In Spring 2025 Western Sydney University’s (WSU) World Leisure Center for Excellence (WLCE) with WSU’s School of Health Sciences announced a competitive call for a 2025 Visiting Research Scholar Program. Western Sydney faculty, Dr. Arianne Reis, the WLCE Director, and Dr. Nicole Peel, worked with Penn State University faculty, Dr. John Dattilo and Dr. Amy Lorek, to develop a proposal. The proposal consisted of sharing information about the value of leisure in our lives and ways leisure education can facilitate leisure as well as identifying the need for research to address leisure needs of Australian elders.
The accepted proposal resulted in a six week visit in October/November 2025 with the scholars supporting WSU faculty research across multiple health science units, including recreation therapy, nursing, and occupational therapy that culminated in several presentations by the visiting scholars. A research team composed of Western Sydney faculty, the visiting scholars, practitioners, and former students developed a long-term plan for interdisciplinary research and program enhancement for elder care. Members of the research team presented plans to colleagues, practitioners, and students in various venues for feedback and plan customization.
Dr. Dattilo reinforced Western Sydney instructional goals by participating in undergraduate recreation therapy classes. He also presented at research symposiums to health sciences graduate students and faculty on balancing research, service, and teaching in higher education, as well as considerations for mentor-scholar relationships. Dr. Dattilo reviewed curriculum documents and made recommendations for instructional enhancement. Through meetings with WSU faculty and administrators, including Dr. Sarah Lewis, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Drs. Dattilo and Reis communicated value of the WLCE and visiting scholar accomplishments.
The team is enthusiastic about the momentum gained by interactions since the visit resulted in extensive learning and advancement of instruction, service, and research agendas for leisure sciences in support of the WSU WLCE and the mission of the World Leisure Organization.
“This Visiting Scholar Program has been a catalyst for the kind of interdisciplinary, global collaboration that sits at the heart of our World Leisure Centre of Excellence’s mission. By integrating the expertise of Drs. Dattilo and Lorek directly into our research and teaching, we’ve not only accelerated our work on leisure for Australian elders but have also created a vibrant, sustainable network for innovation that will benefit our students, staff, and the community for years to come.” (Associate Professor Arianne Reis)
