With great joy and some melancholy, we honor our retiring professors, Dr. Greg Payne and Dr. Nancy Megginson. These longtime servants to the department, college, and university are shining examples of the quality faculty in the Department of Kinesiology.

Both professors have over 20 years of service to the SJSU community and beyond. Each has impacted the lives of thousands of students across their careers, mentored countless faculty, and served the larger community.

Greg Payne, P.E.D. Professor Motor Development greg.payne@sjsu.edu

Dr. Greg Payne has been on the faculty of the Department of Kinesiology since 1983. Nearly half of his time there was in administration as an Associate Dean in the College of Applied Sciences and Arts at San Jose State University and department chair. His academic specialization is human motor with interests ranging from aging and physical activity to children’s health and fitness. He received a BS degree from Western Illinois University and was presented that institution’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He earned an MA from the University of Iowa and PED from Indiana University. Early in his career, Greg lived and worked in Venezuela for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He has since produced over 170 publications including eighteen editions of five books. Greg is an elected Fellow in the prestigious National Academy of Kinesiology (NAK), generally regarded to be the top tier of leaders/scholars in Kinesiology. He is a co-author of The Equation: A Proven Lifestyle and Fitness Plan by St. Martin’s Press and recently released Human Motor Development: A Lifespan Approach (2016, 9th edition), a leading selling textbook that has been used in hundreds of universities throughout the world.

He co-wrote and edited a text that was a joint effort of American and Chinese scholars – the first motordevelopment book in China. He was the first Distinguished Honorary Professor of the Shenyang Sport University in China and received the Distinguished Service Award from the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Southwest District AAHPERD Scholar Award, the AAHPERD Honor Award, and the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport Research Writing Award.

Greg is a former President of the 22,000 member National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE); former Chair of the National Motor Development Academy of AAHPERD, and former President of the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (CAHPERD).

He was presented CAHPERD’s Verne Landreth Award, exemplifying the highest achievement in service, research, teaching, and administration, and was a SJSU Nominee for the California State University Wang Award for extraordinary commitment and dedication, distinction by exemplary contributions, and achievement in the academic discipline.

He is a Fellow of the Research Consortium of AAHPERD, has chaired two editorial boards and has reviewed for numerous refereed journals.​

Nancy Megginson, Ph.D. Professor Adapted Physical Activity nancy.megginson@sjsu.edu

Since arriving at SJSU KIN in 1990, Dr. Megginson has sponsored or co-sponsored over 95 local, regional, national, and international disability sporting events, such as the USOC Paralympic Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team Tryouts held in 2011.

She has attended all but two Winter/Summer Paralympics since 1996 and writes about these games for the professional journal, Palaestra.  She serves/has served on numerous advisory boards for disability sport or physicaleducation/activity for individuals with disabilities.

Dr. Megginson (with Dr. Shirley Reekie) initiated the SJSU-Santa Clara County collaborative Timpany Center project that is operated by the Department of Kinesiology.

She has served as its Project Director since its inception in 2009.  The Timpany Center is an accessible physical activity and recreation center that offers a variety of aquatic therapy, swim lessons, and fitness programs for persons of all ages and abilities in the greater Santa Clara County community.  The center provides valuable service-learning opportunities to numerous SJSU students from a variety of colleges/departments within the university.