Roberta Rikli - Biographical Sketch:

Roberta Rikli is a professor and chair of the Division of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at California State University, Fullerton and is Co-Director of the LifeSpan National Assessment Project. Roberta has had long-term teaching and research interests in the field of measurement and evaluation and in older adult fitness. She has published numerous articles and abstracts which have appeared in journals such as the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, Journal of Gerontology, Journal of Experimental and Clinical Gerontology, Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science. In addition, she has made over 65 presentations at professional conferences, including invited presentations at recent International Conferences in Jyvaskyla, Finland, in Berlin, and in Heidelberg, Germany. She serves on the Editoral Board of two scientific journals - the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity and Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, and is a regular reviewer for several other journals in the field.

Dr. Rikli also has been active in program develop in the area of senior fitness. She was co-founder of the Lifespan Wellness Clinic on the Cal State Fullerton campus -- a unique, on-campus fitness and wellness facility which provides opportunities for research, student training, and physical activity programs for older adults. She also was instrumental in developing the Senior Fitness Instructor Certificate Program which is offered at Cal State Fullerton.

Dr. Rikli has held several major leadership roles within the profession, is a "fellow" in the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical, holds "research fellow" status in the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), has received the Measurement and Evaluation Council Honor Award, as well as AAHPERD's National Honor Award for her scholarly and service contributions to the field. She has served as President of AAHPERD's ARAPCS Association and President of the Western Society for the Physical Education of College Women. In addition, she has been recipient of a number of research awards from her university and community, including over $700,000 in external grant funds to support the study of exercise and aging.