Rate My Professor Hayley Russell

Dr. Hayley Russell served as Associate Professor and Chair of the Health and Exercise Science Department at Gustavus Adolphus College from 2016. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. Francis Xavier University (2007), a Master’s in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University (2010), and a Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota (2014). Russell taught courses including Lifespan Development, Health Behavior, Sport Psychology, and Power and Privilege in Sport. She emphasized building student skills in research methods, data analysis, oral and written communication, and balancing academic and extracurricular commitments, often providing personalized guidance and serving as a role model.

Her research in sport and exercise psychology focused on psychological responses to sport injury, lifelong athlete health, psychosocial implications of fitness tracking apps like Strava, attentional focus in runners, and nutrition, anxiety, and gastrointestinal distress during exercise. Key publications include “Psychological responses during latter rehabilitation and return to sport following ACL reconstruction surgery” in the Journal of Athletic Training (2024, co-authored with University of Minnesota colleagues), a study on anxiety as a risk factor for gastrointestinal distress during exercise (2021), and “Injury-related Psychological Distress and the Association with Gastrointestinal Symptoms During Running” (2021). She co-authored research on Strava use among collegiate runners and secured grants from the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. Russell presented at conferences such as the Association of Applied Sport Psychology and American College of Sports Medicine, frequently with undergraduate students. She received the 2024 Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching, the College’s highest teaching honor, and the 2019 Swenson-Bunn Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence. Additional roles included service on the Curriculum Committee and First-Term Seminar Advisory Board, hosting sport and performance psychology workshops, and directing undergraduate research initiatives that fostered interdisciplinary student projects featured in media like the Minnesota Star Tribune.