Rate My Professor Nate McCaughtry

Nate McCaughtry, Ph.D., is Professor and Assistant Dean of the Division of Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies in Wayne State University’s College of Education, where he also directs the Center for Health and Community Impact and the Community Health Worker Academy. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama and both his M.S. and B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. McCaughtry’s career at Wayne State University emphasizes advancing physical education pedagogy, student motivation in urban settings, culturally relevant curricula, nutrition education, and comprehensive school health programs to address health disparities among underserved youth. His leadership in initiatives such as the Detroit Healthy Youth Initiative, launched in 2002, and Building Healthy Communities has driven school wellness policies and community partnerships in Detroit.

McCaughtry has authored or co-authored over 100 refereed journal articles and 14 book chapters, with more than 7,133 citations on Google Scholar. Key publications include “The relationship between teacher burnout and student motivation” (2015, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 878 citations), “Girly girls can play games/las niñas pueden jugar tambien: Co-creating a curriculum of possibilities with fifth-grade girls” (2009, Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 269 citations), “The emotional dimensions of a teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge: Influences on content, curriculum, and pedagogy” (2004, Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 220 citations), and “Effects of a Comprehensive School Health Program on Elementary Student Academic Achievement” (2021, Journal of School Health). As principal or co-investigator, he has obtained grants exceeding $100 million from the NIH, USDA, Health Resources and Services Administration, and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, including $2.6 million for the Community Health Worker Academy (2022–2025). His contributions earned induction as a Fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology (2015), the Metzler-Freedman Exemplary Paper Award (2012), multiple American Educational Research Association Exemplary Paper Awards, and the AAHPERD Social Justice and Diversity Award (2010).