July 30, 2025 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
Five years after his election as an Active Fellow in the National Academy of Kinesiology, exercise science professor and chair Shawn Arent will join the organization’s Executive Board as Member-at-Large. The process began when he was asked by the nomination committee to run for the office. Arent was elected in May, and his tenure with the Board begins in September at the conclusion of the Academy’s 94th Annual Meeting.
“Dr. Arent’s election signifies the confidence, respect, and trust that his colleagues in the Academy have in him and his ability to lead the organization and advance the field,” says President Maureen Smith. “I know he will bring strong ideas and a dedicated work ethic to the responsibilities required of the Member-at-Large role in the Academy.”
A graduate of Arizona State University’s master’s and doctoral programs in exercise science, Arent spent the first 17 years of his career at Rutgers University. During his tenure, he built his research expertise related to the relationship between training, nutrition, and stress and the implications for health, performance, and recovery, and he founded the Center for Health and Human Performance at the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health.
In 2019, he was recruited to lead the Arnold School’s Department of Exercise Science as chair. With funding from the Department of Defense, United States Marine Corps, NIH, U.S. Air Force, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and various industry sources, he has continued his research program by establishing the USC Sport Science Lab. Arent frequently works with special populations (e.g., athletes, military, individual with chronic conditions) to examine the benefits of resistance training and nutritional interventions for improving functional capabilities, mental health, and stress responses. He has worked with numerous teams and athletes, including the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, U.S. Olympics and Paralympics Committee, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the U.S. Soccer Federation, and teams at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels.
Arent is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction and a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine and the International Society of Sports Nutrition, which he led as president from 2017 until 2020. He currently chairs the Military Settings Sector of the National Physical Activity Plan.
Some of Arent’s honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the U.S. Army 3-314th Field Artillery Thunder Battalion (2016; the first such award given to a civilian), Directors Award for Scientific Excellence from Rutgers University (2016) and William J. Kraemer Outstanding Sport Scientist of the Year from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (2017).