{"276851":{"#nid":"276851","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Court to the Classroom: Mary McDonald","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA coach \u2014 that\u2019s what Mary McDonald dreamed about becoming when she was a little girl. And for about nine years of her career, she made that dream a reality.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was a college basketball player, so it made sense to go into coaching collegiate women\u2019s basketball,\u201d said McDonald, the Homer Rice Chair in Sports and Society in the School of History, Technology, and Society (HTS). \u201cWhat I really loved was to get to see people learn and progress. What I didn\u2019t enjoy was recruiting.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcDonald always felt students should attend a university because it was a good academic fit \u2014 not because of athletics. Also, she was a \u201cbudding sociologist\u201d who was increasingly interested in the implications sports had on society. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSo, I left my position as head coach of the women\u2019s team at Bemidji State University to go to the University of Iowa and earn my Ph.D.,\u201d McDonald added. \u201cSince I grew up in the era right after Title IX was established, I was really interested in how gender impacts sports, so that became my research focus and has been for more than 19 years.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter spending several years teaching in the Sports Studies Program at Miami University in Ohio, McDonald was invited to head Georgia Tech\u2019s new initiative in sports, society, and technology in HTS. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe arrived in Atlanta in fall 2013 and has already been successful at creating an academic minor in sports studies for undergraduates. Read on for more about McDonald and her Tech experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDescribe your job.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI\u2019m currently teaching an undergraduate course on gender and sports a few times a week. Since the class topic is the focus of my research, it\u2019s an enjoyable one for me to teach. In addition to working with students, conducting my research, and serving on various Institute committees, I spend a lot of time trying to connect people at Tech who are doing sports-related research. I\u2019m trying to put together more panels and lectures that highlight what we\u2019re doing. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us more about your research focus.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHave you ever stopped to think about the fact that sports are one of the last areas of our society that are segregated by gender? Thinking about the whys of this are what fascinate me and led me to focus on this question of how gender and sports influence each other.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is one of the misconceptions people have about sports?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor most universities, college sports aren\u2019t a huge moneymaker. As a matter of fact, only a handful of universities bring in more money than what they spend on their sports programs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite spot on campus?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI love to hold meetings at Highland Bakery. It\u2019s a comfortable space with great food.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the greatest risk you\u2019ve ever taken?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMaking the transition from coaching to teaching. I didn\u2019t know if people in higher education would take me seriously \u2014 but thankfully, they did.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to eat lunch?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDelia\u2019s Chicken Sausage Stand, and I usually order something that I can only describe as chili dog-like. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you like to do in your spare time?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI enjoy traveling. Paris is one of my favorite spots. Eating is also a favorite activity, and I have to say that I love the collard greens around here. Growing up in Ohio, I was deprived. And you can also find me in front of the TV watching \u003Cem\u003EMad Men\u003C\/em\u003E or \u003Cem\u003EDownton Abbey\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA coach \u2014 that\u2019s what Mary McDonald dreamed about becoming when she was a little girl. And for about nine years of her career, she made that dream a reality.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A coach \u2014 that\u2019s what Mary McDonald dreamed about becoming when she was a little girl. And for about nine years of her career, she made that dream a reality."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-02-17 15:19:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:51","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"276671":{"id":"276671","type":"image","title":"Mary McDonald","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Mary McDonald","file":{"fid":"198792","name":"mcdonaldphoto.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mcdonaldphoto_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mcdonaldphoto_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":700078,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mcdonaldphoto_0.jpg?itok=T1YSqRUn"}}},"media_ids":["276671"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1616","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"86791","name":"Mary McDonald"},{"id":"167908","name":"School of HIstory Technology and Society"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}