University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism | University of Illinois Archives
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Recreation courses were first offered in the Department of Physical Education for Women in 19301 and were continued under the course offerings of the School of Physical Education when it was formed in 1932.2
In 1957, the School became the College of Physical Education and a separate Department of Recreation was established.3 Course work in Municipal Park Administration was added to the curriculum in 1961 to meet the need of personnel in park systems,4 and the name of the department was changed to the Department of Recreation and Municipal Park Administration in 1962.5 The department name was changed in 1967 to the Department of Recreation and Park Administration when state and Federal parks were considered in the curriculum.6 The department was named the Department of Leisure Studies in 1975, and has as its "central and unique focus a concern for leisure behavior enterprises."7 The department has three functional units: a professional program leading to a B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Leisure Studies, the Office of Recreation and Park Resources (1968- ) which offers consulting and research services to local and state agencies, and the Leisure Behavior Research Laboratory (1970- ), the organized unit of the department.8. On July 15, 2004, the department's name was changed to Recreation, Sport, and Tourism.9
The Office of Recreation and Park Resources represents a merger of the Recreation Field Service (1957) and the Rural Recreation Service of the Cooperative Extension Service of the College of Agriculture.
1. Annual Register, 1930-1931, p. 330.
2. Annual Register, 1931-1932, p. 160-64.
3. Trustees Reports, 48th Report, June 20, 1957, p. 435.
4. Trustees Reports, 50th Report, November 28, 1961, p. 1186.
5. Trustees Reports, 50th Report, June 20, 1962, p. 1505.
6. Trustees Reports, 55th Report, September 20, 1967, p. 712.
7. Staff Observer, v. 10, no. 5, p. 3 (1975).
8. Department of Leisure Studies Graduate Program
9. Board of Trustees Agenda Items, July 14-15, 2004.