海角视频

It鈥檚 impossible not to smile at Ralph Perrin, new athletics director at 海角视频. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e only just meeting him or have known him for decades, the grey-haired gentleman鈥檚 face lights up as soon as he sees you. His office, hidden between exit doors at the side of the basketball courts in the PUC gym, boasts awards given not to Perrin himself, but to his daughters.

The lack of presence of awards with his name speaks not to his ability, but rather to his focus and his humility. Perrin played varsity basketball in high school, while also enjoying on the side racquetball and football.

鈥淚 played it all,鈥� he says with a laugh. 鈥淭he bouncing ball is like a siren call to me. If I hear of a sport going on, it draws all my attention.鈥�

Perrin says he finds joy in virtually all sports, but some of his favorites include volleyball, baseball, snow sports, and water sports, and he raised his kids playing them as well.

Despite鈥攐r perhaps as a result of鈥攈is interest in athleticism and sports, Perrin found himself more interested in the biochemical part of nutrition. This led to his undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry, his master鈥檚 degrees in nutrition, biochemistry, and health education, and his doctorate in preventive care. He did clinical work for a few short months, then moved into a professorship.

鈥淚鈥檝e been in academics all of my career,鈥� says Perrin. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I love.鈥�

It doesn鈥檛 take much to recognize that love; Perrin taught health sciences and physical education before entering the administrative realm, and even went to Rwanda to help start a medical school. Over the past 25 years, he鈥檚 been dean of students, academic dean, and vice president for student development, as well as athletics director.

His deep-seated experience in academia, combined with his profound love for all things active make for a well-rounded and passionate athletics director, which is exactly what a college athletics department needs. Especially one at a Christian liberal arts college like PUC, where holistic living is not only encouraged, but taught.

鈥淲hat I鈥檓 interested in professionally in academics is development of the whole person,鈥� Perrin says. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in every dimension of our students鈥� personhood, and have identified six dimensions of this, which I developed into the acronym PRAISE: Physical, Relational, Affective, Intellectual, Spiritual, and Environmental. And the word PRAISE reminds us to give praise to God consistently and constantly, in everything we do.鈥�

Perrin incorporates PRAISE into his athletics directing in many ways. For example, the 鈥淚,鈥� which stands for Intellectual. He points out obviously, athletes need to improve in their skills, but just as important are their attitudes and behaviors.

鈥淚鈥檝e asked employers at other institutions how our graduates are doing, and almost to a person, their response was they know their craft but they don鈥檛 know how to deal with people,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have communication skills. So that鈥檚 where the attitudes and behaviors go hand-in-hand with the knowledge and skills.鈥�

When Perrin first got into the athletics education business, intramurals were considered 鈥渆xtracurricular.鈥� Perrin worked hard to change that to 鈥渃o-curricular,鈥� noting involvement in sports activities should be considered an integral part of the academic experience, rather than a side note of convenience.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be an athlete to be interested in physical activity,鈥� he adds. 鈥淣ot everybody gets into chamber choir, but everyone has a musical component to who they are. Not everyone gets to participate in College Bowl, but academics and intellectual growth is part of each of us. The same can be said of physical activity such as sports.鈥�

In his classes, Perrin requires his students to complete a health behavior change project. He acknowledges there are many who think they don鈥檛 have time to exercise because they have to study, but says that is flawed thinking.

鈥淚 tell my students if they had a regular exercise program, they would find they would be able to learn more in a shorter amount of time because of the exercise program than they could without one,鈥� he says. Then he adds, 鈥淚 never had one student come back and say it didn鈥檛 work.鈥�

Perrin firmly believes 鈥渁chievement鈥� in his profession doesn鈥檛 mean walking into a classroom and spouting words of wisdom. It is, rather, to help every individual student be successful.

鈥淭he mark of a good teacher is being able to open the doors of understanding for someone who may not otherwise without your help really grasp a concept,鈥� Perrin says. 鈥淭hat takes a lot of effort and work, and due to the varied needs in each classroom, we鈥檙e forced to think beyond teaching how we were taught. The bottom line for me is to help make our campus a safer place, a better place, for our students to come, grow, learn, and be successful.鈥�

Perrin carries this concept into his athletics director role, as well, making sure each of his athletes gets the teaching and training they need, as well as encouraging whole-person health. This includes the social aspect.

鈥淚 really enjoy connecting with students outside of the classroom, off the court and field,鈥� he says with feeling. He鈥檚 taken students water skiing and had them over to his house. 鈥淚nviting students into my home and engaging with them socially was probably the start for me of realizing how important the whole person is.鈥�

Perrin passionately expounds upon his belief that athletics are an integral part of campus life, even for those who are not gifted in physical coordination.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just people running up and down a field or court playing ball,鈥� he says, punctuating his statement by tapping his desk with his hand. 鈥淧hysical activity, especially that which also brings about community in the form of a team sport, is essential to the development of the whole person, and if it鈥檚 done well, it permeates campus.鈥�

He adds PUC鈥檚 administration have been very supportive of both his role and the athletics program, and he is confident and optimistic for the program鈥檚 future. He envisions the college as a train, with academics as the engine and student life鈥攊ncluding athletics鈥攁s the fuel helps the engine run.

鈥淥ur college is better because we have research opportunities; our college is better because we have a music department; our college is better because we have athletics,鈥� Perrin concludes. 鈥淚n a liberal arts college we need to have departments fuel the engine of the train. We need programs that are in tune with whole-personhood. PUC offers that many times over, and I look forward to continuing to be a part of that from an athletics perspective.鈥�

For information about PUC鈥檚 athletics program, including a list of teams and game schedules, visit .