The College is developing priorities centered on physical education, athletics and recreation based on its 2023-2030 Strategic Plan, hoping to see results in the 2025-26 school year.
Holly Roepke, director of Athletics and Recreation, said the College is still in the early stages of the process. An important initial goal is to identify Grinnell’s intentions for athletic culture.
“We are hoping to identify these priorities within this academic year,” Roepke said. “This academic year is going to be spent in conversation and in working with groups throughout campus.”
According to Myrna Hernández, chief of staff and vice president of administration, the plan has been broadened from its original language to include all activities in the sphere of Physical Education, Athletics and Recreation (PEAR).
“When people think athletics, they just think varsity athletics, and there’s so many more offerings in the PEAR,” Hernández said. “How can we promote the experiential learning that happens there, the community vitality that happens there, the curricular and the extracurricular things that happen there?”
Hernández stressed the value of communication between the administration and students.
“I want folks to be able to go to the dashboard online and be able to … see where all of the actions are in the strategic plan,” Hernández said. “Probably in the next month or so, you will be able to go to the dashboard, and you’ll be able to go to the athletics piece, and we’ll have more fully defined some of these things, so that they’re more concrete.”
Roepke emphasized the importance of making sure students are aware of athletic opportunities, including the 33 physical education courses the College currently offers and opportunities outside of club sports.
“I talked with an international student yesterday who just had questions about sports,” Roepke said. “How do you sign up for it? They didn’t have a lot of information when they matriculated to Grinnell. They said if they would have known, they probably would have tried out for a team or played. And so I realized there’s an area of opportunity for us.”
The College is working on some actions that involve athletics branding and communication, including a partnership with the marketing firm SimpsonScarborough, according to Hernández.
Roepke said the Athletics Department has already made some recent changes.
“There’s less demand for intramurals and more demand for club activities in our spaces,” Roepke said. “There’s more clubs that are active and wanting to use facilities. And so instead of pushing intramurals, we’re trying to open up spaces and times for clubs.”
Roepke said the department is also hoping to expand hours for the fitness center, as the center was understaffed last year.
“We only had one person that was staffing,” Roepke said. “Typically it’s open over 90 hours a week, and that’s more than one person can manage. And so we are in the process of hiring some professionals to help us in that space so we can keep it open longer for student use.”
While the process may take a while, Roepke said she is looking forward to the changes.
“What I’m hoping is that we can become a community within a community, supporting athletics in ways that people are able to find identity and belonging at athletic events,” she said. “And that’s what happens across collegiate athletics. You see student sections that are full and robust and that are standing together and that have their own identity as a student group.”
