Dr. Charles Burchell retires from Southern Miss.

Following 50 years of involvement in recreation, Dr. Charles Burchell, professor of recreation at the University of Southern Mississippi, retired in May. A SCUBA instructor for more than 35 years, Burchell established the first Search and Rescue Training program for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and, at Southern Miss, developed the SCUBA program, which trained several thousand divers from Basic SCUBA through assistant instructor. In 1994 he received national recognition from NAUI as a "diving dinosaur," one of the original 1,500 instructors who were still active in diving instruction; and in 2003, was awarded a Distinguished Service Award for longtime service to that organization.

Upon earning his Ph.D. in 1974 from Texas A & M University, Burchell was recruited to be the chair of the Recreation Department at Southern Miss, a position he held until 1988. During his time as chair, the academic program became the first in Mississippi to earn NRPA/AALR accreditation. He has been an active member of Mississippi Recreation and Park Association, serving two terms as president and was the first State Certification Board chair. Actively representing the state in the Southern Region, Burchell served as program chair for the 1984 Southern Region Conference, served as chair of the Southern Region Council, and was awarded the region's highest honor, the Harold D. Meyer award. Burchell was also elected to service as a member of the NRPA Board of Trustees, 2000-2003.