LEAD1 Association Announces McLendon Minority Scholarship Winners
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) June 22, 2017 -- The LEAD1 Association today announced the ten recipients of the minority scholarship award from the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation for the 2017 LEAD1 Association Institute.
The LEAD1 Association annually conducts the Institute, a three-day educational forum where experienced athletics directors teach and share information and know-how with the Institutes' participants. Typically these are senior level D1A associate athletics directors nominated by their universities' athletics directors to attend the program. The goal of the Institute is to better prepare the participants to ascend into the role of athletics directors. This years' Institute, conducted in partnership with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), will be held July 17-19, 2017 at the Coors Event Center on the campus of the University of Colorado-Boulder.
"The McLendon Foundation is proud to once again partner with the LEAD1 Association to provide support for aspiring athletics directors," stated Lee Reed, McLendon Foundation President and Director of Athletics at Georgetown University. "Just as the Foundation supports and invests in young people with our postgraduate scholarships, we are committed to assisting with the development of our minority colleagues to ensure a healthy pipeline of promising administrators for the future."
The winners of the scholarships, who were nominated by their schools are: Bryant Carter is the Associate Athletics Director/Chief Financial Officer at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Before this position, he was Associate Athletics Director of Internal Affairs at McNeese State University. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 1999 and received his Master's degree in criminal justice in 2004, all from Alabama.
DeJuena Chizer is the Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator for the University of Houston. In this role, Chizer supervises each of Houston's 10 women's sports, serves on the athletics senior staff and shares in the overall governance of the athletics department. A graduate of the University of Houston, she played basketball both in college and professionally.
Marlon Dechausay is the Associate Athletics Director for Academic Services at the University of Illinois. Before Illinois, he worked in the same role with Florida Atlantic University. Dechausay holds a Master's degree from Syracuse University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. A track star at every level, he won Sun Belt Conference track titles in the 400-meter; was a member of the Canadian national track team from 1992-99; and is the record holder for the 400-meter in Japan for runners under 19.
Angie Torain is the Associate Athletics Director for, Human Resources, Legal and Risk Management at the University of Notre Dame. Before Notre Dame, Torain served as Deputy Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator at the University of the Incarnate Word. She is a 1994 graduate of DePauw University, where she earned a Bachelor’s in sociology, while also a member of the basketball and track teams.
TJ Shelton has been the Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Administration at The Ohio State University since 2007. With the Buckeyes, Shelton oversees the men's and women's swimming, diving, cross country, track and field, wrestling and lacrosse programs, as well as field hockey and synchronized swimming. He holds a Bachelor’s in Sports Business Management and a Master’s in Sports Administration, both from Wichita State University.
Kimya Massey is the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Development at Oregon State University. For his work in this position, he was honored with the prestigious Partner in Innovation Award from OSU’s College of Business. He earned degrees in Anthropology and Sociology in 2000 from Michigan State University, along with a Master’s in Kinesiology with an emphasis on Sports Administration from MSU in 2004. He was a four-year letterman as a pitcher for the Spartans.
Maria Hickman is the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academics and Student Development for the University of South Carolina. Under Hickman’s leadership, the athletics department has experienced record-setting grade-point averages for its student-athletes and continues to lead the SEC with the number of student-athletes named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. A native of Statesville, N.C., Hickman graduated from Mars Hill College with a dual degree in Business Administration and Sports Management.
Ike Ukaegbu is the Associate Athletics Director for Compliance at Texas Christian University. He also worked in compliance at Virginia Commonwealth University, Boise State University, Cal -State Fullerton, and American University. His Bachelor’s is from the University of Arizona in Political Science, while his Masters in Sports Administration is from St. Thomas University.
Candice Lee is the Associate Vice Chancellor and Deputy Athletics Director at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Lee has three degrees from Vanderbilt. She also played basketball for the Commodores. She has worked in sports administration in progressively more responsible positions since 2004 at Vanderbilt University.
President and Chief Executive Officer of LEAD1, C. Thomas McMillen, commented, “We are honored to be supported by and to be working with the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation again in providing the opportunity to further the careers of these accomplished minority senior administrators in our membership. It will indeed be an honor to work with each of the talented winners at the 2017 LEAD1 Association Institute.”
"NACDA is proud to work in conjunction with the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation and
partner with the LEAD1 Association, to provide this unique experience for minority athletics administrators," remarked NACDA Executive Director, Bob Vecchione. "One of our goals is to provide heightened access and opportunity for minority senior administrators and to utilize the LEAD1 Association Institute as an educational platform for these individuals to ensure that tomorrow's leaders have a strong foundation that assists in advancing their careers."
About LEAD1 Association: The LEAD1 Association represents the athletic directors, the programs, and the student-athletes of the 129 universities which comprise the NCAA Division 1 Football Subdivision (FBS). Key to the LEAD1 mission are influencing how the rules of college sports are enacted and implemented, advocating for the future of college athletics and providing various services to the members. The mission statement of the LEAD1 Association is, “Supporting the athletic directors of America’s leading intercollegiate programs in preparing today’s students to be tomorrow’s leaders.”
About the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation: The John McLendon Minority Foundation is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization Founded and Administered by NACDA that provides educational opportunities and serves as a vehicle for networking, information and advocacy on behalf of the profession. If you have any questions regarding this program, please visit http://www.mclendonminorityfoundation.com.
About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 52nd year, is the professional and educational Association for more than 15,700 college athletics administrators at more than 1,700 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 6,500 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week. Additionally, NACDA manages 17 professional associations and three foundations. For more information on NACDA, visit http://www.nacda.com.
Media Contacts:
For any questions, please contact Jonathan Yates, Director of Communications for the LEAD1 Association, at 301-807-2523, or by email at jonathan(at)lead1a.com.
Jonathan Yates, LEAD1 Association, +1 (301) 807-2523, [email protected]
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