DIVISION I

Presidential task force meets, sets course for coming year

The group, established earlier this year by NCAA President Myles Brand, is charged with examining the alignment of Division I athletics with the mission, values and goals of higher education in such areas as fiscal responsibility, presidential leadership and student-athlete well-being.

Because of the size of the 50-member group, and because its scope of study is wide-ranging, the task force is dividing into four subcommittees to better address specific issues.

In addition to chairing the entire group, University of Arizona President Peter Likins will head a subcommittee on fiscal responsibility. The other three subcommittees are:

• Implications of Academic Values and Standards, chaired by University of Texas at Austin President Larry Faulkner.

• Presidential Leadership of Internal and External Constituencies, chaired by Southern Methodist University President Gerald Turner.

• Student-Athlete Well-Being, chaired by Ohio State University President Karen Holbrook.

The task force expects to report its recommendations in about a year.

NCAA STAFF

Recent staff reorganization results in integration of work

Three previously distinct segments of the NCAA staff recently have been combined into a new group -- Governance, Membership Services and Research (GMSR) -- and efforts to more fully integrate those staffs' activities are under way.

The group, headed by NCAA Senior Vice-President Bernard Franklin, is adopting a "hybrid" approach to staffing that results in more concentrated support for each of the three divisions through the creation of staff teams, while also increasing support for Association-wide activity.

The teams assigned to support each membership division include personnel from all of GMSR's components, working together to support everything from committee work to compliance activities.

The arrangement permits flexibility within GMSR for staff members to assist with other duties when needed.

In addition to improving service to the membership, the recent actions also improve coordination of activities that reach across all three divisions. A new director of governance and membership has been appointed to coordinate communication between Association-wide committees and the divisions.

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