Ken Morton Talks NIRSA Strategic Plan, AB Partnership

Paul Steinbach Headshot
[Photo courtesy of Stephen F. Austin State University]
[Photo courtesy of Stephen F. Austin State University]

Employed in church recreation as a high school and college student, then municipal rec upon graduation, Ken Morton didn't land his first job in collegiate recreation until 1993. Once he did, Morton knew he had arrived. "I fell in love with it," he says of his rec directorship at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. "I knew exactly right then that was going to be my home for the rest of my career." His base of operation has changed — California State University, Sacramento, for nine years and his current Stephen F. Austin State (back in his home state of Texas) since 2010 — but the sense of belonging hasn't budged. Morton can now add to his resume the title of NIRSA president, a one-year stint whose May 1 starting date coincides with the launch of a new partnership between NIRSA and Athletic Business. AB senior editor Paul Steinbach asked Morton to share his thoughts on that relationship and the current state of campus rec.

What about collegiate recreation speaks to you?
It's the demographic, number one. It's the students we work with. I've run kids' after-school programs, I've run adult classes and programs for seniors, but working with college students is just the best. You get a chance to get to know them and see them develop over their time with you. It really is about that developmental piece, helping them get the skills they're going to need to advance in their career — whether it's in recreation or accounting or whatever it is. You're helping mold them and influence them, not only in health and wellbeing, but also in their career track.

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