Ronald E. McCarville

Dr. McCarville's research interests revolve around mobilizing resources to serve leisure participants. As a result he has studied both participants in and providers of leisure service delivery. His ongoing concern has been with understanding participants' reactions to administrative initiatives. In particular he has studied participants' reactions to various pricing models. This research has involved a series of experiments monitoring clients' expectations in various pricing contexts. He is currently interested in the effects of service quality on participants' leisure experiences. In particular he is interested in participants' responses to service failures. Ron's work with leisure providers has focused on sponsorship, decision making and organizational change. In all cases, the goal has been to understand why providers program as they do while understanding client response to these efforts. Ron placed insights from a decade of research into his text Improving Leisure Services Through Marketing Action. His work appears in most of the recreation and leisure journals but particularly in administrative outlets like the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration and the Journal of Sport Management. Ron has served as guest editor for the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration and as associate editor for the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration and the Journal of Leisure Research. He is a member of the CPRA Task Force on Children and Youth Living in Poverty. Ron acted for several years as the Director of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Health & Fitness Group. Ron regularly shares his ideas through keynote addresses, workshops and seminars around North America. He enjoys running and biking. He was named a Distinguished Teacher at the University of Waterloo in 2003.