NEW WILMINGTON, PA (July 10, 2015) — Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) President Tori Haring-Smith, Ph.D. will serve as the chair of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Presidents’ Council for the 2015-16 academic year.
Haring-Smith succeeds David A. Armstrong, J.D., president at Thomas More College, who served as the PAC’s Presidents’ Council chair in 2014-15.
“I look forward to working with talented coaches and administrators from across the PAC in the coming year,” Haring-Smith said. “This organization has a long history of both athletic and academic excellence and I am thrilled to be part of that tradition at this level.”
The Presidents’ Council holds ultimate authority and responsibility for PAC governance. The Presidents’ Council is responsible for the establishment, direction, and if necessary, the enforcement of general policy, including the conference office’s annual budget and all other financial matters.
“Since its inception in 1955, the PAC Presidents’ Council has been unwavering in providing active and visionary executive leadership for our conference and its varsity athletics programs, and I know Dr. Haring-Smith will continue to uphold the fine tradition established and maintained by so many past PAC presidents. Her concurrent role as a member of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council will allow the PAC to be directly engaged in presidential governance and oversight at the highest levels of our national governing body during the upcoming academic year as well,” said PAC Commissioner Joe Onderko.
Haring-Smith became W&J’s 12th president, and its first female president, in 2005. Under her leadership, the College has grown from 1,200 to 1,500 students, while raising the academic profile of its students and increasing geographic, socio-economic, and ethnic diversity. She increased the number of study abroad programs from four to 40 and established the nationally-acclaimed Magellan Project, which provides funding for W&J students to pursue challenging independent study and travel options, prestigious internships, or advanced research opportunities.
Haring-Smith also oversaw the completion of new residence halls and theme houses as well as opening the state-of-the-art John A. Swanson Science Center. She spearheaded the establishment of the College’s Center for Energy Policy and Management (CEPM) and its English Language Institute (ELI), and was instrumental in establishing the Pennsylvania Consortium of the Liberal Arts, a consortium of selective, private, residential liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania that will strive to enhance cross-institutional knowledge among its members in order to create cost efficiencies and improve the quality of institutions and programs. She is in the public phase of a $100 million comprehensive campaign to strengthen the College’s endowment.
Haring-Smith holds doctoral and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College.
Scott McGuinness, entering his first year as W&J’s director of athletics, will serve as the chair of the PAC Athletic Administrators (AA) Council, while assistant director of athletics, senior woman administrator (SWA), Title IX coordinator and head women’s basketball coach Jina DeRubbo will chair the PAC Senior Woman Administrators Council (SWAC). The PAC Faculty Athletic Representatives Association (PAC FARA) will be chaired by Timothy Klitz, Ph.D., an associate professor in W&J’s department of psychology.
At its Spring 2015 meeting the PAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) elected W&J senior women’s golfer Amanda Halula (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) as its president for the 2015-16 academic year.
Onderko will continue to serve the PAC as its commissioner in 2015-16. Kevin Fenstermacher begins his fourth year as a member of the PAC staff this fall as the league’s assistant commissioner/director of communications.
The full version of this article was contributed by the Presidents’ Athletic Conference office, and is available on the Washington & Jefferson College Athletics website.
About the Presidents’ Athletic Conference
Founded in 1955, the PAC continues its mission of promoting intercollegiate athletics and the pursuit of academic excellence. Consisting of 10 select private institutions in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky, the PAC remains a unique organization in this day of high pressure intercollegiate athletics. With academics at the center of each member’s philosophy, the PAC is built on the principle that an athletic program is a part of college life, but not an entity in itself. The PAC annually crowns champions in 21 sports (11 men, 10 women).
About Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, Pa., is a selective liberal arts college founded in 1781. Committed to providing each of its students with the highest-quality undergraduate education available, W&J offers a traditional arts and sciences curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary study and independent study work. For more information about W&J, visit washjeff.dev, or call 888-W-AND-JAY.
