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Name: Wade Gilbert
Title: Professor
Department: Kinesiology
Academic Degrees: Physical education, human kinetics, education, talent development (post-doc)

How long you have worked at Fresno State: 21 years

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important? Serving as the mental performance coach for Team Canada (women’s softball) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This was a notable accomplishment because although I have worked with many U.S. and Canadian Olympic coaches preparing their teams for an Olympic Games, this was my first opportunity to coach with them at the Olympics. It is notable also because our team was able to make history by winning the program’s first Olympic medal.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why? I am most passionate about helping others (students, coaches, athletes) learn and take meaningful steps toward realizing their career and life goals. It gives me great satisfaction to see others unlock and fuel their passion in life.

What is a memorable moment you had at your job? I’d rather share a "type of moment" instead of a single moment. The type of moment that is very memorable for me is bringing renowned coaches and performers as guest speakers into my classes at Fresno State. Not only does it greatly enrich the learning environment and class experience for the students, but selfishly I get to be a student again too.

What is a memorable moment you had in class, and what does that reveal about your teaching style? In my first year of teaching at Fresno State, I challenged my graduate class of 25 students to turn their class assignments into a group scientific article instead of individual term papers. It was a memorable moment because I had never done that before and had no idea if we would be able to publish an article with 25 co-authors. I was able to convince the editor of a sport psychology journal to consider it and I am happy to report that we did indeed publish the article. It was a very rewarding experience because it pushed all of us to practice being vulnerable while working towards a collective goal. I still share and cite the article today, 20 years later.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time? I love the outdoors, so any time I can spend fishing, hiking, cycling, running, boating or just walking the dogs around the neighborhood are great sources of fun and inspiration.

Gilbert family photo.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know? As a junior athlete (U19) I won three different types of triathlons in one year (swim/bike/run; canoe/bike/run; skate/x-country ski/run).

Is there something else you would like to share that was not asked? I’m extremely proud of my wife, Dr. Jenelle Gilbert, for all of her accomplishments. Her work ethic and professionalism are second to none, and in fall 2021 she was selected as kinesiology department chair.