POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 27, 2014) – Dr. Sharon Beverly resigned her post as Director of Athletics and Physical Education at Vassar College to accept the position as the new assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ. Beverly, the first female AD at Vassar, has spent the last 10 years guiding the Brewer 23-sport athletics department.

                  Dr. Beverly, the 2010 recipient of the ECAC Woman Administrator of the Year Award, has helped Vassar College dramatically improve its facilities and the image and awareness of its intercollegiate teams. "I've enjoyed very much working with Dr. Beverly at Vassar," said VC President Catharine Hill. "During her tenure, our programs have strengthened in important ways. I wish her well in her new position."

                  "I have had the chance to work with phenomenal colleagues both within Vassar Athletics and the College at large and tremendously talented and caring student-athletes," said Beverly.  "I am enormously proud of what we've accomplished the past ten years and will always cherish my time at Vassar."

                  She has overseen an $11 million renovation of Prentiss Field, turning it into one of the nation's finest complexes as home to Vassar's baseball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and track teams. Under her direction, Kenyon Hall, the home of Vassar squash and volleyball teams, has been massively renovated as well, making it one of the premier sport-specific facilities in the country.
           
                  Under Beverly's leadership, the department has grown to include seven new fulltime coaches including our first fulltime Strength & Conditioning Coach, additional assistant coaches and administrative support. She also fostered the addition of both men's and women's track to the department, with both programs debuting in 2008.

                  "For the past decade, Dr. Beverly has led rapid and exciting growth within Vassar's Athletics and Physical Education Department," said Marianne Begemann, Dean of Strategic Planning and Academic Resources. "Under her leadership we have enjoyed unprecedented successes by our varsity athletic teams and the expansion of Physical Fitness programs that augment the personal growth and physical well being of the Vassar community broadly.  She will be leaving the Department in a position of strength from which to build on in the future; we are grateful for the energy and passion she has shown for Division III athletics and her commitment to Vassar's place in that constellation."

                  On the playing fields, Dr. Beverly's years have been highlighted by over a dozen All-America honorees in basketball, cross country, fencing, soccer, swimming, tennis and volleyball. Team sports have won Liberty League Championships in women's basketball, men and women's tennis, men's soccer, women's squash, women's volleyball and the 2008 men's volleyball team played for the Molten National Championship. In each of her years as Director of Athletics & Physical Education, at least one Vassar coach has been named Liberty League Coach of the Year, and more than 500 athletes have been honored by the league for outstanding performances.

                  Dr. Beverly, who finished her Ph.D. studies at Capella University in May of 2010, has served as Chairperson of the NCAA Woman of the Year Committee, the NCAA Division III Nominating Committee and served as a member of the NCAA Division III Convention Planning Subcommittee. Dr. Beverly has worked tirelessly in fostering equity in the college athletics profession. She is a member of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).

                  Dr. Beverly, who has been involved in intercollegiate athletics for more than 25 years, is one of a select few African-American women Athletics Directors in the country. She joined Vassar's Office of Athletics in 2002 as Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator, after a successful career as head women's basketball coach at Queens College, in Flushing, NY, Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ and New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ. Beverly took over her current role at the College in April of 2005.

                  She is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Women's Athletic Administrators (NACWAA), the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the National Association of Division III Administrators (NADIIIA) and serves on the Executive Board for the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA). She has been selected as MOAA president for 2013-15.

                  In addition, she was selected by Dr. Charlotte Westerhaus, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for the NCAA, as one of four athletics directors to redesign of the NCAA Fellows Program. In 2009, Beverly was a selected panelist for the Women of Color Symposium, sponsored by the NCAA and the Black Women's Sports Foundation. "Vassar provided an opportunity for me to serve at a time when women, in particular women of color, were not considered for opportunities as Director," said Beverly.

                  Dr. Beverly's 11-year career as coach at Division I FDU includes Northeast Conference (NEC) Championships in 1990 and 1992 and a regular season NEC title in 1993. Following the 1990 season, she was selected as the New Jersey State Division I Coach of the Year. In 1992, the Knights finished 23-4, set the school record for victories and her team garnered distinction as the Division I Team of the Year. She was selected as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Festival, North Team in 1994.  Beverly was inducted into the FDU Hall of Fame in 2012.

                  Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861. The Department of Athletics fields 23 varsity teams that compete as an NCAA Division III program in the Liberty League.