LOCK HAVEN -From the opening remarks and discussion with NCAA president, Mark Emmert, the NCAA Division II Faculty Athletics Representatives Advanced Leadership Institute was a significant opportunity to advance Lock Haven University at a national level. Dr. Jody Russell, Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), was one of 16 FARs nationally selected to represent NCAA Division II Athletics.
The FAR is a member of an institution’s faculty or administrative staff who is designated by the institution’s President or Chancellor or other appropriate entity to represent the institution and its faculty in the institution’s relationships with the NCAA. The three critical functions of the FAR are:
1. Ensuring a quality student-athlete experience and student-athlete well-being;
2. Ensuring the academic integrity of the athletics program; and
3. Ensuring institutional control of the athletics program.
The goal of this year’s Institute was to prepare draft documents to serve as a strategic communication resource focusing on the academic and advocacy voice of FARs in communicating with various stakeholders. FAR Fellows participated in activities to help clarify their roles and identify critical functions for FARs at the campus and conference levels, develop leadership skills, and engage in dialogue about intercollegiate athletic issues at the national level, including important Division II initiatives.
Russell will be presenting at the national Faculty Athletics Representative Association meeting in Baltimore, MD on Nov. 7. She will be discussing the importance of concussion management in the classroom at the association-wide session for NCAA Division I, II, and III FARs.