SEMO's Rademaker receives Distinguished Academic Service award from OVC

Dr. Tim Rademaker was announced on Friday as one of two recipients of the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Thurston Banks Award for Distinguished Academic Service.

Rademaker, an Associate Professor Emeritus of physical education who retired from Southeast Missouri State in 2010, is a volunteer pole vault coach for the Redhawks track and field team and still teaches part-time at the university.

Rademaker and UT Martin's Dr. Nell Gullet were chosen for the award, which was created in 2013 to "recognize individuals, with at least five years of service at one or more OVC member institutions, for their outstanding contributions to OVC student-athletes' academic success, learning and development, and for his or her overall commitment to the institution's athletics program," according to a press release.

Rademaker was a student-athlete at Southeast, earning his bachelor's degree in Education, History and Social Studies and a Master's degree in Teaching, Physical Education.

He earned his Doctorate from Ohio State University.

He was a full-time assistant with Southeast's track and field program from 1975-82 and has held his volunteer position periodically since the mid-1980s.

His retirement in 2010 came after more than three decades of service at Southeast, where he'd been since 1975. He still teaches sports psychology.

Rademaker's list of achievements also includes 22 presentations, seven publications in scholarly journals and "he has helped many students pursue a career in physical education and coaching, including holding a clinic to help students attain coaching certification on the weekends at no additional cost other than the price of the book," according to the release.

Rademaker and Gullet will be presented with the awards at this year's OVC basketball championships, which are held March 2-5 in Nashville.

Previous recipients of the award are Austin Peay's Dr. Bruce Myers and Dr. Gaines Hunt, Eastern Illinois' Dr. Gail Richard, Tennessee Tech's Andrew Smith, Belmont's Betty Wiseman and Morehead State's Peggy Osborne.