2026 - Misty Rhoads

2026 - Misty Rhoads

Description

Dr. Misty Rhoads is a Professor in the Department of Public Health and Nutrition, where she has taught since 2007. In recent years, much of her service has centered on helping people manage stress, regulate their nervous systems, and find support, on campus and beyond.

She co-founded the EIU Mindfulness Initiative with Kim Ervin and Andrew Kerins. Through the initiative, she offers Mindful Educator training and faculty practice groups with the Faculty Development and Innovation Center (FDIC), and she created the Mindful Moments podcast for the campus and wider community. She has brought this work to 436 of EIU’s student-athletes and to academic advisors, and she has organized Take Back the Night with Prevail.

Beyond EIU, Dr. Rhoads’s service extends into both the somatic field and health education. A certified Zero Balancing practitioner and faculty member, she has drawn on her own somatic work to teach healthcare and bodywork professionals nationally and internationally about trauma, the nervous system, and caring for marginalized communities. For these same professionals, she co-developed and co-led two advanced trainings: a weeklong intensive on deepening their practice, research, and global service, and a six-week course on ethically gathering research data. She has also served as editor-in-chief of a peer-reviewed journal and, since 2017, has reviewed grants for the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (IAHPERD).

Throughout her time at EIU, she has served on and chaired numerous department, college, and university committees, including the Council on Academic Affairs, and she currently serves on the Institutional Review Board. Her student mentoring has earned 29 IAHPERD Student Mentor Awards, along with the Rodney Ranes Graduate Mentorship Award, and she is the 2026 to 2027 Faculty Laureate.

Publication Date

Fall 2026

2026 - Misty Rhoads

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