Dept. of Recreation, Parks, & Leisure Services Administration at CMU

Livable Communities

Healthy Lifestyles

Endless Benefits

Americans spend 1/3 of their lives engaged in recreation & leisure.

The Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration department at Central Michigan University is committed to the development of leisure service professionals for the 21st century through student development, teaching excellence, community service, research, and agency partnership.

Dr. Dick Kirchner

Our leader, mentor, and friend, Dr. Dick Kirchner passed away on December 19th at age 79. Dr. Dick Kirchner served CMU from 1956-1992. He developed the RPLSA program in early 1960's starting with a "Recreation Minor". His visionary leadership led us in the development of the major and its many concentrations. For More Info..

RPL Research Exposition Presentations
Students from the RPL 518 Philosophy and Research course presented their final projects on Thursday December 3, 2009 at the RPL Research Expo. To watch the videos Click Here

RPL 440-Murder Mystery Photos are now Online!
"Mystery on Cherry Hill" -- presented at the Village Theater in Canton by students in RPL 440, a special events course in CMU's Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration department -- was co-sponsored by CMU's Alumni Association, which invited more than 3,000 alumni to the event and raised over $5,400 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Click Here

RPL 430 Fall 2009 Program Photos are Now Online
Students in RPL 430 - Planning Recreation Programs and Events have almost completed their events for the Fall, 2009 semester. To see pictures from the 12 events including photos from check presentations to selected charities, group photos and action shots from the actual events. Click here

Student Research And Creative Endeavors (SRACE) Program
A College-wide event featuring displays of student scholarship. Over eighty student and group projects were featured in 2008. All students are encouraged to submit their research and scholarly projects. To go to the SRACE home page Click Here

T.O.'s TRIBE" at Gus Macker Basketball Festival photos
50 commercial and community recreation majors and event management minors made up the inaugural "T.O.'s TRIBE" at Gus Macker Basketball Festival. The "tribe", named after RPL assistant professor Tim Otteman, was responsible for all the administrative duties. Click Here

RPL & Disney Go International
The Disney Theme Parks & Resorts College Program allows students to complement traditional classroom education with practical on-the-job experiences, in addition to focused business courses conducted on Disney property. Currently RPL and Disney are partnering with universities world-wide to offer this experience to many international students. More...