Stephan R. Walk, PhD
Professor, Department Chair
American Council on Education Fellow
Telephone: (657) 278-3433
Courses Taught:
KNES 202—Introduction to Kinesiology
KNES 380—Philosophy of Sport
KNES 381—Human Movement in Cultural Perspective
KNES 384 –Sport Sociology
KNES 404—Recreation Staff Management and Communication
KNES 480 – Gender and Sexuality Issues in Sports
KNES 516—Advanced Philosophy of Human Movement
KNES 582—Advanced Sociocultural Perspectives of Human Movement
Biosketch:
Dr. Steve Walk is completing his 29th year at Cal State Fullerton, after joining the faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology in 1994. Dr. Walk completed undergraduate degrees in Physical Education and Recreation and Parks Administration at Illinois State University. After working two years in community recreation, he completed a master’s degree in Physical Education and Exercise Science, followed by PhD programs in Physical Education and Exercise Science and Sociology, at Michigan State University.
He served on the editorial board of Sociology of Sport Journal from 1996 to 2003 and on the Board of Directors for the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport from 2001-2003. In 2004, he was elected president of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport. Upon completion of his three-year term as NASSS President in 2007, he was elected chair of the Department of Kinesiology and was then twice re-elected to that post. Dr. Walk also served as CSUF’s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative from 2003-2012, and in that capacity served two terms as President of the Big West Conference and on the Big West Conference Board of Directors. In July, 2012, he was appointed Interim Athletic Director at Cal State Fullerton, serving in that role until the appointment of a permanent AD in early 2013.
Dr. Walk served as Associate Dean of the College of Health and Human Development for two years, and on the Academic Senate Executive Committee for three years. In 2015, he was selected as an American Council on Education Fellow, spending the 2015-2016 year under the mentorship of Provost Paul D’Anieri and Chancellor Kim Wilcox at the University of California, Riverside. Upon his return to campus in 2016, Dr. Walk was named Associate Vice President for South County Operations and Initiatives, serving in this role until June of 2021. He returned to the Department of Kinesiology in Spring of 2022 and was once again elected chair beginning in the 2022-2023 AY.
Interest Area:
Dr. Walk’s research focuses on risk-taking, pain, and injury in sports. He is particularly interested in the social factors that impact athlete attitudes about health and well-being, the social context of the practice of sports medicine, as well as gender issues in the field of athletic training.
Selected Publications
Walk, S. (2015). Sociology. In G. Reeve & L. Dornier (Eds.) Introduction to Kinesiology and Recreation, (pp. 106-127). Beijing: Higher Education Press.
Soulé, B. & Walk, S. (2007). Comment rester (alternative)? Sociologie des pratiquants sportifs en quête d’athenticité subculturelle. Corps / Review Interdisciplinaire, Mars, 2007, 2, 67-74.
Venne, S., Laguna, P., Walk, S.R., and Ravizza, K. (2006). Optimism levels among collegiate athletes and non-athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2, 7-24.
Walk, S. R. and Wiersma, L. (2005). Construct validity of the risk, pain, and injury scale, Sociology of Sport Journal. 22 (4), 433-446.
Walk, S.R. (2004). Athletic Training: Between care and social control. In K. Young, Sporting Bodies Damaged Selves: Sociological Studies of Sports-Related Injury (pp. 251-268), New York: JAI/Elsevier Press.
Walk, S.R. (2001). Pain and injury in sport. In W.E. Garret, D.T. Kirkendall, & D.L. Squire (Eds.), Principles and Practice of Primary Care Sports Medicine (pp. 205-214). Media, PA: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.
Walk, S.R. (2000). Moms, sisters, and ladies: Women student trainers in men’s intercollegiate sport. In J. McKay, M. A. Messner, & D. Sabo (Eds.) Masculinities, Gender Relations, and Sport (pp 31-46). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
