Biography

Dr. Hudson has been member of the Leisure, Youth and Human Services faculty since 1994. She holds one of three endowed professorships in the United States in the area of Leisure and Youth Services. Dr. Hudson has a distinguished record of teaching, research, and service. She has served as Division Coordinator and Coordinator of LYHS graduate studies at UNI. In addition to her work within the Division, she is also the Education Director of the National Program for Playground Safety, the premier nonprofit organization in America created to help develop safe outdoor play areas for children. 

Along with her LYHS colleagues, Dr. Hudson has co-authored eight textbooks in the areas of management, programming, and leadership. Her most recent book, S.A.F.E. Play Areas: Creation, Renovation, and Maintenance was co-authored with her NPPS colleagues. 

Dr. Hudson's research interests focus on nonprofit management, community rogramming, facilities design and play for children.

Selected Publication (Books)

Thompson, D., Hudson , S.D. & Olsen, H.M. (2007). S.A.F.E. Play Areas: Creation, Renovation, and Maintenance. Champaign, Ill. Human Kinetics. Edginton, C.R., Hudson , S.D. & Scholl, K.G. (2005). Leadership for Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services. ( 3 rd ed.) Champaign, Ill. Sagamore Publishing.

Selected Publication (Chapters in Books)

Thompson, D. and Hudson, S. (2006). ¡§Working to Make Playgrounds Safe: A Case Study¡¨, in Proceedings from the First International Symposium on Playground Safety. Seoul , Korea : Korean Association for Safe Communities. Pp. 21-54. Thompson, D. and Hudson, S. (2005). ¡§Playgrounds¡¨ in Facilities Planning for Physical Activity and Sport , 11 th ed. T. Sawyer, ed. Sagamore Publishing pp. 313-328.

Selected Publication (Articles)

Hudson, S. (February 2007). Are Professional Organizations Viable for the 21 st Century. JOPERD. Colella, E., Hudson , S. and Olsen, H. (June 2006). How Safety Professionals can Implement the S.A.F.E. Model on Playgrounds. American Association of Safety Engineers. Proceedings. #724, pp. 1 -9. Hudson, S. (March 2005) . Playthings and Equipment that Encourage Child Initiated Play. Teaching Elementary Physical Education. Vol.16:2, p 25 - 28.