People On Campus for May 2000
First Monday
People On Campus
People On Campus is published in FirstMonday by the Public Affairs and Publications offices at SFSU. 415/338-1665. pubcom@sfsu.edu


People On Campus

Susan Higgins--moving people in a better direction

I'm very intrigued at how forms interrelate to one another," says Susan Higgins, glancing at a large painting that depicts a jumble of athletic bodies twisting, turning and competing for canvas. "I've always been involved in art in some way," adds Higgins, who is responsible for much of the artwork and pottery in her office. But as chair of SF State's Kinesiology Department, it is the art of human movement that inspires her. "In a sense, if I could define what this department is all about, it's really understanding and maximizing human performance."

As a student, Higgins worked as a technical dance coach, helping choreographers and dancers incorporate the principles of biomechanical movement-gravity, balance and support-to their routines. Higgins soon found herself in a doctorate program in motor learning at Columbia University, where she met her husband, Joseph Higgins, now a lecturer in the SFSU Kinesiology Department.

"In my art, I attempted to express some of the work I was trying to resolve in my scholarship," she says. "This opened up a world of new ways to look at movement."

Drawing on her experience as a dancer and a technical coach, Higgins published an influential study on an observational system she developed. The system helps researchers understand how the body's internal mechanisms, such as the skeleton and muscle, interact with the external environment to influence movement, and how researchers can make movement more efficient.

"Everything about my work has been toward helping individuals become better at what they do. So that's ultimately my goal," she says. "In maximizing one's performance, we're always interested in making you more efficient than you are. That doesn't necessarily mean making you a an elite athlete; it means making you better."

Higgins' vast collection of research has focused on developing conceptual models of effective movement behavior. Her research has provided a framework for understanding motor skill and the process by which it is acquired. "What drives me most is helping individuals who are going to be facilitating others," she says. Whether it is teaching, coaching, or in physical therapy, Higgins hopes to contribute to further research and knowledge.

Higgins used this same philosophy when she was chosen by President Robert Corrigan to chair the CUSP Planning Group on Academic Excellence. One of the objectives of the group was to define the undergraduate experience and offer suggestions on how SFSU can nurture a more successful academic environment for students.

"We tried to find ways to shape the academic experience so that students can take maximum advantage of it," she says. After profiling what needs were unique to various student groups, such as freshmen or transfer students, the group recommended a set of objectives which would allow SFSU staff and faculty to further improve the learning process. "Ultimately, our plans were implemented," says Higgins. "I've always been interested in curriculum and I've always been interested in how people learn and what they learn."

Higgins is committed to her position as chair of the Kinesiology Department and to maintaining a close level of involvement with students and the academic community. "My goal as a chair has been to create those dynamic links that involve faculty and students and offer multiple opportunities both inside and outside the classroom," she says.

Down the line, when Higgins retires, she hopes to continue with her artwork, as well as the research she is doing now. "I feel like I have a lot to say and I don't have the time to sit down and say it," she says. "I don't see retirement as stopping what I'm doing, but rather continuing free of other kinds of issues. But that's not going to be for a while."

--David J. Farley

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