23 Women Hired: We Are #KickingGlass in 2018!
(Ed note: As of May 2, 2018, 29 women who have been hired to date. We can't keep up!)
We have barely made it past Tax Day, and let’s just say that our women leaders are crushing it.
In the past two weeks alone, five (that's right, FIVE) women were hired into athletic director, commissioner, or other executive leadership positions, including Women Leaders members Tanya Vogel, Janet Lucas, and Michelle Morgan. They joined the ranks of 23 women named to the top seat in 2018, across all divisions—17 of whom are first-time hires. That means we already have more than half of the 37 total women we saw promoted last year—in just three and a half months!
For comparison, there have been 29 men hired in the same positions so far this year. Also worth noting: 16 of these women (69.5 percent) are graduates of one of our leadership institutes, and 14 (60.8 percent) are current Women Leaders members.
What a start!
"YES! This is huge!" Patti Phillips, our CEO exclaims every time we get a new-hire alert. "The pipeline of qualified women has been growing for years now. We have women that are ready and eager to step into these leadership roles—and they are doing a great job once they're there."
Janet Lucas will bring 35 years of experience to the post when she is appointed on May 7, including the title of our 2015 Administrator of the Year in NCAA Division I.
Lucas joins forces with president Pamela Eibeck to run an 18-team athletic department with three teams that qualified for the postseason this school year.
"She has very strong leadership skills and a solid background in fiscal management,” Eibeck said. “Her more than 35 years as a collegiate athletics leader, including being the number two person at UC Riverside’s athletics department and stints as interim athletic director, will serve Pacific well.”
In addition to 12 years at UC Riverside, including her most recent position as interim athletic director, Lucas worked at Cal State Northridge and James Madison University.
Michelle Morgan was also selected after an extensive national search to take over as Senior Director of Varsity Athletics and Recreation at John Carroll University. She will take the helm in July after eight years at the University of St. Thomas, where she most recently managed sports information and events as well as ticket operations, sponsorship sales, and revenue generation.
"Her strategic planning, vision, leadership, and organizational skills coupled with her track record for building financial and community support for athletics will serve the University well," Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Mark McCarthy said in a statement.
Morgan was one of 25 selected for the yearlong NCAA Pathway Program, which prepares participants for leadership roles in college athletics. She will be the 11th full-time athletic director and second consecutive female following Laurie Massa.
As if that weren’t enough excitement, Jill Bodensteiner upped the ante at Saint Joseph’s, where she will be the first woman in 166 years to lead the athletic program.
Bodensteiner was introduced on March 22 and will assume her post at Saint Joseph’s on June 1, overseeing the Hawk’s 20 NCAA Division I men’s and women’s teams, as well as their membership in the Atlantic-10 conference.
"I am absolutely thrilled for a challenge of being a leader for the first time in that magnitude," Bodensteiner says, in a short phone interview before running off to another meeting.
And University of Notre Dame's Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick indicated that she’s up for the challenge in her sendoff with the following statement: "She has not only been a key contributor to Notre Dame's success over the past decade – particularly in women's basketball—but she has also had an enormous impact on college athletics nationally. All of Jill's successes are united by her passion for and commitment to the welfare of the student-athlete—a perspective that makes her a perfect fit with the Hawks."
She will be joined by fellow first-year athletic director Tanya Vogel in what’s sure to be a must-watch year in the Athletic-10 Conference.
Congratulations to ALL women ADs, commissioners, and NCAA executives hired so far this year!
Names in blue are current Women Leaders members
* are first-time athletic director/commissioner hires
Division I
* Jill Bodensteiner, St. Joseph's University (2015 Executive Institute graduate)
Vicky Chun, Yale University (2011 Executive Institute graduate)
* Janet Lucas, University of the Pacific (2008 Executive Institute graduate)
* Tanya Vogel, George Washington University (2015 Executive Institute graduate)
Division II
* Gail Barksdale, Sonoma State University
(2012 Leadership Enhancement Institute graduate)
* Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins, San Francisco State University
* Dr. Stefani Whitby, Wilmington University
Division III
Renee Bostic, Notre Dame of Maryland University (2013 Institute for Administrative Advancement graduate)
* Daniella Irle, Knox College
(2017 Executive Institute graduate)
* Myranda Nash, Brevard College
(2015 Institute for Administrative Advancement graduate)
Myra Sims, Hollins University
* Lydia Travis, City College of New York
* Crystal Lanning, University of Wisconsin, River Falls (2017 Executive Institute graduate)
* Michelle Manning, Carthage College (2017 Executive Institute graduate)
* Michelle Morgan, John Carroll University (2016 Institute for Administrative Advancement graduate)
* Jenn Noon, Farleigh Dickinson-Florham
(2013 Institute for Administrative Advancement graduate)
* Heather Parkinson, Alverno College
Conference
Maureen Harty, Heartland Athletic Conference (2010 Leadership Enhancement Institute graduate)
Gloria Nevarez, West Coast Conference (2007 Executive Institute graduate)
Organization
Lynn Holzman, NCAA (2011 Executive Institute graduate)
NJCAA
* Jasmine Green, Harry S. Truman College (2016 Institute for Administrative Advancement graduate)
NAIA
* Meghan Mulcahy, Oklahoma Panhandle State University
* Jenni Shepard, Truett McConnell University
What are you doing to be next? Attend one of our
leadership programs to make sure you’re ready when called!