Amanda Perkins-Ball, Membership Services Division Head

Hello! My name is Amanda Perkins-Ball and I am an Assistant Teaching Professor of Kinesiology at Rice University, in Houston, TX. Prior to the Rice faculty in 2017, I held academic appointments as Assistant Professor and Director of the Exercise & Sports Studies and Physical Education programs at Benedictine University Chicago, and as Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Missouri State University.

My professional and research interests include promoting physical activity among underserved populations and understanding the experiences of marginalized identities in sport and physical activity spaces. My latest work focuses on collegiate student-athletes’ athletic and academic identities and developing inclusive pedagogical and advising practices. I have authored more than a dozen publications and over 40 presentations at the state, national, and international levels. I am also the recipient of national teaching awards and was recently recognized as an Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor and for my work mentoring student-athletes at Rice.  

I am a member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the outgoing chair of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Diversity Committee. I’m currently working toward my CMPC certification.

Finally, I completed my Ph.D. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise and Sport Psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. I completed my M.S.Ed in Sport Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and her B.S. degree in Health and Human Performance at the University of Louisville.