UMass Boston Professor Elected as a National Academy of Kinesiology Fellow
Associate Vice Provost of Graduate Education and Professor of Kinesiology Tracy Baynard has been elected as a Fellow to the National Academy of Kinesiology (NAK), the highest recognition in the field of Kinesiology.
Baynard joined UMass Boston as a Professor in the Manning College Department of Exercise and Health Sciences in 2022 and was appointed as the new Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education in 2023. Baynard’s research has helped uncover physiological mechanisms for why exercise is difficult in clinical populations, such as persons with Downs Syndrome.
Professor and Chair of the Department of Exercise and Health Sciences Tongjian You said Baynard has provided impactful leadership and service at UMass Boston and in her profession. Baynard serves as the Chair of the Steering Committee for the Environmental and Exercise Physiology Section at the American Physiological Society and is the Associate Editor of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, a prestigious research journal.
"Dr. Baynard is a nationally recognized scholar in cardiovascular exercise physiology, with an emphasis on understanding physiological factors impacting low work capacity in special populations," You said. "I am so happy that Dr. Baynard will become a NAK fellow and sincerely congratulate her on this outstanding professional achievement."
Baynard will be the second UMass Boston faculty member to become a NAK fellow after Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean Bo Fernhall, who is also a past president of NAK. Baynard describes becoming a member of this year’s class of new fellows as an “incredible honor”.
“I’ve loved my job from day one, and while I’ve been doing what needs to be done as part of the job, it’s nice to take a moment to reflect on something positive and where I’ve had impact along the way,” she said. “However, my research efforts, teaching and service contributions have not occurred in a silo, and it is the absolute truth that this recognition also belongs to my trainees, the thousands of students in my classroom over the years, our research participants, my colleagues, my friends and family.”