Stuart G. Robbins spent 13 years as Chair of the School of Physical Education & Athletics (1981-86, 89-97) and was the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education from 1978-80. In the '80s, he guided York to significant growth in the sport program, overseeing national championship appearances by several teams, a fitness and aerobics boom, opportunities to develop new facilities and the expansion of the Sport Hall of Fame and the XY Club, an alumni association for athletes. In his time at York from 1974-2000, Robbins also taught over 30 graduate and undergraduate classes and coached the York men's soccer team from 1983-86.
Stuart Robbins’ philosophy on creating success was simple.
“My style of leadership was to bring people together and to facilitate people doing things better.”
That belief, along with a passion for the students and for sport and recreation, is what helped Robbins guide the School of Kinesiology & Health Science through tremendous growth in his 13 years as Chair.
Robbins first came to York in 1974 after a 10-year stint at the University of Alberta, where he was responsible for setting up their elementary physical education program and where he also coached the men’s soccer team to the inaugural national championship. He was added to Alberta’s Wall of Fame in 2007.
What drew Robbins to York was the concurrent education program and the interdisciplinary approach of the University. When he came on board, first as the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education before moving into the School, Robbins made sure to use that same approach to help grow sport and recreation.
“I believe very strongly in a philosophy of physical activity and health at a university in an integrated unit. I see the study of physical activity in the academic program as very important and I see sport and recreation supporting that.
“As the Chair, I got into arguments with the President and Vice-Presidents at York about what we do in the university. It was so much easier to highlight our strengths when I could say that we do the academic side and we do the sport and recreation side both extremely well. And I think even with a president who wasn’t overly convinced about sport, I think I can hold him as a friend. We had some tussles but I think we respected each other.”
Robbins presided over the School while York experienced success in athletics and academics. On the field, the sport teams collected numerous provincial titles and qualified for several national championships, including one year he highlights in particular in which seven teams reached their respective national tournaments. At the same time, Sport & Recreation experienced a fitness and aerobics boom, there were opportunities to develop new facilities and there was the expansion of the Sport Hall of Fame and the XY Club.
But it was teaching that was near and dear to his heart.
“Early on I thought about the possibilities of three careers: ministry, teaching and medicine. I felt that with the skills I had that teaching was the route for me to go. I’ve never regretted that decision.”
The students he had over the years, who were part of the more than 30 undergraduate and graduate courses Robbins taught at York, are no doubt glad he made that decision. Program numbers swelled during his time as Chair as students flocked to York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science in droves, and they continue to do so to this day, long after Robbins has retired, as they seek a well-rounded education.
“Many people saw the value in studying physical education because there was some science stuff, some arts stuff, some practical stuff and good theory,” explained Robbins. “If you look at where graduates of our programs went, you find a tremendously diverse number of fields. The students were able to use the less tangible things from their studies in order to jump off and do extremely well in their careers. At York, we weren’t preparing people for a specific professional career, we were preparing them for life.”
