Cari Klecka has been hired as director of educational support programs at the NCAA national office. Klecka, formerly an associate professor in the department of curriculum and instruction at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will begin her new duties January 18.

In her new role, Klecka will administer all NCAA scholarships (including the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship program and the Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship awards). She also will oversee youth initiatives, the delivery of educational resources, and the orientation program for new chancellors and presidents, among other duties.

She has been with the UNLV faculty since 2004. Klecka also has been the co-editor and the communications liaison for the Journal of Teacher Education since 2008. She also chaired a teacher education standards task force for the Association of Teacher Educators.

Klecka previously served in several capacities at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, including as a research assistant and electronic mentoring coordinator. She earned her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Illinois.