I was hired in 1982 as an assistant professor. I left a joint appointment between Sociology and African-American Studies to join the D'Youville faculty. At D'Youville I was provided the opportunity to teach across disciplines and the freedom to pursue an aggressive research and writing agenda. My lifelong intellectual passion has been to understand gender relations. Sociology is the most comprehensive knowledge framework to explore the psychological, social, cultural, and sexual dimensions of gender. I have published extensively on gender relations in relation to issues, including physical activity and health, gender equity in athletics, sport and masculinity, and men's violence. I have been a leader in the development of social scientific study of men and masculinities, particularly in the areas of sport and health. I'm founder and director of the Center for Research on Physical Activity, Sport & Health (CRPASH) at D'Youville. The mission of CRPASH is to design, conduct, and disseminate cutting-edge research on the links among physical activity, sport and health. We are an organizational catalyst for interdisciplinary research projects that foster education, policy development, and public health initiatives. We specialize in getting knowledge and policy "off the shelf" and into communities, schools, and the media, where it can impact people's lives. CRPASH's partnerships with national nonprofits, visionary donors, and corporate sponsors enable us to maximize the educational impacts of our research. I am a Professor of Health Policy in D'Youville's Health Policy & Health Education Doctoral Program. For students this program is both an intellectually challenging and supportive environment that deepens their knowledge, develops their research and managerial skills, and allows them to pursue a personally and professionally meaningful scholarly agenda. Our small classes help produce big results. I've also served as the Research Director for the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF). I like to say that I have two bosses who are both women: Sr. Denise Roche, president of D'Youville College, and Billie Jean King, founder and Board Chair of the Women's Sports Foundation.
A multidisciplinary, international approach is taken in this volume which contextualizes men's health issues within the broader theoretical framework of men's studies. The contributors argue that gender is a key factor for understanding the patterns of men's health risks, the ways men perceive and use their bodies and men's psychological adjustment to illness itself. The first part introduces perspectives of men's studies and their relevance to understanding men's health. Part Two explores the links between traditional gender roles, men's health and larger structural and cultural contexts. Part Three looks at the implications of multiple masculinities for health issues, while the final section of the book examines the psychosocial aspects of men's health.
