Taylor Morton Distinguished Professorship in Life and Health Science was established in 1996 by Mr. C. D. Spangler, Jr., then-President of the University of North Carolina System, through the C. D. Spangler Foundation. He created the professorship to honor Morton, a long-time friend and graduate of the Women’s College. Morton was born in Guilford County and served on the UNC Board of Governors for 16 years.

Copy courtesy School of HHS and the Provost Office.

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