PhD - Human Biodynamics, History of Physical Education and Sport, University of California, Berkeley. Dissertation title: The Contributions of Women Researchers to the Development of a Science of Physical Education in the United States.
MA - Physical Education, California State University, Long Beach. Graduate Dean's list. Thesis title: Women's Industrial and Recreation League Softball in Southern California, 1930-1950.
BS - Physical Education, Springfield College. Magna cum Laude
Dr. Wrynn's general area of study (and thus her teaching) is focused on the socio-cultural study of sport and exercise, specifically in the areas of history, sociology, and philosophy of sport and physical activity. Her area of research specialization is on the history of the scientific foundations of the field, and most specifically on the role of women played in developing a science of kinesiology and physical education.
Her current research is focused on the history of the allied health fields related to kinesiology (like Athletic Training and Physical Therapy). She has also co-authored (with Dr. Maureen Smith) three large scale reports for the Women's Sports Foundation on gender, leadership and participation in the Olympic Movement.
Dr. Wrynn has conducted research on the history of science and medicine in the Olympic movement. She received a grant from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999, that allowed her to spend a month in Lausanne, Switzerland at the archives of the IOC. The original grant proposal was to analyze the IOC's understanding of the altitude physiology in the context of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. While at the archives, she also examined primary source material on two other significant scientific topics that emerged in the 1960's - drug testing and gender verification. This grant has also allowed her to share more information with her students about the inner workings of the IOC as she has been able to spend a great deal of time observing the organization.
“Gender and Sexuality in the Governance of Sport: Olympic and Paralympic Games,” w/ Dr. Maureen Smith in Jennifer Hargreaves and Eric Anderson’s Routledge Handbook of Sport, Gender and Sexuality. London: Routledge Press, forthcoming.
“Women in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games: An Analysis of Participation and Leadership Opportunities,” w/ Dr. Maureen Smith. A Women’s Sports Foundation Research Report, Available online: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/en/home/research/articles-and-reports/athletes/2012-olympic-report
“Beyond the standard measures: Physical Education’s impact on the dialogue about obesity in the 20th century.” Quest 63, (2011), 161-178.
“Women in the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: An Analysis of Participation and Leadership Opportunities,” w/ Dr. Maureen Smith. A Women’s Sports Foundation Research Report, (2010). Available online: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/home/research/articles-and-reports/athletes/2010-olympic-report
“The Battle of the Carmens: The Social Construction of a Skating Rivalry,” w/ Dr. Annette Hoffman in David Wiggins and Pierre Rogers (Eds). Rivals: Legendary Matchups that Made Sports History. University of Arkansas Press (2010).
“Eliza Mosher: Pioneering Woman Physician and Advocate for Physical Education,” The International Journal of the History of Sport 27(7), (2010), 1193-1210. [Also published in Roberta Park and Patricia Vertinsky (Eds.) Women in Sport: Reaffirming Mary Wollstonecraft. London: Routledge (2010)].
“The Athlete in the Making: The Scientific Study of American Athletic Performance, 1920-1932,” Special Issue: Coaching Cultures, Sport in History 30(1), (2010), 121-137. [Also published in Neil Carter (Ed.). Coaching Cultures. London: Routledge (2010)]
“NCAA Tournament Hoop Dreams Impact Society,” Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 90(1), (2010), 8-11.
“Women in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games: An Analysis of Participation and Leadership Opportunities,” w/ Dr. Maureen Smith. A Women’s Sports Foundation Research Report, (2010). Available online: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Research-Reports/2008-Olympic-Report.aspx
Women, Sport and Physical Activity: Challenges and Triumphs, 2nd ed. w/ Drs. Sharon Guthrie, Michelle Magyar and Ann Maliszewski, Eds. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co., 2009.
Faculty Director, CSU Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program
Editor, Journal of Sport History, 2012 - Present.
Fellow (#514), National Academy of Kinesiology
ISHPES Scholar Award Lecturer, International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport, Taipei, Taiwan, 2013
Amy Morris Homans Honor Lecturer (45th), National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education, 2011
