College of Education and Human Development

School of Kinesiology

Chelsey Thul

  • Senior Lecturer, Psychology of Physical Activity

  • Office Hours

    By appointment

Chelsey Thul

Areas of interest

  • Inclusive physical activity
  • Health equity and justice
  • Positive youth development
  • Community-centered research
  • Sport and exercise psychology
Degrees
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Minnesota, 2014
  • PhD, kinesiology (emphasis: Sport and exercise psychology) and prevention science, Univeresity of Minnesota, 2012
  • MA, kinesiology (emphasis: Sport and exercise psychology), University of Minnesota, 2008
  • BA with honors, psychology and exercise science, St. Olaf College, 2006
Biography

Chelsey Thul, PhD, is an student-centered educator and award-winning scholar on the topics of health equity and justice, youth empowerment, positive youth development, community-centered research, and physical activity. She is a senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology and an affiliated scholar of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota. Thul received her PhD in kinesiology from the University of Minnesota with an emphasis in sport and exercise psychology and a minor in prevention science. She completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in Interdisciplinary Research in Child and Adolescent Health in the Department of Pediatrics, as well as completed the Health Equity Leadership and Mentoring Program in the Program in Health Disparities Research, both in the University of Minnesota’s Medical School, before coming back to the School of Kinesiology as teaching faculty in 2015.

Thul is committed to service and impact. She served on the Girls on the Run-Minnesota Board of Directors as the Chair of the Equity/Access/Inclusion Committee, the Girls Initiative in Recreation and Leisurely Sports (GIRLS) Program Leadership Team, and the Cedar-Riverside Women’s Only Physical Activity Leadership Advocacy Team. Thul currently serves as a member of the Cedar Riverside Athletics and Enrichment Program Leadership Team and is on the Board of Directors for Coon Rapids/Andover American Little League Baseball.

Thul is a former college fastpitch player and team captain. She recognizes the power of sport and physical activity participation. She is also a proud mom and youth baseball coach. 

Awards and Honors

  • Girls in Sport Hero for the Cedar Riverside Community Award, Cedar-Riverside Community Athletic Association, 2020
  • Breaking Barriers Award, Minnesota Coalition for Women in Athletic Leadership, 2016 
  • Community Outreach and Engagement Staff Award, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, 2016
  • Women’s Philanthropic Leadership Circle Award, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, 2009

Teaching

  • KIN 1871: Survey of Kinesiology, Physical Activity and Health Promotion, and Sport Management
  • KIN 3126W: Sport and Exercise Psychology
  • SMGT 3501: Sport in a Diverse Society
  • SMGT 3501H: Sport in a Diverse Society: Honors
Publications

UMN Experts

  1. Folk, A. L., Thul, C. M., Pereira, M. A., & Barr-Anderson, D. J. (2024). Motivators and barriers for green physical activity in the U.S.: Examining the role of gender, sexual identity, disability, and race. Leisure Sciences, p. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2024.2382788
  2. Dregney, T. M., Thul, C. M., Linde, J. A., & Lewis, B. A. (2023). Affective responses to high intensity interval training relative to moderate intensity continuous training. Physical Activity and Health, 7(1), 229-238. https://doi. org/10.5334/paah.271
  3. Bye, E., Thul, C., Mohamed, M., & Weber, J. (2021). Co-design for community: Producing culturally appropriate athleticwear with the GIRLS project. The Fashion Studies Journal, n.v., n.p. https://www.fashionstudiesjournal.org/partnership-content-a/2022/3/18/co-design-for-community-producing-culturally-appropriate-athleticwear-with-the-girls-project
  4. LaVoi, N. M., Thul, C. M., & Wasend, M. (2018). Understanding girls in and through physical activity: Assets, identities, and disparities. In N. M. LaVoi, M. Wasend, & A. Baeth (Eds.), The 2018 Tucker Center Research Report, Developing physically active girls: An evidence-based multidisciplinary approach (pp. 1-36). University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN: Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport.
  5. Thul, C. M., LaVoi, N. M., & Wasend, M. (2018). Immigrant girls and physical activity. In N. M. LaVoi, M. Wasend, & A. Baeth (Eds.), The 2018 Tucker Center Research Report, Developing physically active girls: An evidence-based multidisciplinary approach (pp. 115-134). University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN: Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport.
  6. Thul, C., LaVoi, N.M., Hazelwood, T., & Hussein, F. (2016). “We have a right to the gym”: Physical activity experiences of East African immigrant girls. In M.A. Messner & M. Musto (Eds.), Child’s play: Sport in kids’ worlds (pp. 165-178). Rutgers University Press: New Jersey.
  7. Thul, C. M., Eisenberg, M. E., Larson, N. I., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2015). Physical activity patterns among Minnesota Somali adolescents. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 12(9), 1320-1326. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2014-0146 
  8. Eisenberg, M. E., Larson, N. I., Berge, J. M., Thul, C. M., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2014). The home physical activity environment and adolescent BMI, physical activity and TV viewing: Disparities across a diverse sample. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 1(4), 326-336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-014-0040-4
  9. Thul, C. M., & LaVoi, N. M. (2011). Reducing physical inactivity and promoting active living: From the voices of East African immigrant adolescent girls. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 3(2), 211-236. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2011.572177