November 8, 2023

Dr. Kimberly Gill, who serves as the faculty athletics representative for the Columbus State University Athletics Department, was among the 20 handpicked participants of the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s recent Division II Faculty Athletics Representative Fellows Institute. 

Gill, who chairs the School of Policy, Justice & Public Safety, has served as the university’s faculty athletics representative since July 2021. In this role, she provides oversight of the academic integrity of the university’s athletics program and advocates for student-athlete’s well-being. The NCAA requires each of its member institutions to appoint a faculty or administrative staff member whose duties are outside the athletics department to serve as its faculty athletics representative. 

The three-day institute at the end of September exposed institute fellows to sessions focused on leadership and collaboration skills, the role of the faculty athletics representative in strategic communications among different campus constituencies, and protecting student welfare — all with a special emphasis on themes of academic and athletic success, mental health and well-being. 

As part of the institute, Gill is developing an action plan to initiate conversations with various campus constituents and to focus on both short and long-term initiatives related to student-athlete success and athletic governance on campus. The project, as well as her service as the university’s faculty athletics representative, underscore how much Gill finds the work rewarding.

“Providing our student-athletes a voice in academics and helping them navigate the dual role as both a student and an athlete are critical to my role as an educator and as a faculty athletics representative,” Gill explained. “As student-athletes, members of our intercollegiate teams have a unique higher education experience marked by excellence on the fields and court of play, as well as in the classroom marked by success in their chosen fields of study.”

Columbus State University’s intercollegiate athletics program includes 13 men’s and women’s sports teams that compete as members of NCAA’s Division II and the Peach Belt Conference. The university’s 13 championship-caliber sports teams include baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s track and field.

Media contact:
Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu