The American College of Sports Medicine

Celebrating the Past, Leading into the Future 

The American College of Sports Medicine has been on a long journey that has now reached 70 years. We are grateful to our founders, leaders, past presidents and thousands of volunteers who went before us. They were pioneers who broke new ground, fought through adversity, set high standards and built the foundation for the organization we enjoy being a part of today. 

Our founders would agree that, while our past is critically important, the future is even more so. Although my year as ACSM president has been just one step in our journey, it has been historically distinctive as we prepared for and transition into our next 70 years! 

We developed and implemented a new, three-year strategic plan that will guide us boldly into the future. Led by a fresh and inspiring vision and mission statement, our new plan focuses on five bold goals ensuring customer value, the promotion of excellence in science, fiscal responsibility, effective governance, and enhanced technology and infrastructure. More than 3,000 members and certified professionals helped influence our plan, and I applaud our Strategic Planning Committee members for their exceptional leadership throughout this critical process. 

To support our strategic direction and position ACSM for a successful future, we also introduced a comprehensive rebrand of the organization. Our new brand positioning leverages our vision and mission to tell ACSM’s story of our commitment to movement for all built on science, medicine, and health and fitness. The launch of our new brand was the culmination of three years of research and development, including direct input and engagement from more than 300 ACSM members, certified professionals and volunteer leaders representing all segments of the organization. 

A central focus of my presidency has been youth fitness because health begins with our children. Unfortunately, childhood obesity has tripled over the past 50 years. By adolescence, almost half of children have had one chronic health issue and 25% have two or more. We are attacking this challenge head on. I appointed a Task Force on Youth Fitness that is comprised of talented members from all sectors within ACSM who are passionate about this topic. The task force has worked diligently on key recommendations regarding the publication of position stands and calls to action, the unification of youth fitness efforts within ACSM, leveraging external ACSM partners in this space, education of stake holders and a public relations campaign to raise awareness of the importance of youth activity. 

We continued our work to advance science through ACSM’s six exceptional scholarly journals. Leadership means taking on the hot topics of today and the future, and we did so by publishing a consensus statement on the biological basis of sex differences in athletic performance, a call to action on substance use disorder, and a round table statement on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. 

You can learn much more about our accomplishments and how we are leaning into the future by reading this year’s annual report.  

In closing, let me say that it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your ACSM president. I am grateful you have entrusted your faith in me to carry on the legacy of those who came before me. I am so appreciative for what we have been able to achieve together. I truly believe the future of ACSM is bright, and I am excited about where we are headed and the impact we will have on the lives around us. 

Warm Regards,  

Irene S. Davis, Ph.D., FACSM  

ACSM President 2023-24