Rate My Professor James Ball

James W. Ball, Ph.D., serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Sciences and Physical Education, Educational Foundations, and Urban Community Studies at Northeastern Illinois University. He also holds the position of Director of GCOE Budgets and Strategic Initiatives. Ball obtained his Ph.D. in Health Education and Promotion from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2013, with a dissertation titled "Factors affecting adoption and diffusion of distance education among university health faculty." He earned his M.S. in Recreational Management from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, in 2007, with a thesis on leadership competencies of recreational directors in Wisconsin, and a B.S. in Health Education with K-12 teacher certification and a Strength and Conditioning concentration from the same university in 2002. Prior to his current role, he was Assistant Professor of Health Promotion at Colorado State University-Pueblo from 2013 to 2015. In 2023, he was promoted to full Professor at NEIU.

Ball's research focuses on technology's role in behavior change, mindfulness implementation in K-12 schools, exercise motivation through technology, and effective health education curricula. His publications include "Physical activity motivation among sororities and fraternities" (Turek et al., 2017, International Journal of Kinesiology in Higher Education), "The adolescent health care broker: Young people interpreting for family members and themselves in health care" (Banas et al., 2017, Journal of Community Health), "Retrospective evaluation of high school sport participant and adult BMI status, physical activity levels, and motivation to exercise" (Ball et al., 2016, American Journal of Health Studies), and "Mentorship: An Assessment of Faculty Scholarly Production, Mode of Doctoral Work, and Mentorship" (2021). He has presented at conferences such as the Society of Health and Physical Educators and the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education. Ball teaches courses like HSCI 103: Introduction to Community Health, HSCI 303: Sex Education, and HSCI 345: Drug Education.