RED Team Announced

Student-Athletes, Staff, Coaches, Alumni and Administration Included on Team

9/10/2020 9:00:00 AM

By: Scott Musa, Associate AD

WINCHESTER, Va. – Shenandoah University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Bridget Lyons announced Thursday the members of the Hornets RED team.

The creation of the Racial Equity and Diversity (RED) team was announced internally earlier this summer and a committee created to select members of the university's athletic community interested in serving on the team.

The RED team was created to develop a community devoted to ending racism and discrimination, and is charged with furthering the conversation around experiences of racial injustices in Black and Brown communities. The core purpose of the team is to use its discussions to identify opportunities for improvement and ultimately implement initiatives to create positive cultural change on campus and in the Winchester/Frederick County community.

The 19-member team includes coaches, student-athletes, support staff, administration, faculty, and alumni as well as a member of the university's Mosaic Center.

An additional member, the assistant athletic director for student success, inclusion and equity, will join when that position is filled this fall.

The university is currently reviewing applicants for that position.

"The RED team, and the addition of this assistant AD position, are just the two latest examples of the commitment that Shenandoah has to diversity and inclusion," Dr. Lyons stated. "We are going to use this committee to ensure we are employing best practices in these areas."

This summer, in addition to hiring an assistant provost for equity, diversity, and inclusion, Shenandoah launched a new Non-Discrimination and Bias Policy, a revised discrimination reporting mechanism, and mandatory diversity and inclusion training.

"I am very thankful to all of the members for their service to the university and the athletic department," Lyons said. "I also want to thank assistant AD Jessica Porter for her leadership on this project. She did excellent work putting the committee together that selected the RED team and will be a valuable resource for them as they start their work."

Prospective members were invited to share how they would promote racial equality and diversity both within their programs and the athletic department as a whole.

Following a meeting of the selection committee on Monday, the following have been selected and agreed to serve on the RED team: