National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
« back to 2007 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index
Leadership Institute ready for first mixed-gender class
|
By Leilana McKindra
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
When the most recent participants in the NCAA Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Females graduate later this month, they won’t be the only ones moving on to greater opportunities and challenges.
After the June 28 graduation of the 24 rising female administrators who participated in the program’s 2006-07 class, the initiative, renamed the Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males and Females, will usher in its first mixed-gender class after a successful stretch of four all-male classes and two all-female classes.
The institute’s 2007-08 class includes 12 men and seven women representing all three NCAA divisions.
The year-long institute addresses the shortage of senior-level administrators of color at NCAA member institutions and conference offices. During four weekend sessions and one week-long workshop, participants focus on leadership and administration, finances and fund-raising, boosters, public and media relations, and human resources.
Kimberly Ford, NCAA associate director of diversity and inclusion, said combining the genders not only will more closely reflect the actual work environment, but also will allow program administrators to reach a broader range of individuals in a timely fashion.
“We don’t work in single-gender environments, so we thought it was best to combine the genders and address the concerns as we would in the work environment,” said Ford. “Because we did four years of men and were in the process of completing the second with women, we found the opposite gender was waiting. Combining the two allows us to service everyone more efficiently.”
Ford stressed that although the switch to mixed-gender classes is expected to be permanent, the program otherwise will retain the same structure and content as in previous years. Minor tweaks include expanding each weekend session to two and one-half days, in part to allow for another new feature, gender-specific breakout sessions.
Reaction to combining the genders has been mixed, Ford acknowledged, but she said she believes the change will benefit the participants. “They will get the best of both worlds because they’ll understand themselves and each other better.”
Christyn Chambers, an assistant director of athletics at Swarthmore and a member of the incoming 2007-08 institute class, agreed that mixing the genders will add even greater flavor to an already rich opportunity.
“As similar as we are by ethnicity, what minority males go through will be different than what minority females experience,” said Chambers. “Although I still feel there will be times when breaking up into different genders would make sense, we can get so much more insight from the other group. I think it’s going to be good for that type of interaction to happen.”
Participants in the 2007-08 NCAA Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males and Females
Keon Banks - Assistant to director of athletics, Texas Southern University
Anna Barber - Director of major gifts, Michigan State University
Roy Brown - Assistant athletics director, Fairfield University
Jacqueline Campbell - Associate commissioner, Atlantic 10 Conference
Christyn Chambers - Assistant director of athletics, Swarthmore College
Reshauna Cobb - Director of compliance, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Kelvin Ford - Assistant athletics director for compliance, Merrimack College
Daryl Gibbs - Assistant athletics director for academic success, University of Indianapolis
Shawn Gooden - Assistant director of athletics for fiscal operations, Morgan State University
Jermaine Holmes - Athletics academic counselor, Ohio State University
Philip Hunt - Assistant director of membership services, NCAA national office
Dwight Lewis - Associate athletics director, student-athlete services, Wake Forest University
Layla McCall - Head athletic trainer, Johnson C. Smith University
Howard Milton - Assistant director of development, University of Illinois, Champaign
Natasha Oakes - Assistant to the commissioner for compliance, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Peyton Owens III - Director of CHAMPS/Life Skills, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Ayanna Penn - Athletics academic counselor, Southern University and A&M College
Jamar Ross - Director of sports information, Hampton University
James Sarra - Associate athletics director for administration, University of Texas at San Antonio
Hope Williams - Associate director of academics, University of Colorado, Boulder
After the June 28 graduation of the 24 rising female administrators who participated in the program’s 2006-07 class, the initiative, renamed the Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males and Females, will usher in its first mixed-gender class after a successful stretch of four all-male classes and two all-female classes.
The institute’s 2007-08 class includes 12 men and seven women representing all three NCAA divisions.
The year-long institute addresses the shortage of senior-level administrators of color at NCAA member institutions and conference offices. During four weekend sessions and one week-long workshop, participants focus on leadership and administration, finances and fund-raising, boosters, public and media relations, and human resources.
Kimberly Ford, NCAA associate director of diversity and inclusion, said combining the genders not only will more closely reflect the actual work environment, but also will allow program administrators to reach a broader range of individuals in a timely fashion.
“We don’t work in single-gender environments, so we thought it was best to combine the genders and address the concerns as we would in the work environment,” said Ford. “Because we did four years of men and were in the process of completing the second with women, we found the opposite gender was waiting. Combining the two allows us to service everyone more efficiently.”
Ford stressed that although the switch to mixed-gender classes is expected to be permanent, the program otherwise will retain the same structure and content as in previous years. Minor tweaks include expanding each weekend session to two and one-half days, in part to allow for another new feature, gender-specific breakout sessions.
Reaction to combining the genders has been mixed, Ford acknowledged, but she said she believes the change will benefit the participants. “They will get the best of both worlds because they’ll understand themselves and each other better.”
Christyn Chambers, an assistant director of athletics at Swarthmore and a member of the incoming 2007-08 institute class, agreed that mixing the genders will add even greater flavor to an already rich opportunity.
“As similar as we are by ethnicity, what minority males go through will be different than what minority females experience,” said Chambers. “Although I still feel there will be times when breaking up into different genders would make sense, we can get so much more insight from the other group. I think it’s going to be good for that type of interaction to happen.”
Participants in the 2007-08 NCAA Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Males and Females
Keon Banks - Assistant to director of athletics, Texas Southern University
Anna Barber - Director of major gifts, Michigan State University
Roy Brown - Assistant athletics director, Fairfield University
Jacqueline Campbell - Associate commissioner, Atlantic 10 Conference
Christyn Chambers - Assistant director of athletics, Swarthmore College
Reshauna Cobb - Director of compliance, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Kelvin Ford - Assistant athletics director for compliance, Merrimack College
Daryl Gibbs - Assistant athletics director for academic success, University of Indianapolis
Shawn Gooden - Assistant director of athletics for fiscal operations, Morgan State University
Jermaine Holmes - Athletics academic counselor, Ohio State University
Philip Hunt - Assistant director of membership services, NCAA national office
Dwight Lewis - Associate athletics director, student-athlete services, Wake Forest University
Layla McCall - Head athletic trainer, Johnson C. Smith University
Howard Milton - Assistant director of development, University of Illinois, Champaign
Natasha Oakes - Assistant to the commissioner for compliance, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Peyton Owens III - Director of CHAMPS/Life Skills, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Ayanna Penn - Athletics academic counselor, Southern University and A&M College
Jamar Ross - Director of sports information, Hampton University
James Sarra - Associate athletics director for administration, University of Texas at San Antonio
Hope Williams - Associate director of academics, University of Colorado, Boulder
© 2010 The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy