Garden City, NY - October 16, 2015 - Adelphi University is proud to announce that Darla M. Castelli, Ph.D. will deliver The Robert and Augusta P. Finkelstein Memorial Lecture entitled “Fit, Healthy and Ready to Teach.” The event will take place in the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom of the Ruth S. Harley University Center on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Darla M. Castelli is an associate professor of physical education pedagogy in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She has been working with school-age youth in physical activity settings for more than 20 years, leading several physical activity interventions. Dr. Castelli has been named Maine Physical Education Teacher of the Year and is a recipient of the University of Illinois Teaching Excellence Award.

Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Dietetic Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education. She has presented her work at U.S. Senate and congressional briefings in support of the FIT Kids Act. Dr. Castelli is currently a member of two Institute of Medicine committees, on Fitness Measures and Health Outcomes in Youth and Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment. She received a B.S. from Plymouth State University, an M.S. from Northern Illinois University and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina.

The Robert and Augusta P. Finkelstein Memorial Lecture was established in 1981 by Augusta P. Finkelstein in honor of her husband, the late Robert Finkelstein, a noted industrialist and staunch believer in state and federal support of elementary and secondary education. Following Mrs. Finkelstein’s death, the lecture was renamed for her as well, and continues to be generously supported by the Finkelstein family. Mrs. Finkelstein's goal was “to provide a series of lectures by well-known persons recognized for their commitment to the elementary and secondary public school system.”

For more information about this and other events on campus, please visit online, or call the Cultural Events Hotline at (516) 877-4555. The Ruth S. Ammon School of Education is committed to providing the highest quality of academic and clinical education that promotes career advancement characterized by integrity and respect for diverse individuals.

About Adelphi University
New York’s Adelphi University is a nationally ranked, doctoral research university where students succeed by gaining the skills, knowledge and exposure to thrive as professionals and active citizens in an interconnected and fast-paced global society. Today, nearly 8,000 students from 38 states and 46 countries pursue degrees in person and online through Adelphi’s eight distinguished schools and programs—the College of Arts and Sciences, the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, the Honors College, the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, the College of Nursing and Public Health and the School of Social Work. Chartered in 1896, Adelphi is known for offering a personalized education—one is which students are mentored by talented and committed faculty members and readily find opportunities to initiate, innovate, explore and understand. With dynamic learning hubs on Long Island, in Manhattan and in the Hudson Valley, Adelphi serves communities, both regionally and globally, through the research and practice of its faculty, the collaborative initiatives undertaken by its centers and programs, the staging of distinguished cultural events and, most essentially, the education of future leaders and informed citizens.