The past 18 months have been eventful for Jeremy Battjes, an administrator at the University of Arkansas.

Battjes has served as director of University Recreation since 2009, but he started the semester last fall with a new role, that of interim assistant dean for administration in the College of Education and Health Professions. He retained his position in University Recreation and splits his time, crisscrossing campus between the HPER Building and the Graduate Education Building.

He also completed his doctorate in higher education last spring. He holds a master's degree in recreation from the U of A, and his undergraduate alma mater, Central Michigan University, has been paying attention.

Central Michigan presented Battjes with its Outstanding Alumnus in Recreational Sports Award during its alumni breakfast held each year during the annual conference of NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation. NIRSA stands for National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. This year's conference was in National Harbor, Maryland.

The award recognizes sustained excellence and accomplishments in campus recreational sports and targets someone who has positively represented graduates of Central Michigan University.

"This is a wonderful and well-deserved honor for Jeremy," said Michael Miller, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. "He has been an excellent student here at the U of A, among the best in the higher education program, and one of the best recreation directors in the country. We are extremely proud of his achievements and most grateful for his service this past year as the assistant dean for administration. We are lucky to have him on campus!"