Western Professor Kanae Haneishi chosen for SHAPE Colorado Award

Just two years after coming to Colorado to teach students the pedagogy of physical education, Western Associate Professor Dr. Kanae Haneishi was selected to receive the state’s top honor for physical educators.

On Tuesday, July 9, Haneishi learned that the Society of Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) Colorado had chosen her for the University Teacher of the Year Award for 2024. The award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of health and physical education in Colorado.

“I am deeply honored to be selected for this prestigious award by SHAPE Colorado,” Haneishi said. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to many individuals who have supported me in achieving this milestone. While I cannot name everyone, I would like to express my sincere thanks to our department chair, all faculty and staff in the Recreation, Exercise, and Sport Science Department (RESS), and the Office of Academic Affairs at Western for their unwavering support. Their encouragement to foster innovative and up-to-date pedagogy has been instrumental in my growth as an educator.”

 

Previous Experience and Accomplishments

Prior to joining the faculty at Western in 2022, Haneishi was an associate professor of kinesiology and human performance and the program coordinator for physical education and teacher education in North Dakota. She also spent 13 years at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where she was a senior lecturer of Physical Education and the head women’s soccer coach.

Soccer has been an important part of Haneishi’s life. She won the silver medal at the World University Games with the Japanese national team and an NCAA D2 national championship, and she captained a semi-pro team in New York City for eight years.

 

Current Roles and Contributions

Today, in addition to her teaching role at Western, Haneishi is the Secretary General for WomenSport International, the International Advisory Board member for Teaching Games for Understanding, and a board member for the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education.

“Kanae is a caring teacher that provides fantastic field teaching for future educators,” Lillian Parrino, a junior in Western’s Physical Education program, said. “She cares about each student individually and sees our strengths. She is a fantastic role model and mentor.”

 

Advocacy and State-Level Involvement

Haneishi is also active in advocating for the interests of physical education at the state level. Last year, nine undergraduate students and one graduate student from Western attended and presented at the SHAPE Colorado convention and were active participants in the pre-convention workshop.

“Dr. Kanae Haneishi is an extraordinary teacher and instructional leader at Western whose contributions to the K-12 PE curriculum are invaluable,” RESS department chair Gary Van Guilder said. “Her passion for teaching, commitment to DEIJ+, and dedication to student success are making Western’s K-12 PE curriculum one of the best in the State of Colorado.”

“She is clearly highly deserving of the SHAPE Colorado University Teacher of the Year Award,” he continued. “Indeed, if Western Colorado University had a Teacher of the Year award, Dr. Haneishi would deserve it every year.”

 

Recreation, Exercise & Sport Science Department Physical Education Program

 

 

Author Credit: Seth Mensing

Photo Credit: Courtesy