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| Berea College physical education professor Dr. Joy Hager (center) with (left) Kim Demling-Castelluzza, 2008 president of the Kentucky Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (KAHPERD) and (right) Lonnie Davis, Executive Director of KAHPERD. |
Dr. Joy Hager, professor of physical education at Berea College, was honored recently with the Walter H. Mustaine Award by the Kentucky Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (KAHPERD). The award was presented to Hager at KAHPERD’s annual convention Oct. 15-17, held in Louisville. The Mustaine Award is the highest award given by organization. It is presented to an individual who has contributed to KAHPERD for many years and has been recognized for earlier accomplishments.
Hager has been teaching at Berea College since 1961. A leading defender of gender equality, Hager has worked for women’s full participation in a broad range of sports at all levels.
When Hager began her career at Berea, there was a $33 budget for travel and no women’s intercollegiate sports program. The men’s and women’s PE programs and facilities were separate – but not equal. Today, Berea women compete in eight interscholastic sports, due in large part to Hager’s efforts over the years. Hager also has coached tennis, field hockey, volleyball and basketball and officiated volleyball and basketball.
Hager provided leadership in the early organization of women’s sports in Kentucky, holding key offices in the state Women’s Intercollegiate Conference. She also served on the Executive Board of Citizens for Sports Equity in Kentucky for many years. Hager served as the president of KAHPERD in 1996. In 1989 she received the KAHPERD Distinguished Service Award.
Hager was recognized nationally for efforts to improve sports opportunities for women when she received the Pathfinders Award of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports, which honors a person from each state who has been a strong, continuous advocate for the advancement of women’s athletics.
A native of Prestonsburg, Hager has served as chair of the women’s physical education department and athletic director at Berea College. She holds degrees from Eastern Kentucky University and MacMurray College, and earned her doctorate from the University of Kentucky in 1987.
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