Amanda Perkins-Ball is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Kinesiology Department at Rice University. She joined the Rice faculty in 2017 and currently teaches Scientific Foundations of Kinesiology, Psychological Aspects of Sports & Exercise, Psychological Aspects of Sport Injury and Rehabilitation, and other courses in the Sports Medicine and Exercise Physiology program. She also serves as a program advisor.

Dr. Perkins-Ball completed her Ph.D. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise and Sport Psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. She completed her M.S.Ed in Sport Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and her B.S. degree in Health and Human Performance at the University of Louisville.

Prior to joining the Rice faculty, she held academic appointments as Assistant Professor and Director of the Exercise & Sports Studies and Physical Education programs at Benedictine University Chicago, and Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Missouri State University.

Dr. Perkins-Ball’s professional and research interests include addressing health disparities by promoting physical activity behavior among underserved populations and understanding the experiences of marginalized identities in sport and physical activity spaces. Her latest study explores collegiate student-athletes’ athletic and academic identities and their experiences on campus.

Dr. Perkins-Ball is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Chair of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Diversity Committee. She has authored more than a dozen publications and over 40 presentations at the state, national, and international levels. Dr. Perkins-Ball also provides performance consulting to athletes ranging from youth sport to Olympians, well as performing artists.