The West Virginia University College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences will induct four graduates into its 2013 Hall of Fame and name its 2013 Outstanding Alumnus at the Erickson Alumni Center on Friday, Nov. 1.

The College will also celebrate its inaugural Distinguished Service Award – one of the highest honors the College can bestow on a faculty or staff member. A reception will be held from 6p.m. to 7 p.m., and the formal induction ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.

Those to be inducted into the 2013 Hall of Fame are Kevin H. Bastin, Paul L. Bischoff, Louise Christensen (posthumously) and David J. Van Halanger. The Hall of Fame ceremony will conclude with the 2013 Outstanding Alumnus Award presented to Philip B. Donley. Bruce Wilmoth will receive the Distinguished Service Award.

The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences is proud to add the names of this year’s class of inductees to its growing list of outstanding alumni. More than 120 alumni have previously been inducted into the College’s Hall of Fame.

To be eligible for nomination, an individual must hold a degree awarded by the WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences or a certification in Athletic Training prior to 1997; have been a faculty or staff member; and have made significant contributions to the College, their profession, and/or society. Those presently employed by the College are not eligible.

Brief bios for the honorees follow:

Kevin H. Bastin attended WVU earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and Athletic Training in 1984. He then attended the University of Miami where he received a master’s degree in sport health. Following graduation, Bastin spent six years holding various positions within the athletic training field before becoming the head athletic trainer for the Houston Texans, until 2009. He has 20 years of experience as an NFL athletic trainer. Bastin is currently the director of athletic training services for the Ironman Sports Medicine Institute at the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. Bastin helps educate coaches, parents and athletes about concussions. He and the other staff members recently came up with the idea to create a mobile phone application that works in conjunction with their website so information on athletic injuries can be more readily available to parents, students, and coaches.

Paul L. Bischoff, a native of Beaver Falls, Pa., came to WVU in 1949 where he played end for Pappy Lewis’s football team from 1950 to 1952. He lettered all three years and earned All-America honors his senior year. From 1957 to 1962, Bischoff taught and coached at Beaver High School where he helped develop strong teams and a better program. He then spent two years as an assistant grid coach and teacher at Geneva College. Bischoff then became involved in administrative work and spent the following 20 years as an administrator in Chippawa Township, Pa. Throughout these years, he was a student center director, campus programs chairman and placement director. In 2001, Bischoff was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame. He retired in 2005.

Louise Christensen received her Bachelor of Science degree from WVU School of Physical Education in 1962. She then received a certificate in physical therapy from Duke University in 1963. Her working experience included staff and management positions at the University of North Carolina Medical Center, West Virginia Rehabilitation Center, Charleston General Hospital, Hotel Dieu Hospital New Orleans, and Charleston Memorial Hospital. After retirement, she became an active volunteer in Hospice, Habitat for Humanities and in her church. She enjoyed cooking, skiing, reading, traveling, and friends. She was also a member of the CPASS Visiting Committee and served as a chairman. Throughout her lifetime she had a strong commitment to the Habitat for Humanity. Louise passed away in January 2012.

David J. Van Halanger, a native of Turtle Creek, Pa., received his Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Physical Education in 1976. While at WVU, he was #79 on the football team and made the starting lineup in 1973 at right tackle. Following his collegiate career, he played professionally with the Atlanta Falcons in 1976 before returning to WVU as a graduate assistant and head junior varsity coach. He became a full-time strength coach at WVU in 1978. Van Halanger became one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the country. He spent 18 years as Florida State University’s strength and conditioning coach from 1983 to 2001 and five years as head strength coach at his alma mater. Van Halanger is credited with starting WVU’s first organized weight training program. He currently works for the Georgia Bulldogs where he has been since 2001.

Philip B. Donley, a native of the Northern Panhandle and a graduate of Follansbee High School, came to WVU in 1952. Following graduation from the School of Physical Education in 1956, he enrolled at D.T. Watson in pursuit of a degree in physical therapy. Following a three-year stint as a physical therapist in Akron, Donley returned to his alma mater in 1960 as a member of the faculty and athletic training staff. In 1965, he assumed a position at West Chester State University where he has served since that time as professor of physical education, head athletic trainer, and athletic training education program director. His most recent research has focused on a ten-year study on professional baseball players, leading to the development of prevention and rehabilitation methods for upper extremity problems and body kinetic chains. Donley continues to serve as a part-time employee at the West Chester Office of Optimum Physical Therapy Associates and gives lectures on shoulder and full body kinetic chain options.

-WVU-

kc/10/18/13

CONTACT: Kimberly Cameon, College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences
304.293.0827, Kimberly.Cameon@mail.wvu.edu

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