Dr. Fran Cleland

Assistant Chair, Health & Physical Education Teacher Certification Program
FCleland@wcupa.edu

Dr. Fran Cleland is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology. She has been teaching at WCU for twenty-one years and is also the Assistant Chair of the Health and Physical Education Teacher Certification program. Fran also taught at the University of New Hampshire and East Stroudsburg University (PA). Prior to teaching at the college level, Fran taught K-12 health and physical education in Indiana, Virginia and Oregon.

Dr. Cleland has received numerous state, district and national awards including the PSAHPERD Elmer B. Cottrell award and the national SHAPE America Honor award. Most recently she was inducted into the North American Society of HPERSD Professionals. Dr. Cleland served on the SHAPE America Board of Directors from 2012-2015, she is a Past-President of the former National Association for Sport and Physical Education and served on the Council of Physical Education for Children (COPEC). She also served as President of the PSAHPERD and has held several offices on the NHAHPERD, PSAHPERD and Eastern District of SHAPE America boards.

Dr. Cleland's research has focused on implementing critical thinking in K-12 physical education. She is the lead author of the textbook, Developmental Physical Education for All Children – Theory into Practice to be published in October, 2016. Fran is married to a health and physical educator. She loves to move and her special interests are modern dance, biking, tennis, gardening, cross-country skiing, hiking and swimming.