The Knight Commission plans to assess the NCAA’s academic-reform efforts and review proposals that may affect academic performance in men’s basketball at its upcoming meeting June 17 in Washington, D.C.

The commission will hear from University of Hartford President Walt Harrison, chair of the Division I Committee on Academic Performance, about the progress of the Academic Performance Program now that the desired four years of Academic Progress Rate data have been collected. The commission is particularly interested in the institutional improvement plans and other mitigating factors that allow teams under certain APR benchmarks to not be penalized.

Commission members also will hear from Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach Paul Hewitt, a member of the Division I Basketball Academic Enhancement Group, about that panel’s effort to improve academic performance in Division I men’s basketball.

Also on the meeting agenda is a discussion with Division I Committee on Infractions members Gene Marsh (University of Alabama Law School) and Jo Potuto (University of Nebraska FAR) about trends in major rules violations and possible changes to the penalty structure.

Three new commission members will be attending their first meeting. They are:

•         Sarah Lowe, who graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida in May 2006. Lowe was captain of the women’s basketball team for three of her four years. Named the Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sport Scholar of the Year in 2006, Lowe studied in Costa Rica as a Fulbright Scholar after graduation.

•         Sonja Steptoe, who serves as client development manager at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, an international law firm based in Los Angeles. Before joining O’Melveny in 2007, Steptoe served as a senior correspondent and deputy news director for Time Magazine for five years after a successful career in sports journalism. She reported and wrote for CNNSI sports network, HBO’s RealSports with Bryant Gumbel and Sports Illustrated. Steptoe earned degrees in economics and journalism at the University of Missouri. She received a law degree from Duke.

•         Christopher Zorich, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007. A two-time all-American at Notre Dame in 1989 and 1990, Zorich played in the NFL for seven seasons. He received his bachelor of arts in American studies from Notre Dame in 1991 and his law degree from Notre Dame Law School in May 2002. He chairs the Christopher Zorich Foundation, which provides scholarships and other financial assistance to students and families in the Chicago area.