U Of Portland Names Karen Peters Interim A.D.

University of Portland has named Karen Peters interim Athletic Director, as announced by University President Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C.   Peters has served as the Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Portland for the last three years after joining the department as an Associate Athletic Director in the spring of 2006.

Peters follows outgoing Athletic Director, Larry Williams, who accepted a position of Vice President and Athletic Director at Marquette University on December 5, 2011.

“The athletic programs at the university are in great shape due to the leadership provided by Larry Williams, our coaches and trainers, and members of the athletic department’s management team, of which Karen Peters has been an integral member.  I am pleased Karen has agreed to serve in this interim role.  I know she will do a great job for us.”  Beauchamp said.

“I am honored by the opportunity to serve as Interim AD and to help the department through this time of transition,” Peters said. “We have a great group of coaches and staff, and I know they will continue their hard work on behalf of our student-athletes.”

Peters has served in numerous oversight capacities in her four years on The Bluff and is an active member of various NCAA and West Coast Conference (WCC) committees. Her primary duties as Senior Associate Athletic Director consisted of the supervision of all varsity sports programs, as well as oversight of compliance, academic advising and student services. She has also been responsible for special projects, policy and procedure development and implementation, long-range planning, budgeting, and serves as the department’s contact for Title IX/Gender Equity issues. Peters served as the WCC representative on the NCAA Legislative Council from 2008-2011, and currently participates on various WCC, UP and departmental committees.

Prior to joining the staff at UP, Peters spent ten years at Stanford University, where she completed her tenure as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Eligibility and Recruiting. In that position she supervised the eligibility process for all 34 varsity sports and served as the department’s liaison to undergraduate admissions, while overseeing the men’s and women’s gymnastics programs. Peters also held positions as the Assistant Director of Student Services and the Administrative Associate for Compliance while at Stanford.

Prior to working at Stanford, Peters served as the administrative intern for the Ivy League, working in compliance and student services at Columbia University in New York, N.Y. She began her athletics career working in media relations as a student assistant at New Mexico State University.

In February of 1995, Peters received her Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she was the recipient of the NCAA Women’s Enhancement Program Post-Graduate Scholarship. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from New Mexico State University in May of 1993.