Dr. Doris R. Corbett is Director of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services (HPELS) at the University of Northern Iowa.  She is Professor Emeritus of Sport Studies at Howard University, and former Department Head.  She received a Ph.D. in Sociology of Sport from the University of Maryland, College Park, and the M.S. and B.S. in Health and Physical Education from North Carolina Central University (formerly Noth Carolina College).  The author of numerous professional journal articles and academic publications, she has published, edited, and presented widely on race, gender, human rights and social justice issues related to sport.  Her current research focuses on “The African-American Woman in Sport Culture” dating back to slavery, and “Sport and Human Rights” as it relates to women in the Middle East.

Dr. Corbett has served as a Congressional Research Fellow at the United States Capitol Historical Society, Washington, DC; a distinguished professor at The United States Military Academy (West Point) where she received the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal from the Deparment of the Army.  She received a Distinguished Professorship at Nanyang Technological University, School of Physical Education, Republic of Singapore, and Emporia State University’s Jones Institute of Educational Excellence, Emporia, Kansas.

Among her many positions of leadership, Dr. Corbett has served as President of The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) an organization with a membership of nearly 40,000 at the time of her Presidency.  She served two 4-year (1991-1999) terms of office as President of The International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance (ICHPERSD) which is a world-wide international educational organization represented by more than 145 countries throughout the world with Regional Organizations on each continent.  Dr. Corbett served one quadrennial as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sport for All Commission, and is one of 35 professionals selected to membership on the Round Table at Brasenose College at the University of Oxford, Oxford, England.  In addition, Dr. Corbett has served on several advisory boards: Global Center for Social Change through Women’s Leadership and Sport, Kennesaw State University in Georgia; The Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island; The Northeastern University Center for the Study of Sport in Society; and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport Science Board.  Dr. Corbett currently serves as Journal Reviewer for the Palestinian Journal of Sport Sciences, Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, and the Journal of Women Sport and Physical Activity.  In 2010, she was recognized nationally and featured on ESPN “Realizing the Dream”.

Dr. Corbett is the recipient of numerous prestigious honors and awards such as the AAHPERD’s highest honors: The Gulick Award, The R. Tait McKenzie, Honor Award, and the Charles D. Henry Award.  She is also the recipient of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport Honor Award, Guiding Women in Sport Award, and the Dr. Nell C. Jackson Award.  She has been an invited lecturer and keynote speaker throughout the USA, Central and South America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania.

For a full curriculum vitae or list of publications, please contact Dr. Corbett at doris.corbett@uni.edu.