Professor Weltman Earns National Sports Medicine Award

Arthur L. Weltman, professor of kinesiology of the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development has been named a recipient of the 2025 Citation Award of the American College of Sports Medicine. 

According to their website, ACSM is the “largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world.” The Citation Award is granted to those who have made important and significant contributions to the mission of the organization. 

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award,” Weltman said. “However, I would never have been recognized with this honor if it wasn’t for the talented students and incredible colleagues that I have been fortunate to work with over the years. To me, it is a testament to the collaborative multidisciplinary team approach to research that I have experienced since my arrival at UVA.”

Weltman, who holds a joint appointment as professor of medicine at the UVA School of Medicine, directs the Exercise Physiology Core Lab, where he studies the effects of acute and chronic exercise intervention in several clinical conditions. 

Weltman and his multidisciplinary team are currently examining the effects of acute exercise intensity on the release of the "hunger hormone" ghrelin on vascular function and on appetite in normal weight and obese males and females. In addition to other projects, the team is also examining the impact of exercise training in postmenopausal females, using intermittent muscular exercise in individuals with heart failure, and studying insulin resistance and cardiorespiratory fitness in diabetes.

"Art Weltman is a stalwart in the field of exercise science, and I am thrilled to see him recognized with this award,” said Stephanie Rowley, dean of the UVA School of Education and Human Development. “His remarkable contributions to both academic and clinical practices have advanced our scientific understanding and the real-world application of how exercise interventions can improve health outcomes for individuals." 

Weltman was nominated for the award by kinesiology colleagues Professor Jason Allen and Jay Hertel, Joe Gieck Professor in Sports Medicine, as well as former UVA doctoral student Laurie Wideman Gold, the Safrit-Ennis Distinguished Professor at UNC Greensboro, and ACSM Past President J. Larry Durstine, distinguished professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina.

“Art Weltman has made outstanding contributions in the areas of exercise science throughout his career and this prestigious recognition by the American College of Sports Medicine is well-deserved,” said Hertel, the chair of the UVA School of Education and Human Development Department of Kinesiology. “Art is an internationally recognized scholar in exercise physiology, has advanced the field through leadership and service in countless ways, and is a master teacher and mentor.”

Weltman will receive his award at an American College of Sports Medicine event in late May.