Former collegiate soccer player and professor of social work to present School of Kinesiology and Recreation’s ELM Scholar Lecture Series event

The School of Kinesiology and Recreation will host the Esther Larson McGinnis Scholar Lecture Series on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 in Brown Ballroom III, Bone Student Center. The event begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. The lecture, More than Sport, begins at 6 p.m. and will be presented by Dr. Dawn Anderson-Butcher, professor in social work with affiliation in human sciences (kinesiology) at The Ohio State University (OSU). The event is open the public.

Anderson-Butcher co-leads LiFEsports (https://www.lifesports.osu.edu) and directs the Community and Youth Collaborative Institute (CAYCI; https://www.cayci.osu.edu). She is a Licensed Independent Social Worker in Ohio, as well as holds the Certified Mental Performance Consultant credential through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. She is a leading scholar in youth sport research, having co-authored our country's first ever National Coach Survey in partnership with Nike, Aspen's Project Play, and the Susan Crown Exchange's Million Coaches Challenge. Through LiFEsports, each year over 800 young people throughout Central Ohio learn leadership and life skills through sport.

The former collegiate soccer player has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and generated over 20 million dollars in external funding over her career. She is a Fellow in both the National Academy of Kinesiology and the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and Research, as well as a Research Fellow in both the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) and the Society of Social Work Researchers. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Miami University. She completed her master's in social work and PhD in sport psychology at the University of Utah.

The purpose of the Esther Larson McGinnis Scholar Lecture Series is to bring nationally recognized women scholars to campus to interact with students and faculty in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation and to make a university-wide lecture open to the community. The Esther Larson McGinnis Scholar Lecture Series is funded by an endowment established by the wishes of Esther Larson McGinnis that was included in the estate of her husband, Harold McGinnis.