Wonderful 100: Department of Health & Exercise Studies

This post was authored by Undergraduate Desk Assistant Matthew Angel and edited by Taylor Wolford.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Department of Health & Exercise Studies, founded in 1923 as the Department of Physical Education and Athletics. The department has experienced many changes in the past century, from expanding facilities to improving course offerings for the student population. For more information about the history of the department, visit Historical State Timelines and the Health and Exercise Studies departmental timeline. 

In the years following World War I, the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (as the university was known then) experienced major growth in both the student body and faculty. The college administration and facilities, designed to provide services and spaces for smaller graduating classes, struggled to keep up with the rapidly evolving needs of the student population. One area that fell especially behind was student health and athletics. Efforts were made to address the issue, such as clearing land for athletic events on Riddick Field, but the administration knew that greater reform was needed. Meeting minutes capture the Board of Trustees’s lamentation that “we are the only institution in the state which has not had a gymnasium for several years (Board of Trustees, Minutes May 28, 1923).” College President William Riddick remarked that the Building Committee should give “the 1,200 boys a gymnasium, and a good one” (Wallace Carl Riddick -- Buildings, 1922-1923). 

The Physical Education Department’s beginnings are closely tied to recommendations found in the Zook Report, authored by the U.S. Bureau of Education's George Zook, which ushered the college into a new and modern stage in its development. The report aimed to help the college reorganize its structure in the face of administrative difficulties arising from the rapid growth of the campus. A section of the report argued “at present the college is doing very little for the physical development of the student body” (Zook Report, 1923, pg. 12). To remedy this, Zook recommended the establishment of a Department of Physical Education and the construction of a gymnasium. 

After the Zook Report was published, the newly formed Athletics Committee presented another report to the Board of Trustees with recommendations for physical education on campus (Board of Trustees Minutes, 1923 May 28). The Athletics Committee laid the groundwork for course curriculum by stating that all students should take four physical education courses in the span of their academic careers, although this requirement was soon reduced. The same report called for the construction of a gymnasium, dozens of tennis courts, and the development of various sports fields, including Riddick Field, which would over time become Riddick Stadium. 

The Board of Trustees officially authorized the new Physical Education and Athletics Department in June 1923. By 1924, a two-year physical education requirement (PE 101 & 102) was implemented for graduation during students’ freshmen and sophomore years. In the 1920s, the Frank Thompson gymnasium became the heart of the new Physical Education Department, serving the student body for decades until once again the student population grew too large for the existing facility. The Carmichael Gymnasium was constructed in 1961 to serve as the new space for physical education and campus recreation, and by 1963, the Physical Education Department had virtually moved out of the old Thompson gym.

Over the years, the Department of Physical Education expanded far beyond what the Athletics Committee envisioned in 1923. In 2002, the department was separated into three units: Physical Education, Campus Recreation, and Carmichael Complex and Facilities Operations. The Carmichael Recreation Center, connected to the original gym built in 1961, was opened in 2007 and expanded the fitness and recreation facilities available to the campus community. The Department of Physical Education officially changed its name to Health and Exercise Studies in 2012, entering into a new phase of growth as the department approached its 100th year in 2023. 

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