M. Jean Keller

Dr. M. Jean Keller is a professor in the University of North Texas Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion and chair of the North Texas Regional P-16 Council. She recently served as the UNT interim vice president for community engagement and equity and diversity. She supported UNT Dallas as provost and vice chancellor as the institution transitioned to an independently accredited university in the UNT System. She served as dean of the College of Education at UNT for 15 years. Prior to her career at UNT, she was a department chair at the University of Georgia and a member of the faculty at Indiana University.

She has written or edited 11 books and 18 refereed chapters, and authored more than 100 articles. Dr. Keller has given more than 300 presentations in the United States and several countries. She was awarded more than $6 million of funding by external agencies for research and innovative projects. Dr. Keller is a fellow in the Academy of Leisure Sciences and the Academy of Park and Recreation Administration. She has received recognition for extensive work related to health disparities, persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the North Texas Region P-16 Council, a regional, data-driven collaborative focused on education access and success for all students leading to meaningful employment and quality of life.

Recent Publications:

• Shen, L., Zhu, G., Keller, M. J., Cui, Z., Chen, C., &Xie, M. (2024). Exploring early career physical education teachers’ professional identity construction in rural China: Insights from socio-ecological perspective and practice architectures theory. Sport, Education, and Society, 29(1),58-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2022.2115995
• Li, X., Brune, K., Keller, J. Stelter, J., &Ingman, S. (2023). Role of activity professionals in applying the APIE model to enhance residents’ activity and engagement in long-term care settings. OBM Geriatrics, 7(2), 1 – 11. http://dx.doi.org/10.21926/obm/geriatr.2302239
• Gu, X., Keller, J., Zhang, T., *Dempsey, D., Roberts, H., Jeans, K., Stevens, W., *Borchard, J., VanPelt, &Tulchin-Francis. (2023). Disparity in built environment and its impacts on youths’ physical activity behaviors during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 10,1549-1559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01341-3
• Li, X., Keller, J., Stelter, J., Brune, K. &Ingman, S. (2023). Supporting resident engagement via web-based assessment system: Experience of activity professionals from long-term care settings. Educational Gerontology. 49(10), 843 – 854. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2023.2172518
• Lee, J., Keller, M. J., &Zhang, T. (2022). Relation between demographics and physical activity among preschoolers attending Head Start. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 32, 2229-2239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02468-x