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Professor Profile

Ray Collins: The candid, energetic man with the soft Southern drawl

Katie Fleck, Ed View contributor sat down with HPERSS professor Ray Collins, (her former professor) for a discussion of the past, present and future of Collins’ career.

Q. How did you get into teaching?
A. Well, I grew up playing all sorts of sports. And I had an influential teacher in high school whose husband had taken the same route as I had, and that was also very influential. I started out teaching in a high school in my home state, then I decided to go on further and get my master’s, and that led to my specialist’s degree and then
finally my doctorate. I taught at a community college in Virginia for two years and then I was an administrator at another community college in that state for seven years. Those experiences led to my becoming the department chairperson here at SCSU in 1979 for six years and I’ve been teaching ever since.

Q. What’s your favorite teaching moment or memory?
A. Two students presented in one of my methods classes the other day, and they did real well. When they read my response to their presentation, they gave each other high fives. That’s what I like, when students get what you’re trying to teach them and are able to display what high quality teaching is. Other good memories are when graduates of this program go on to do fine things and are successful out in the world. That’s a real good feeling.

Q. What can you tell me about the SCSU Sports and Physical Activity Speaker Series?
A. I believe in academic enrichment. Part of what this university does is to have learning opportunities beyond the classroom. It’s an essential part of an education. The speakers that come cover topics that are cross-disciplinary. Everyone is welcome to attend. The SCSU Foundation, the SCSU Cultural Diversity Committee, Minnesota Humanities Commission and the College of Education have been wonderful sponsors of these events.

Q. Have you written any books?
A. I have co–authored 15 books on the subjects of health-related fitness, instructional texts on sport skills,
and texts on the assessment of sports skills. After I finished my first book, a door opened, and that led to another
book, and another, and others. I’ve published now with four different publishers.

Q. What’s your take on your retirement?
A. My wife and I will be living in both Minnesota and Tennessee. We are active in our church and with volunteer work. I believe in leaving time to serve others, and plan to make this part of my retirement. I also love Amtrak and plan to travel to Maine. It’s the only continental state we haven’t been to yet. I also want to make some time to see my friends overseas in England and Denmark.

Q. If someone were to write a book about your life so far, what would you want it to be titled?
A. Facetiously, I’d say “The Bald-Headed Second Baseman.” I used to play second base and I don’t have so much hair now.

Q. Last Comments?
A. I believe that SCSU is probably a much better institution than sometimes we realize. The school hasn’t always
projected itself in a way that would let the world know about it. I believe it competes with other comparative
universities well. People here are too modest. We have some really outstanding professors and programs at this
institution. There may be a day, especially with the effort being made to promote what we’re doing, that we will
develop a greater reputation. We also need to be more positive; be cheerleaders for each other. We need to applaud and value each other and we need to recognize good work. Dean McKay does an excellent job of remembering that and I appreciate it.

Just the Facts

Title: Professor of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sport Science (HPERSS)
Years at SCSU: 24 years
What classes do you teach: Methods classes for elementary education majors, service courses such as racquetball and aerobic fitness, foundation classes for physical education majors and a graduate course in comparative physical education and sport.
Where did you grow up? Greeneville, Tennessee. I lived 25 years in Tennessee and have lived in seven states total. I feel like Minnesota is my second home. The culture in Tennessee is definitely different than Minnesota, but the people are all the same. I’ve found that if you treat people with respect, they’ll treat you how you want to be treated.
What do you feel are some of your greatest accomplishments at SCSU? I received a faculty achievement award in the late 1980s and in the mid 80s I was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi, a national honor society
for professors. I was also the resident director for both the England and Denmark programs. I have also introduced a speaker series to this university. Really, the greatest achievement I’ve had is to be able to work at something that was fulfilling for me. Working with young people and teaching young people how to teach has been a rewarding career.
Philosophy of teaching: If I’m excited to teach a subject, I feel that a good percentage of students will also show interest in that same subject.
If you could change one thing about SCSU, what would it be? I would want to improve its appearance. I wish that all people would be more sensitive to the environment and be concerned with the aesthetics on campus. We should want to project the best image to the community to show the true quality that the school offers. We should have pride in this university.
Hobbies: I like to play a lot of racquetball and to read. I read biographies and history books featuring the civil war, political figures or sports figures mostly.
Favorite quote: “If you did your best...you won.” -Anonymous.

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