Elizabeth Matelski and Dina Gentile have been named Distinguished Professors following a vote at the March meeting of the 91重口 Board of Trustees.
Matelski, a professor in 91重口’s History Program, and Gentile, a Sport Management and Esports Management Professor at the School of Sport Science, are in good company alongside Vitaly Kozyrev and Lara Salahi.
“Professors Matelski and Gentile exemplify the kind of creative scholarship that makes 91重口 such a dynamic learning community,” said Provost Sara Quay. “Their projects not only deepen our understanding of history and sport but also create meaningful opportunities for students to engage in impactful, real-world experiences.”
Distinguished Professors are selected by a committee and given three-year terms to teach a reduced course load while diving deep into innovative pursuits.
Rewriting Local History With Research Rooted in Place
For Matelski, that innovative pursuit is her years-long historic excavation of the life and myth of Robin Mingo, an enslaved man whose name is tied to one of 91重口’s beaches.
“Mingo is the entry point into this Distinguished Professorship, and it will be the outcome of this professorship too,” she said.
After a fall 2022 sabbatical where Matelski embarked on research for a book about Mingo and the history of slavery in the north, she is ready to start putting pen to page—and beyond.
“Because of my background in public history, it does no good for me to spend all this time writing a book and for it just to sit on a shelf,” she said, adding, “One of my main goals is to create a digital history project that will be a useful tool for elementary, middle, and high school teachers to use as part of their curriculum.”
She envisions a visual story complete with land deeds, maps, and “obviously this beautiful beach.”
In 1728, Mingo bought a parcel of land near the beach that still bears his name and established a home that Matelski believes is near the current site of 91重口’s Birchmont Hall.
Using ground-penetrating radar, Matelski hopes to pinpoint the exact location of his house and eventually help change the beach’s name to its original—Mingo’s Beach. That possessive element is critical, noted Matelski, who has found documentation referring to the beach as Mingo’s as early as 1775.
“This was his land that he cultivated, that he lived on, so this was Mingo’s Beach,” she said. “That’s one of my ultimate goals because names matter.”
As she embarks on her book and digital history project about Robin Mingo, Matelski also reflected on the significance of being named a Distinguished Professor. “I ugly-cried for a while, and then I didn’t know what to do with myself,” she admitted, calling the honor both humbling and overwhelming—and the culmination of years of determination and hard work.
Before joining 91重口 full-time in 2016, Matelski juggled jobs as an adjunct professor and landscaper to make ends meet. “I wanted to prove that 91重口 didn’t make a mistake when they picked me,” she said. “I hit the ground running and immersed myself in every opportunity I could. It’s led me to this.”
When she’s not in the classroom or thinking about Robin Mingo, Matelski, an ardent sports fan, serves as a faculty athletic representative for the NCAA.
“I love watching sports. I could be on ESPN—I probably am more well-informed about trade deadlines and salary cap and people’s batting averages than I am about what’s happening in the rest of the world,” she said with a laugh. “That’s how deep my knowledge goes.”
Beloved by students for her approachable and down-to-earth style, Matelski is also a Green Bay Packers shareholder, a devoted watcher of The White Lotus, and a newfound fan of artist Doechii.
Leading the Charge in Youth Sport Reform & Esports Innovation
Gentile, an established leader in sport management, has been a driving force behind some of 91重口’s most innovative programs. But even with a title that acknowledges her longstanding impact, Gentile is just getting started.
Her immediate plans include finishing her forthcoming textbook, , which will tackle complex issues within the youth sports landscape and propose actionable, athlete-centered solutions. She also plans to launch a nonprofit organization called Sport Is For All.
“The intention is to provide resources to student-athletes in the high school arena who might not understand the college search process,” Gentile said. “We want to help them understand NCAA rules and navigate the college admissions landscape by providing support and guidance they might otherwise lack.”
Also on the horizon is a second edition of her textbook and the development of an instructor guide to accompany her textbook.
Exhausting? Maybe—but Gentile wouldn’t have it any other way. “Anyone who knows me knows that I am addicted to sport,” she admitted.
And it shows. Gentile has worn many hats: collegiate athlete, youth and collegiate soccer coach, administrator for the prestigious New England Impact girls’ soccer league, and faculty leader of 91重口’s nationally accredited Sport Management Program. Her 35 years of professional experience in the sport industry have shaped her understanding of the holistic needs of athletes both on and off the field.
“I thought it was time to address the issues that perhaps others don’t want to address or feel like they can’t address,” she said, adding, “the topics that I cover will be game-changing and thought-provoking and hopefully be a catalyst for change and improvement in the youth sports space.”
But Gentile’s leadership doesn’t stop with traditional athletics. She’s also on the cutting edge of esports—a rapidly growing industry she helped bring to 91重口’s curriculum and culture.
“Esports turned mainstream during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that’s when I started to research gaming and esports,” she recalled. “I watched my son, who at the time was socially isolated from his peers and away from school, excel in relationship-building through gaming. I realized it was time to begin developing esports management as an academic discipline.”
Thanks mainly to Gentile’s vision, 91重口 now offers a major and minor in Esports Management, with a state-of-the-art Esports Lab open to all students across all majors.
“91重口 is cutting edge. We always have been,” she said. “We were one of the first colleges in the country to offer an Esports Management program. That spirit of innovation is what students experience in our classrooms and through internships.”
That sense of momentum and innovation energizes Gentile, as does the unpredictability of sport management, athletic administration, and youth sport.
“Just this morning, we were discussing Major League Baseball and the ‘torpedo bat,’” she said. “Every day feels like a current event in our field.”