Honors for KINE professor

Notable January ’22 moments for HHP, Houmard

It already has been a busy 2022 for Dr. Joseph Houmard, whose leadership and role was highlighted in a national research consortium on how molecules within the body are affected by physical activity and exercise. This was featured in a WNCT newscast earlier in January.

Houmard also was recently named an expert in obesity study by the Expertscape database. 

Below is an excerpt from the Faculty Profile written by Ken Buday on Houmard as part of HHP Showcase Month:

Joseph Houmard arrived at East Carolina University in 1988 as a postdoctoral student just months after getting married.

“Kandy and I came here with the thought that it would be two or three years,” he said.

Nearly 34 years later, Dr. Houmard is still at ECU as a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, mentoring students in research that is helping shape the way we move and stay healthy.

“I interviewed at a lot of other places,” Houmard said. “Both my wife and I are from the Midwest, and that’s always home. And even though they were mostly Big 10 or SEC (Southeastern Conference) universities, nothing really beat the environment that I had here at ECU. At the time, ECU had about 10,000 students, and Greenville was limited in areas such as shopping and other amenities in larger towns. But in the long run, this has been a great place to raise our kids (daughter Katie and son Tommy). They’ve done really well going through the public school system. We have a lot of friends, and they have a lot of friends. All those important things had us stay here and get glued here.”