UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Laura Hall has been named senior director of Campus Recreation at Penn State, effective Aug. 1. Hall came to Penn State from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) where she was, most recently, the director of campus recreation.
"Laura brings an accomplished professional's experience and insight to the development of a comprehensive campus recreation program at University Park,” said Damon Sims, vice president of Student Affairs. “Our students and others have long demonstrated a deep interest in recreational sports activities, but the University only recently pulled together the disparate parts of campus recreation to form a single cohesive operation. With Laura's leadership, I am confident that we'll achieve our firm ambition to build the best campus recreation program in the country. The Penn State community should expect nothing less."
In her new role with Campus Recreation, a unit of Student Affairs, Hall will oversee the operations of recreational and fitness facilities, including the White and Intramural buildings, Tennis Center, McCoy Natatorium and Stone Valley Recreation Area. She will be responsible for the strength and fitness, intramural sports, club sports and adventure recreation programs.
“The opportunity to lead a collegiate recreation department within the Big Ten Conference is a dream come true,” said Hall. “I could not be more excited to work with Campus Recreation and Student Affairs staff to provide outstanding recreational programs, facilities and services for the health and wellness of the Penn State campus community.”
“Penn State has a fantastic base of existing programs, services, facilities and outstanding staff who are very passionate about their work. By building on these factors and keeping a keen eye focused on the ever-evolving recreational and wellness needs of our campus community, I believe Penn State Campus Recreation has an incredibly bright future,” said Hall.
Prior to coming to Penn State, Hall spent 15 years at UC Davis where she held the positions of assistant director for intramural sports and sport clubs, associate director of campus recreation, and director of campus recreation. During her tenure with UC Davis, Hall significantly grew student participation in recreation and fitness programs to where approximately 80 percent of the 33,000 students now take advantage of these programs.
Hall also strongly supported providing opportunities for people with special needs to participate in recreational and physical activities in Davis, California. She was on the board of directors for Team Davis, a nonprofit that works to enrich the lives of children and adults with special needs, and was instrumental in bringing the Special Olympics to UC Davis.
Before UC Davis, Hall spent three years at California State University, Sacramento as the assistant director and director of recreational sports. She received a master’s degree in sport psychology from California State University, Sacramento, and her bachelor’s degree in exercise science and sociology, organizational behavior from UC Davis.