Durstine, who will become president in June 2006, is the third USC faculty member to be named to the prestigious post. Other USC faculty members named president of the ACSM include Russ Pate, a professor of exercise science at USC's Arnold School of Public Health, and Steven Blair, an adjunct faculty member in the Arnold School and president and CEO of The Cooper Institute in Dallas.

"I am honored to have been chosen president-elect of an organization that has so many outstanding members," Durstine said.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the world's largest organization devoted to sports medicine and exercise science and has more than 20,000 members internationally.

Durstine, who joined USC's faculty in 1982, is director of clinical exercise programs, which provide a practical setting for exercise-science students to gain experience in exercise testing and prescription. He recently was awarded USC's highest teaching honor, the Michael J. Mungo Distinguished Professor of the Year Award.

Durstine is internationally recognized for his research on lipids, adult fitness, and physical activity to manage chronic diseases and disabilities, and his research has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society.

The editor of five books and 20 book chapters, Durstine has published numerous scholarly articles in scientific journals and is a reviewer for 16 national and international journals.

Durstine is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and a past president of the Southeastern American College of Sports Medicine.

He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Malone College in Canton, Ohio, a master's degree in physical education from the University of Denver, and a doctoral degree in exercise physiology from the University of Toledo.

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