Lightfoot to hold Debbie and Mike Hilliard ’73 Huffines Institute Chair

Dr. Timothy Lightfoot, professor of kinesiology in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, will hold the Debbie and Mike Hilliard ’73 Huffines Institute Chair.

Dr. Timothy Lightfoot

Funded by generous donations from Debbie and Mike Hilliard ’73, the new chair supports the teaching, research, service and professional development activities of the director of the Sydney and J.L. Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance.

As director, Lightfoot said the chair will allow him to push current research into the biological factors that control physical activity further than he has in the past.

“This endowment will support not only our science, but also will allow our students to present their results at national and international conferences,” Lightfoot said. “Through these students, the Debbie and Mike Hilliard ’73 endowed chair will have immediate impact, but most importantly future impact as these students become better professionals because of the support we received from this fund.”

The institute is dedicated to connecting exercise scientists, practitioners and the public to spread the word that activity and exercise are the cheapest and most efficient forms of disease prevention and symptom alleviation.

The chair is part of a larger gift that also supports the Debbie and Mike Hilliard ’73 Discussion, the Debbie and Mike Hilliard ’73 Huffines Scholars Endowment and the future Debbie and Mike Hilliard ’73 Aging and Longevity Chair. The Hilliard’s gift was further enhanced through the Office of the Provost’s endowed chair matching program.

Mike Hilliard holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the college. His graduate studies in clinical exercise physiology at the University of Texas at Tyler sparked his interest in helping the college become a leader in the human performance field.

Lightfoot previously held the Omar Smith Endowed Chair in Health and Physical Education.