History of the Health and Physical Education Department

The required skills/activities program

Luther College has held the promotion of physical exercise for students as a high priority right from the start. An admonition credited to President Peter Laurentius Larsen, first president of Luther College who served from l861 to 1902, was "Don't become humped over like a question mark". He insisted that during leisure hours, students should get out into the open, rather than to read or study. Students were encouraged to participate in outdoor activities such as hiking, running, skating, skiing, wrestling, weight lifting and finger pulling.

The first gymnasium at Luther College was built in l886. With the availability of a gymnasium, a course in physical education was introduced. "Since all friends of the school felt strongly that the students should have proper exercise to safeguard their health, this two-hour course was made obligatory in l886-87 and has remained so since." The requirement actually became an eight semester requirement in l941-42. "In accordance with the emphasis which the War Emergency has placed upon physical fitness, all students are required to participate in regular physical training activities, freshmen and sophomores four hours a week, juniors and seniors two hours a week." In the following year, all men were required to participate five hours a week each semester, while two hours a week was the requirement for freshman and sophomore women. For the 1949-50 academic year, a four semester requirement for all students was re-established. In l988 the requirement became three semesters, and in 1991, it was further reduced to a two semester requirement. Since the curriculum revisions of 2001, one of the two required courses must be a wellness course.

David T. Nelson's Luther College 1861-1961 does not discuss the actual activities that were a part of the required course in physical education. One would suspect that the activities have changed over the years with the equipment/facilities available, the waves of interest that have occurred in various sports, the curricular influence of AAHPERD, and the interests/abilities of various faculty members in the department. The catalog for 1888-89 referred to the classes as exercises in Gymnastics. From 1918-1920, the two year requirement was identified as Military Drill, and from 1920 to 1934, the program was called Military Training, with classes meeting three hours per week. When the physical education major was established in l933-34, the two year requirement became known as physical education.

C. K. Preus Gymnasium was dedicated October 14, 1926 and was destroyed by fire in l961. During the late winter of the 1961-62 school year, all of the physical education skills classes went downtown for bowling. When the Regents Center (originally identified as the Field House) was completed for the fall of l964, aquatic activities, racquetball and weight training were introduced to the skills offerings. The first Fitness for Life class was developed by Dr. Kent Finanger, and appeared in the Luther College Catalog for the first time in l985. Classes in dance were expanded with the hiring of Linda Christ and subsequent dance instructors. That position eventually moved from the Health and Physical Education Department to what is currently the Theatre/Dance Department.

When coeducation came to Luther College in l936, skills courses for men and women were taught separately. The l938-39 catalog indicated there were three sections of skills classes for freshmen men and three for sophomore men. It is likely that each section offered exactly the same activities. "Whenever the weather permits, all activities take place out-of-doors, consisting of kittenball, touchball, football, soccer, track and field athletics, and similar sports. Indoor activities include calisthenics, basketball, handball, volleyball, apparatus work, and group games." The courses for women were designed in a similar way, and included such activities as archery, badminton, gymnastics, hockey, and volleyball. It is unclear from the catalogs when students could first select their choice of activity from the various skills offered. The 1981 Luther College Bulletin is the first to identify physical education skills classes that were coeducational.

There is very little information available about staffing for physical education in the early years. As the men's athletic program developed, staffing did become an issue for the College. In 1896 the students requested that a football coach be hired, but the Church Council unanimously opposed such a hire, thinking that it "smacked of professionalism". Gradually, coaching positions began to be filled, and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools began to require faculty control of athletics. President Oscar L. Olson, third president who served from 1921 to l932, "was convinced that coaches should be regular members of the teaching staff with faculty standing." Sigurd Reque had been placed in charge of baseball and, in 1924, was made athletic director. Francis Peterson was in charge of turning from 1921 to 1924, David T. Nelson coached tennis from 1922-33 and O.W. Qualley coached basketball in 1923-24. "In 1922 Hamlet E. Peterson, '22, was engaged to teach and coach in the preparatory department. Because of his success there Olson made him coach of football, basketball, and track in the college in 1925. . . .Thus, with this appointment, Olson achieved his goal of having as coaches men who also carried academic responsibilities and had faculty standing."

The major in physical education was offered for the first time in l933-34. The major consisted of 24 semester hours in the department, plus two Biology courses and two Education courses. The courses available in the department, and the class hours per week are indicated below:

When Luther College became coeducational in l936, Christine Owen joined the staff to teach physical education classes for women. The new courses added just for women included:

A minor in physical education was designed for women, but women were not allowed to
major in physical education. The coaching classes were open only to men, but the other courses were available for men and women. Several additions were made to the professional preparation courses from l938-40, including methods classes in team sports, and individual and dual sports. The catalog for 1946-47 indicated separate plans for men and women to major in physical education. Students Shirley Possen and Alice Larson Bernatz have been credited with a strong lobbying effort that helped produce the physical education major for women.

Nelson pointed out that in 1954, students were required to complete one major and only one minor, a reduction from two minors. However, the students preparing to teach at the secondary level were required to complete a second minor in education. He also noted that the majors in music education, business education, and physical education were strengthened at that time.

Structural changes in the department have occurred in the chronology that follows:

1970 Introduction of the non-teaching physical education major
1972 Introduction of the coaching minor
1972 Introduction of the broad fields teaching major (physical education and health)
1974 Introduction of the health education major
1978 The coaching minor became a coaching endorsement
1985 Introduction of the non-teaching major in health
1986 Introduction of the sports management major
1989 Introduction of the athletic training minor
1999 Introduction of several tracts of emphasis within the non-teaching health and physical education majors (wellness, women's health, management, family health, mental health; athletic training, exercise science, sport psychology)

The title of the department has varied over the years to reflect some of the changes just mentioned. Originally, just a Department of Physical Education, it became the Department of Physical Education, Health and Hygiene in l940-41, and became part of the Division of Education and Psychology. In l954 the title returned to that of Physical Education. In 1972, the title became the Department of Physical Education and Health, and in 1975 it was modified to become the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Since 1983, it has been the Health and Physical Education Department and is a part of the Science Division