Dr. Roland Thornburg

Professor Emeritus
Program Chair, Bachelor of Science in Education
Kennamer Hall Room 118
(256) 782-5515
thornbur@jsu.edu  

Dr. Roland Thornburg earned a BSE and MSE in Physical Education at Jacksonville State University. He coached tennis at JSU in the early 1980's. He attended The University of Southern Mississippi and earned an Ed.D. in Sport Pedagogy and was an Instructor. After USM, Roland obtained a teaching position at Livingston University where he taught physical education and coached tennis for 6 years. Dr. Thornburg moved to Paulding County, Georgia and taught and coached at East Paulding Middle School. While in Paulding County, he obtained an Administration degree and got a position in administration at the Elementary level. After being in Paulding County for approximately 8 years, Roland obtained a position as a professor in the School Administration at Gardner Webb University in North Carolina and was there for 2 years.
Since 2002, Dr. Thornburg has served as Program Chair and taught at the undergraduate/graduate level and supervised Internship in the Physical Education Teacher Education Program at JSU in the Department of Kinesiology. Recently Roland retired but has continued teaching in the College of Health Professions and Wellness at JSU.

 Academic Interests/Research:

  • Sports Pedagogy
  • History of Sport
  • Individual and Dual Sports
  • Team Sports
  • Coaching
  • Fitness
Courses Taught:
  • Undergraduate HPE Methods Courses
  • Graduate PE Methods Courses
  • Graduate Foundations of Education
  • Graduate Foundations of Physical Education and Sport
  • Graduate Best Practices in Physical Education
  • Supervised Physical Education Internships

Education:

  • BSE in Physical Education, 1982. Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama
  • MSE in Physical Education, 1983. Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama
  • Ed.D. in Sport Pedagogy, 1986. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS.
  • Certification in Administration, 1990. Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama
Roland Thornburg