After a national search, Lynn Nester has been named director of the UO’s Department of Physical Education and Recreation after serving as director of recreation and wellness at California State University, San Bernardino.
“We are so pleased to welcome Lynn to the Division of Student Life,” said R. Kevin Marbury, vice president for student life. “Her talents, educational background, time as an instructor, professional memberships and leadership skills really do prepare her to build on the great work being done in physical education and recreation.”
Nester earned her doctorate in education in 2016, conducting a qualitative dissertation focusing on first-year student transition and integration to college. Nester has been involved in the collegiate recreation profession for 20 years and has been a member of NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation for 19 years.
She has served on the NIRSA Assembly for the past two years and is serving as the pro-tem convener for 2018–19. Last year Nester led the NIRSA Assembly Health and Wellbeing Working Group, which produced a widely used online Health and Wellbeing Resources Guide.
“I am excited to be at the renowned University of Oregon and look forward to the opportunity to lead and work with a highly talented and passionate group of staff, faculty and students within the physical education and recreation department and across campus,” Nester said. “The breadth and quality of the UO physical education classes and recreation program is nationally recognized, and I feel extremely fortunate to be a part of the team.”
Nester has 12 years of progressive responsibility in senior-level administrative positions at three diverse higher education institutions and served as a Title IX civil rights investigator while she was at East Tennessee State University.
Nester holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and finance from Emory University, a master’s in sports administration from Georgia State University and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from East Tennessee State University.
Her first day on campus was Oct. 1.
—By Lauren Miller, Student Services and Enrollment Management