Clarkson named Distinguished Professor

Priscilla Clarkson, professor of Kinesiology and interim dean of Commonwealth College, has been appointed a Distinguished Professor by President Jack Wilson. The appointment was approved March 14 by the Board of Trustees.

Clarkson was recommended for the honor by Chancellor John V. Lombardi and Charlena Seymour, provost and senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, who called her “an international leader” in the areas of exercise-induced muscle damage and repair and the genetic underpinnings of muscle growth and atrophy. The chancellor and provost also praised her as an “excellent role model for both students and faculty” and for service to her profession.

A member of the faculty since 1977, she served as associate dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences for 12 years before being appointed interim dean of Commonwealth College last year.

The author of three books, Clarkson has also written more than 200 articles for leading professional publications such as the Journal of Physiology, Journal of Applied Physiology, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and the European Journal of Applied Physiology. She has also presented her research at nearly 350 regional, national and international meetings.

Clarkson has supported her research with $4 million in external funding, including grants from the Christopher Reeve Foundation, Medinova, Inc., Quaker Oats Company, Proctor and Gamble, and Whitehall Laboratories.

She is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the preeminent international association in sports medicine, and has held several leadership posts in the group, including president (2000) and vice president (1994-96).

In 2005, Clarkson received ACSM’s Honor Award, its highest recognition, and this year was chosen to deliver the JN Wolffe Lecture, the keynote address of the association’s international meeting.

On campus, she was recognized in 2005 with an award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research or Creative Activity. Clarkson received the Chancellor’s Medal as a Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in 1997.

A UMass Amherst alumna, Clarkson earned her B.S. in Zoology in 1969, her M.S. in Zoology/Marine Science in 1973 and her Ph.D. in Exercise Science/Human Movement in 1977.

March 15, 2007.

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