MASTERS OF RECREATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
By the late 1970’s, with the Bachelor’s program fairly well established, there was an interest expressed in developing a Masters degree program. During the later half of the decade, a number of faculty members passed through Acadia (Watts, Mannell, Diffenderfer), all serving for a brief period as Director of the Centre of Leisure Studies. Each played a role in the establishment of a graduate program and in 1977, the Acadia Masters program in Recreation Management started with three students: Sheila Backman, Alistair Robertson, and Francis (Tony) Martin. Dr. Bill White was also involved in the delivering graduate courses. Sheila Backman, working with Dr. Roger Mannell, was the first student to complete the Masters program, in 1979.
Dr. Alex Wright joined the faculty in 1979 and immediately took on a key leadership role in the development and delivery of the program. He was instrumental in running the program until his sudden death in 1997, and served as advisor for 15 of the 19 theses completed during that time period. Unlike many institutions, most of the graduate students did not pursue topics that would advance a faculty members own research program. Rather, given that most students were practitioners, Dr. Wright assisted them to research questions of professional interest involving a broad range of populations (e.g. offenders, non-institutionalized elders, alcoholics, Greek Immigrants) and a variety of diverse subjects (e.g. psychological well being, role expectations, boredom, vacation imaging).
For most of its existence, the program consisted of courses including: Leisure Research, Integrative Seminar in Leisure Studies, Recreation Management Practicum, a relevant elective, and production of a thesis. The curriculum was designed to address the learning needs of both practitioners planning to return to the profession, as well as scholars interested in pursuing further academic study. Seven of the BRM graduates have gone on to complete PhDs and have served as faculty at a variety of universities (Acadia, Chemson, U Manitoba, U New Brunswick, U Ottawa, U Waterloo, and Vancouver Island U.). Others have served in settings which include provincial and federal government, business, education, and justice.
A total of 31 individuals completed the Masters of Recreation program at Acadia prior to 2013 when Community Development replaced Recreation Management, as shown below.
Dr. Alex Wright joined the faculty in 1979 and immediately took on a key leadership role in the development and delivery of the program. He was instrumental in running the program until his sudden death in 1997, and served as advisor for 15 of the 19 theses completed during that time period. Unlike many institutions, most of the graduate students did not pursue topics that would advance a faculty members own research program. Rather, given that most students were practitioners, Dr. Wright assisted them to research questions of professional interest involving a broad range of populations (e.g. offenders, non-institutionalized elders, alcoholics, Greek Immigrants) and a variety of diverse subjects (e.g. psychological well being, role expectations, boredom, vacation imaging).
For most of its existence, the program consisted of courses including: Leisure Research, Integrative Seminar in Leisure Studies, Recreation Management Practicum, a relevant elective, and production of a thesis. The curriculum was designed to address the learning needs of both practitioners planning to return to the profession, as well as scholars interested in pursuing further academic study. Seven of the BRM graduates have gone on to complete PhDs and have served as faculty at a variety of universities (Acadia, Chemson, U Manitoba, U New Brunswick, U Ottawa, U Waterloo, and Vancouver Island U.). Others have served in settings which include provincial and federal government, business, education, and justice.
A total of 31 individuals completed the Masters of Recreation program at Acadia prior to 2013 when Community Development replaced Recreation Management, as shown below.
MASTERS OF RECREATION MANAGEMENT GRADUATES
BACKMAN, SHEILA J. 1979, Behavioral and attitudinal effects of a leisure counseling and a recreation activity exposure program for institutional aged
ROBERTSON, ALISTAIR G. 1980, The teaching of physical education as an effective mode of conveying concepts of recreation, health and fitness
MCCARVILLE, RONALD E. 1981, Leisure and work attitudes: A study of their relationship to psychological well-being and recreation
CRONIN, JUDITH A. 1982, Perception of role expectations as identified by recreation directors and recreation commission chairman
MOORE, TERENCE H. 1982, A Study of the leisure choices of young offenders and young non-offenders and the impact of social structure and anomie on their choices
DAVIS, CHARLES L. 1983, Development of a systems approach to recreation program planning and evaluation
MARTIN, FRANCIS (TONY) A. 1983, The development and evaluation of a program for trainers of volunteers in mon-profit organizations in Nova Scotia
ROBERTSON, BRENDA J. 1983 A study of benefits sought by visiting parties to Kejimkujik National Park
HOARE, WILFRID 1985, The development of amateur soccer in Kings County, Nova Scotia 1968-1983
PEDERSEN, MARNE L. 1985, The relationship of life satisfaction to leisure satisfaction among retired, ambulatory, non-institutionalized senior citizens of Kings County, Nova Scotia
MACTIER, DIANA K. 1986, A study to determine the leisure lifestyle patterns of alcoholics and non-alcoholics in the Annapolis Valley
MACEACHERN, DONNA B. 1986, The relationship of avowed boredom to leisure satisfaction among undergraduate students living on campus at Acadia University
LAVOIE, ERIC 1986, A Delphi Study – Trends in financing municipal recreation in Nova Scotia in the next 10 Years based on a selected panel
KARLIS, GEORGE 1987, Perceptions of Greek immigrants and descendants toward Greek culture and participation in the hellenic community of Ottawa
SUFFRON, ROBERT (BOB) V. 1988, A study of the perceived impacts of outdoor recreation development on benefits of cottage owners at Aylesford Lake: a test of the social exchange theory
DELAMERE, THOMAS A. 1990, Relationships between Internal travel motivations and external travel motivations: The fall season bus tour in Nova Scotia
DICKSON, LAURIE E. 1990, A study of the role and meaning of leisure in the lives of battered women
PARDY, SEAN 1991, A Study of the role of community festivals and events in community development
LEMPERIERE, CECILE 1991, An exploratory study: The influence of printed information on vacation image formation
GIBSON, LORRAINE A. 1995, An investigation of leisure involvement of women, aged 60-80 years, married for at least 25 years, living in Kings County, NS
DEROCHIE, GINGER 2002, A re-assessment of outdoor adventure leadership preparation in Canada: 1895 and 2002
CLARKE, BARRY C. 2003, Volunteers relationship with community: A study of festival volunteers in Liverpool, Nova Scotia
DUCAP, MARIE-CLAUDE 2003, The perceived impact of the Acadia Advantage Program on the leisure lifestyle and leisure satisfaction of the students at Acadia University
VERHULST, DAVID J. 2004, Evolving perspectives: Integrating environmental history and heritage appreciation in Dinosaur Provincial Park
HARRIS, SCOTT C. 2005, The role of ecotourism in aboriginal community development: The case of Lennox Island First Nation
HOLMES, OONAGH 2006, An Investigation of the lifestyle transition of first year female students at risk academically
ONCESCU, JACQUELYN M. 2006, An investigation of recreation and cohesion in isolated communities
WHITNEY-SQUIRE, KELLY L. 2010, Exploring the relationship between Aboriginal ecotourism and community-based development in Haida Gwaii, Canada
MARTIN, JEFFRY B. 2010, Risk management in Canadian post-secondary outdoor adventure education
DE VREEDE, CATHERINE 2011, Mindshift: Impacts of sustainable peer education on youth leaders
CAMPBELL, ROBIN 2013, International volunteerism: A case study of experiences and impacts
ROBERTSON, ALISTAIR G. 1980, The teaching of physical education as an effective mode of conveying concepts of recreation, health and fitness
MCCARVILLE, RONALD E. 1981, Leisure and work attitudes: A study of their relationship to psychological well-being and recreation
CRONIN, JUDITH A. 1982, Perception of role expectations as identified by recreation directors and recreation commission chairman
MOORE, TERENCE H. 1982, A Study of the leisure choices of young offenders and young non-offenders and the impact of social structure and anomie on their choices
DAVIS, CHARLES L. 1983, Development of a systems approach to recreation program planning and evaluation
MARTIN, FRANCIS (TONY) A. 1983, The development and evaluation of a program for trainers of volunteers in mon-profit organizations in Nova Scotia
ROBERTSON, BRENDA J. 1983 A study of benefits sought by visiting parties to Kejimkujik National Park
HOARE, WILFRID 1985, The development of amateur soccer in Kings County, Nova Scotia 1968-1983
PEDERSEN, MARNE L. 1985, The relationship of life satisfaction to leisure satisfaction among retired, ambulatory, non-institutionalized senior citizens of Kings County, Nova Scotia
MACTIER, DIANA K. 1986, A study to determine the leisure lifestyle patterns of alcoholics and non-alcoholics in the Annapolis Valley
MACEACHERN, DONNA B. 1986, The relationship of avowed boredom to leisure satisfaction among undergraduate students living on campus at Acadia University
LAVOIE, ERIC 1986, A Delphi Study – Trends in financing municipal recreation in Nova Scotia in the next 10 Years based on a selected panel
KARLIS, GEORGE 1987, Perceptions of Greek immigrants and descendants toward Greek culture and participation in the hellenic community of Ottawa
SUFFRON, ROBERT (BOB) V. 1988, A study of the perceived impacts of outdoor recreation development on benefits of cottage owners at Aylesford Lake: a test of the social exchange theory
DELAMERE, THOMAS A. 1990, Relationships between Internal travel motivations and external travel motivations: The fall season bus tour in Nova Scotia
DICKSON, LAURIE E. 1990, A study of the role and meaning of leisure in the lives of battered women
PARDY, SEAN 1991, A Study of the role of community festivals and events in community development
LEMPERIERE, CECILE 1991, An exploratory study: The influence of printed information on vacation image formation
GIBSON, LORRAINE A. 1995, An investigation of leisure involvement of women, aged 60-80 years, married for at least 25 years, living in Kings County, NS
DEROCHIE, GINGER 2002, A re-assessment of outdoor adventure leadership preparation in Canada: 1895 and 2002
CLARKE, BARRY C. 2003, Volunteers relationship with community: A study of festival volunteers in Liverpool, Nova Scotia
DUCAP, MARIE-CLAUDE 2003, The perceived impact of the Acadia Advantage Program on the leisure lifestyle and leisure satisfaction of the students at Acadia University
VERHULST, DAVID J. 2004, Evolving perspectives: Integrating environmental history and heritage appreciation in Dinosaur Provincial Park
HARRIS, SCOTT C. 2005, The role of ecotourism in aboriginal community development: The case of Lennox Island First Nation
HOLMES, OONAGH 2006, An Investigation of the lifestyle transition of first year female students at risk academically
ONCESCU, JACQUELYN M. 2006, An investigation of recreation and cohesion in isolated communities
WHITNEY-SQUIRE, KELLY L. 2010, Exploring the relationship between Aboriginal ecotourism and community-based development in Haida Gwaii, Canada
MARTIN, JEFFRY B. 2010, Risk management in Canadian post-secondary outdoor adventure education
DE VREEDE, CATHERINE 2011, Mindshift: Impacts of sustainable peer education on youth leaders
CAMPBELL, ROBIN 2013, International volunteerism: A case study of experiences and impacts