John 'Doc' Baxter Athletic Training + Human Performance Lab

Emporia State University has renovated, re-imagined and re-equipped the existing athletic training and human performance labs, transforming them into a modernized, multi-use lab space for learning. The new John “Doc” Baxter Athletic Training and Human Performance Lab increases space for hands-on instruction, provides students with an array of new equipment and better prepares graduates for positions in competitive fields.

All students pursuing the Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Performance, and the Master of Science in Athletic Training will utilize the lab. In the future, the community also will be able to utilize the space through various health screenings and tests.

Career-ready

The lab prepares students for positions in health promotion, strength and conditioning, personal and athletic training, public administration and related areas. With the experience they gain in the lab, graduates have the tools they need to take on leadership roles in designing, implementing and evaluating health promotion campaigns in public and private agencies and institutions at local, state and national levels.

The lab

The enhanced lab includes:

• New equipment for students to measure body composition and bone density.
• Treadmills, cycle and rowing ergometers to conduct metabolic and cardiorespiratory testing.
• Devices to measure metabolic biomarkers, conduct blood analysis and analyze blood flow restriction.

Using the lab’s state-of-the-art equipment, faculty will instruct students how to measure bone density and body composition, conduct metabolic and cardiorespiratory testing, perform blood analyses and measure metabolic biomarkers. These resources will allow students to develop and practice professional skills. The new lab will expand their opportunities to work with university and community populations in activities like health fairs, fitness testing and triathlon training groups.

John “Doc” Baxter

Thanks to a generous lead gift, this lab will be named in honor of an important ESU icon. The John ‘Doc’ Baxter Athletic Training and Human Performance Lab will celebrate and immortalize Baxter’s dedication to athletic training at ESU. During his time as head athletic trainer and later director of athletic medicine, Baxter was an enormous influence on generations of students. With this lab, future Hornets will develop the real-world skills Doc was known for providing throughout his lifetime.

The renovations and equipment have been made possible by the support of donors, with lead gifts from Pam Baxter, Rainer and Julie Martens and The Sunderland Foundation.