Dr. Kirk Brumels of the Hope College faculty has been selected for induction into the Alumni Honor Academy of the Department of Human Performance and Health Education (HPHE) of Western Michigan University.
The HPHE Alumni Honor Academy was established in 2002 to recognize the outstanding professional accomplishments, contributions and service of bachelor’s and master’s graduates of the university’s former Physical Education Men’s and Women’s programs; Health, Physical Education and Recreation; and HPHE Departments.
Brumels is a professor of kinesiology and chairperson of the department as well as a member of the athletic training staff at Hope. A 1988 Hope graduate, he completed his master’s degree in athletic training at Western Michigan University in 1990. He also completed his doctorate in educational leadership at the university in 2005.
He has been an athletic training professional for more than a quarter century, serving at Hope and in the NFL; is active in professional associations at the state, regional and national level; and is an active scholar.
Brumels is a licensed Michigan athletic trainer as well as a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). A member of the Hope faculty since 2001, he has chaired the college’s Department of Kinesiology since 2014, and previously served as program director of athletic training education and as head athletic trainer at Hope.
He worked with the New England Patriots in Foxboro, Massachusetts, from 1990 to 2001. His responsibilities included supervising, educating and coordinating student athletic trainers during summer training camp and various internship positions throughout the football season. He also worked with the team physician and head athletic trainer to coordinate all aspects of medical services for the team and its staff. As an athletic training student at Hope, Brumels had held an internship with the Patriots during the summer before his senior year.
He has been extensively involved in professional associations throughout his career. He is currently a member of NATA’s Professional Education Committee. He was president of the Michigan Athletic Trainers’ Society (MATS) in 2011 and 2012, previously serving as president-elect in 2009-10, and as chair of the MATS Professional Education Committee during 2007 and 2008. He is also a past Michigan state representative to the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association (GLATA). He received an Athletic Trainer Service Award from NATA in June 2016.
In addition to teaching, he conducts research in athletic training, including collaboratively with students at the college. His publications include co-authoring the fourth edition of the textbook “Developing Clinical Proficiency in Athletic Training: A Modular Approach,” authoring a chapter in the book “Workplace Concepts for Athletic Trainers” and co-authoring nine chapters in the textbook “Core Concepts in Athletic Training and Therapy,” as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals. Through the years, he has made multiple presentations on his research or aspects of athletic training during MATS, GLATA, and the NATA Annual Meetings and/or Symposiums.