Fay Biles
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Fay Biles (née Reifsnyder; March 31, 1927 – October 28, 2020) was an American academic and college sports coach. She was the first woman to serve in a vice presidency role at an Ohio university. As a head coach of the field hockey and lacrosse teams, she logged more victories than any other coach in Kent State University history. She was inducted into the
Ohio Women's Hall of Fame The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives a ...
in 1986.


Personal life

Biles was born Fay Reifsnyder in
Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...
as the youngest of three girls. Her father, a former tennis player, ran a family business as a hosiery manufacturer. Growing up Biles was active in sports, playing both field hockey and lacrosse throughout her schooling years. Although she was inclined to attend Ursinus College as a pre-med student, her older sisters encouraged her to attend
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
. She was one of two people selected from Philadelphia to attend Duke University. Biles is a member of Delta Delta Delta. While she was at Duke she met Bedford Biles, a World War II paratrooper who participated in
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
and the Battle of the Bulge. The two married shortly after Biles graduated. Biles died in
Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
on October 28, 2020, at the age of 93.


Career

After working as a high school teacher for four years, Biles began to study for her master's degree at Kent State University while simultaneously teaching and coaching at the University of Akron. She later earned her PhD in communications at Ohio State University. After earning her PhD, Biles taught health and physical education at Kent State. Besides teaching, Biles worked as a head coach for Kent State's field hockey and lacrosse teams from 1959 to 1972. She coached the 1963 field hockey team to a winning record with an undefeated season. She was the most successful coach in Kent State history. In 1966, Biles became the president-elect of the Physical Education Department for the Ohio College Association. In 1967, Biles and her husband bought a vacation home on
Marco Island, Florida Marco Island is a small sea island, or barrier island, on the Gulf Coast of the United States located 20 miles (32 km) south of Naples in Collier County, Florida. Marco Island is an affluent beach and boating resort island with a small-town ...
. After a survey conducted by the Physical Education Department revealed a lack of knowledge among the student body about the objectives of physical education programs, Biles began to construct the Physical Education Public Information (PEPI) program. In 1971, Biles took a year off from Kent State to help found PEPI. She returned to Kent State and presented her findings at an American Alliance's Convention. After her presentation, Biles received an offer from the new president of Kent State University,
Glenn Olds Glenn A. Olds (February 28, 1921 – March 11, 2006) was an American academic administrator, government official and politician. Olds was raised in Oregon and attended Willamette University.Dobrow, Martin"How the FBI Tried to Block Martin Luther ...
, to become the Vice President for Public Affairs and Development. She was the first female vice president at Kent State University and in all of Ohio. While working as Vice President for Public Affairs and Development, Biles dealt with the repercussions of the Kent State shootings. As the spokesperson for the University, Biles detailed she received constant harassment, such as death threats, from students.


Other activities

In 1974, she ran as a Republican nominee for the 62nd District seat in the Ohio General Assembly. In 1975, she formed the Marco Island Taxpayers Association and remained its president until 2000. She also served on the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council and the Water and Wastewater Authority of Collier County. As chair of PEPI, Biles joined forces with Jean Barkow to help begin a national fund raising "rope-a-thon". In 1978, Jump Rope for Heart was launched. Jump Rope for Heart named an individual award in her honor, the Faye Biles Educational Award. Due to her interest and activism in physical education, Biles was selected to serve on a United States Olympic Committee. In 1986, Biles was inducted into the
Ohio Women's Hall of Fame The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives a ...
and awarded the R. Tait McKenzie Award by SHAPE America. After her husband's retirement in 1989, they moved to Marco Island full-time. She was later awarded the Luther Halsey Gulick Award in 1998 while serving as a member of the
American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...
(AAUW). Two years later, Biles was elected president of Marco Island's AAUW branch from 2000 to 2002. Biles later served on the board of directors for Bancorp Trust Co., FirstMerit Bank of Clearwater and the Vision Planning Committees on Marco Island. In 2001, Biles was elected to the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation Inc. In 2010, Biles was awarded the Centennial Alumni Award by the College of Education, Health and Human Service. She was also named a Founding Fellow of Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation. After her husband died in 2013, Biles left Marco Island and moved to live with her nephews. In 2016, the City of Marco Island announced they were dedicating a community room in her and her husband's honour.


Selected bibliography

The following is a list of publications: *''Television: production and utilization in physical education'' (1971) *''Sport skills: a conceptual approach to meaningful movement'' (1975) *''GWS: links to leadership: promoting women in sport: proceedings'' (1992) *''Play for power: creating leaders through sport'' (1996)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biles, Fay 1927 births 2020 deaths Sportspeople from Reading, Pennsylvania Duke University alumni Kent State University faculty University of Akron faculty Ohio State University School of Communication alumni Education activism American women academics American women non-fiction writers Writers from Reading, Pennsylvania 21st-century American women