Norling joins faculty line-up

Blurb: Meet new recreation professor Jonathan Norling.

Section: Campus News
9/12/08

By Josiah Stewart
Critic Staff

Adventure is in the air for Recreation majors, and any students taking Recreation courses, with the recent addition of Jonathan “JC” Norling, who will be teaching in Lyndon State College’s Adventure-based program management field.
“The focus on adventure was why I applied at LSC, for a field based experience,” Norling said.
Norling is one of eight full time faculty members to join Lyndon State College this semester, and he is taking the time to get to know the students as well as the faculty.
As many students here at LSC are well aware, the campus has a fairly close nit community, co-mingling of Professors from different fields is not unheard of, and Norling can often be spotted chatting with Professors and students in the halls.
“I love it here at LSC, it’s so different,” Norling said. “I was in the Rec. Department at Utah State, and here everything is closer.”
“The access for students and faculty is closer [at LSC], at Utah State, most people hung out in their own silos, and associating with professors from other fields was practically unheard of,” Norling said.
LSC has a wide variety of Recreation activities and each teacher in the rec. department offers something different to the students.
“I can bring research as well as a field based experience to the Rec. Program that I don’t think has been here before, I can also adapt easily because I am used to my settings changing,” Norling said.
Norling holds many certifications, and is a part of the W.E.A., Wilderness Education Association. Norling has studied Physical Education, and Wilderness Education. He is focused on bringing a field based perspective to the students at LSC.
“There is a spiritual side to being outdoors,” Norling said. “Time takes on a different dimension when you spend weeks in the field.”
“You get to know people better when you spend a lot of time with them,” Norling said about recreation expeditions.
There are many scientific aspects to the Recreational Fields of study, and JC Norling has delved into many of them.
Norling has spent time teaching in the Department of Health as well as Physical Education at Utah State University.
“I’ve done research on exercise science and neuro-psycology, and I see Adventure Education as interconnected with these things,” Norling said.
JC Norling moved here this summer with his wife and two children to join LSC’s faculty.