BATON ROUGE, La. – Walt Holliday, the Director of Academic Affairs for the LSU Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes, recently led a session at the 2015 NCAA Leadership Institute held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Student-Athlete Welfare, discussing how to promote and develop a culture of excellence within the athletics department in the areas of life skills, compliance, health and safety and wellness.
The NCAA Leadership Institute provides tailored programming to assist racial and ethnic minorities in strategically mapping and planning their careers in athletics administration by providing professional development programming over the course of a calendar year, which includes two, one-week programs at the beginning and conclusion of that year.
“It is our responsibility as leaders in the industry to provide insight and guidance to our young professionals that have aspirations of becoming leaders in athletic administration,” Holliday said. “The NCAA Leadership Institute provides them with a holistic view of all the dynamics and challenges that athletic programs face today in college athletics.”
Joined by Jean Boyd, President of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics and Senior Associate Athletic Director at Arizona State, the two gave a brief overview of their past work history in the industry, before beginning a discussion with the nearly 20 attendees of the session on how to build a successful culture for student-athletes to succeed on their campuses.
“Student-athlete welfare and the holistic development of the student-athlete have taken on increasingly important meaning within the landscape of college athletics at all levels,” Boyd said. “In order to remain progressive and quite frankly, relevant in our work with student-athletes, these types of sessions are a must with administrators from all elements of athletic programming.”
Curtis J. Hollomon, the NCAA’s Director of Leadership Development, believes that one of the biggest benefits of the session is that it allows the program participants to see how their practices are being used and can be applied to their own situations.
“It is important for athletics administrators in the NCAA to understand the full breadth of student-athlete welfare,” Hollomon said. “This session is conducted to first educate and inform NCAA Leadership Institute participants, and second to allow them the opportunity to understand how others in the membership have successfully engaged student-athletes and set expectations for their staff.”
At the end of the session, participants were able to ask questions and get feedback from the panelists, with the end goal being to continue to put the importance of the student-athlete first on all campuses.
“We must continue to provide a culture of excellence for our students, not only within our athletic departments but on college campuses as a whole,” Holliday said. “Student-athlete welfare is a shared responsibility that encompasses life skills, social identity, compliance, health and safety and diversity and inclusion. It is our goal to graduate our students and prepare them for life after graduation.”
The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes is a 54,000 square foot facility comprised of academic affairs, student affairs and an information technology teams, serving more than 530 student-athletes. The purpose is to provide an all-inclusive, student-centered support structure for all student-athletes from matriculation, through graduation and life beyond.