KNPE finds global partnerships in Macedonia, Kosovo contacts

Musa Selimi, dean of faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Prishtina University in Kosovo, joins College of Education Dean Laurie Elish-Piper and Chad McEvoy, chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education.
Musa Selimi, right, dean of faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Prishtina University in Kosovo, joins NIU College of Education Dean Laurie Elish-Piper and Chad McEvoy, chair of the NIU Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

Chad McEvoy didn’t need time to think when he heard that the rector of the State University of Tetovo wanted to collaborate with NIU’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

“The rector has a sports background – he was a competitive wrestler and is still an avid athlete – so, when I got a call out of the blue a year or so ago asking if would have an interest, I said, ‘Yes, of course,’ ” said McEvoy, chair of the department in the NIU College of Education.

“KNPE does not have an extensive history or background in these types of international collaborations,” he added. “This allows us to become more visible globally and to participate in discussions about best practices, and teaching and scholarship in kinesiology fields, on a global platform.”

Anthony Preston, director of Global Partnerships in the NIU College of Business, brought NIU and the Macedonia-based Tetovo together in 2014. The two universities are partners in the Center for Peace and Transcultural Communication, located in Macedonia.

McEvoy used the center as a springboard last May when he delivered a keynote address during the International Balkan Conference in Sport Sciences hosted by NIU and Tetovo.

“I wanted to connect the dots with our partnership,” he said. “The Center for Peace was coming, and I spoke specifically on how sport can be a platform for peace and development. I was able to connect those things, and we had a good conversation.”

Selimi chats with KNPE faculty.
Selimi chats with KNPE faculty.

His words reached the ears of two participants from Kosovo’s Prishtina University – and, last semester, Musa Selimi, dean of faculty of Physical Education and Sport, and Shqipe Bajcinca, vice dean of faculty of Physical Education and Sport, paid a visit to DeKalb.

Because physical education is the core element of Prishtina’s program, McEvoy said, the two administrators wanted to know more about NIU’s comprehensive approach.

During their three days in October, Selimi and Bajcinca met with Dean Laurie Elish-Piper and the college senate, spent time with College of Education faculty, visited KNPE classes and toured the department’s academic and athletic facilities.

Selimi also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Prishtina and NIU to keep the new partnership alive and growing, McEvoy said.

Chad McEvoy
Chad McEvoy

“It’s been quite informative for our faculty to see that kinesiology and sports can be a tool for social good. Kosovo and Macedonia have been through political and military challenges in recent decades, and sport, physical education and kinesiology can be a way to build bridges,” he said.

Some programs in the Balkan region – Prishtina’s, for example – resemble how U.S. units “might have looked a quarter-century ago,” he added.

“They tend to have a strong involvement with PE and coaching,” McEvoy said, “while some of the program areas in research that we have developed, in areas such as exercise physiology, biomechanics and athletic training, are not as advanced as they tend to be here in the United States.”

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