UREC Assistant Director for Sport Clubs and Inclusive Recreation, Chris Jones, receives 2022 Horace Moody Award
University Recreation
Written by Lauren Shutt
UREC is delighted to announce that Chris Jones, the Assistant Director for Sport Clubs and Inclusive Recreation, has received NIRSA’s 2022 Horace Moody Award. This award is given to members of NIRSA and the collegiate recreation field that have made a lasting difference in mentoring students and guiding them in their professional development.
Jones began his UREC career in 2001 as the Graduate Assistant for Aquatics and Safety and continued on as their Coordinator after upon graduating in 2003. In 2007, he then transitioned to the role of Assistant Director for Sport Clubs and Youth Programs, where he helped move 10 varsity sports to club programs and helped expand UREC’s summer camp program from 4 to 10 weeks. Since Chris started in this role, over 10,000 students have participated in the Sport Club Program, the program has grown from 30 to 52 clubs and there have been 13 National Championships to include Softball, Basketball, Gymnastics, Soccer, Field Hockey, and Archery. While these numbers speak for themselves, Jones has made a huge impact off the field as well.
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His continued devotion to UREC, JMU, and the Harrisonburg community has been an inspiration to all and his leadership and mentorship influences every Inclusive Recreation Assistant and Sport Club leader daily. Kristin Gibson |
In Jones’ tenure, the Sport Club Council has created events such as Fall in Love with Harrisonburg, which helps connect clubs to community organizations. This has resulted in over 50,000 hours of community service by the Sport Club Program. In addition to his role in Sport Clubs and Inclusive Recreation, Jones is heavily involved in student professional development at UREC. He currently serves on UREC’s Social Justice & Inclusion Committee and has devoted the last two years to facilitating training sessions on DEI topics to student staff. Other programs he has been involved in include facilitating JMU’s Bystander Intervention Program, Green Dot, facilitating JMU’s orientation ethical reasoning program, teaching a Kinesiology Basic Instruction program, being an adjunct instructor at the Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management and leading / co-leading numerous UREC service-learning trips to the Bahamas.
His continued devotion to UREC, JMU, and the Harrisonburg community has been an inspiration to all and his leadership and mentorship influences every Inclusive Recreation Assistant and Sport Club leader daily. We thank Chris for his service and can’t wait to see what he does next.
