Bonnie Slatton, a longtime faculty member and coach at the University of Iowa, died at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics on September 8. She was 84 years old.
A native of Chattanooga, Dr. Slatton was a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, where she majored in physical education and English. She went on to earn a master’s degree in physical education at the University of North Carolina.
She began her tenure in the then women’s physical education department at the University of Iowa in 1964, where she served as a faculty member and a coach of tennis and badminton. She earned a Ph.D. in physical education from the University of Iowa in 1970.
Dr. Slatton taught courses at the University of Iowa that dealt with issues of ethical and moral issues in sport and leisure, as well as gender and diversity. She was faculty representative to the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA for 21 years.
Dr. Slatton served as president of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports and spent a year in Washington D.C. as the acting executive director of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. She served on the executive board of the U.S. Olympic Committee and was a member of the official delegation to the Pan Am Games in Cuba and the Olympic Games in Barcelona.