Costill Receives President’s Medal of Honor

David Costill is a pioneer in the field of human performance and a distinguished Ball State University professor emeritus.

Dr. Costill began his career as a junior high and high school biology teacher before earning his doctorate from Ohio State University in 1965. In 1966, he became the first director of Ball State's Human Performance Laboratory. He became the university's second distinguished professor in 1988 and was awarded the first university endowed chair in 1993, when he was named the John and Janice Fisher Endowed Chair of Exercise Science, a position he held until his retirement.

He has earned a national and international reputation for scholarly distinction and scientific achievement considered unparalleled by his peers. Dr. Costill has been recognized by the American College of Sports Medicine and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Exercise Physiologists and the Gatorade Sports Science Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Costill advised more than 60 master's degree students and 30 doctoral graduates and sponsored more than 50 postdoctoral students and visiting scholars during his career.

He received federal and private grants totaling more than $3.5 million from such agencies as the National Institutes of Health, the United States Army, the American Diabetes Association, the American Lung Association, and NASA. Dr. Costill have given on average 20 lectures each year around the world and is the author and coauthor of six texts, including the leading text in the field, Physiology of Sport and Exercise.

In honoring Dr. Costill, today, Ball State recognizes his outstanding academic achievements, leadership in his discipline, and most of all his dedication to students.

*reprinted from the Hundred Fifty-Seventh Commencement Program, Ball State University, December 19, 2009, where the medal was awarded.