University News

Brophy Hall Renovations Add Lab Space, Expanded Facilities

September 21, 2005

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MACOMB, IL – Kinesiology students and student-athletes at Western Illinois University came back to school this fall to new state-of-the-art equipment, laboratory space and learning facilities.

As part of the kinesiology departmentÂ’s master plan, a comprehensive renovation of Brophy Hall began in May 2005, according to Miriam Satern, department chair. The weight room was expanded, lockers were removed from an unused locker room area, an underwater weighing lab for measuring body composition and a biomechanics lab were added, as was a new rehabilitation lab for the athletic training curriculum. During the summer months work crews were busy removing old equipment and retrofitting and redesigning space for the new and improved classrooms and labs, she added.

“The weight room on the lower level was expanded as a joint effort with athletics through former women’s athletics director Marion Blackinton’s generous donation,” Satern said. “Kinesiology has shared space with athletics for years, and our weight room is used by both academic classes and student-athletes. We needed to expand what we had in order to meet the needs of those using the facilities.”

Also on the lower level of Brophy Hall, the Westerwinds team room was traded to kinesiology for space in another part of the women’s locker room to provide an athletic training rehabilitation room; and a biomechanics lab – which allows kinesiology students to look at movement activities more in-depth – was created to give students experience by putting into place what is learned in the classroom.

An underwater weighing tank will also be added to the new space and the Bod Pod was re-located to this areas as well. Satern explained that although the Bod Pod is used to measure body composition, the underwater weighing is still considered to be a more precise measure of body composition.

“We used to use the swimming pool for underwater weighing, but it was hard to get accurate readings,” she explained. “The renovation project allowed us to build a tank in a private and secure area. Students will be able to get experience using this technique and will leave here more prepared. By having the underwater weigh-in tank, along with the Bod Pod, we are opening up another area of study and research for our students.”

After years of accumulating weight room apparatus, laboratory equipment and sharing space, faculty expressed the need for more research space and room to conduct classroom and practical activities. Brophy Hall houses kinesiology majors, including physical education teacher education students, exercise science and fitness students, the athletic training education program and graduate programs in exercise science, wellness and sports management, which is now a degree of its own. The building also serves as home to Westerwinds locker room facilities and athletic training space and the College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) dance program. As part of Athletics' Target: Western Forward Facility Initiative and the Brophy Hall renovation project, a new softball locker room -- the Kathy J. Veroni Locker Room – was built in the women’s locker room over the summer,
Satern said.

“While the traditional major in PE is always popular, our enrollment is increasing in nearly every program. Exercise science has gained in popularity over the years. Our athletic training program has been around for 30 years and is actually one of the oldest in the state and the nation. The same holds true for our sports management degree program,” Satern explained.

While the majors have the same focus as when the program first began many years ago, technology has definitely come into play and the department has kept up to speed, she added. Kinesiology students must have experience using the latest high-end technology – as well as the traditional technology such as pedometers, heart rate monitors and performance assessment – when they graduate in order to remain competitive in the field.

“When Brophy Hall was built in the 1970s, it housed physical education, the dance program and women’s athletics,” Satern said. “As the kinesiology and exercise fields evolve and grow, we are growing with them. We’re holding strong and these renovations, new additions and expansions will further enhance our already superior programs.”

An open house will be held this fall. For more information on kinesiology department programs, contact Satern at 309/298-1981 or visit www.wiu.edu/kinesiology.

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Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing