NCAA Student Athlete Policy Changes

For the past two years I have worked as the Associate Director for Facilities and Programs at Western Michigan University. Prior to that I worked at the University of Vermont and the University of Wisconsin-Stout, primarily overseeing intramural sports programming. I am an active NIRSA member, currently serving on the NIRSA Assembly as the facilitator for the Response & Navigation During Disruptors Work Group. 

I enjoy all aspects of the outdoors and have a goal of visiting all of our nations national parks. I also enjoying cooking, movies, officiating, and cheering for my sports teams. 

Educational Background:
Recreation Management, MS, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Graphic Design & Photography, BFA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

I am the Recreation Operations Coordinator at Austin Peay State University where I oversee UREC facilities, memberships, and reservations/special events. I am also an active NIRSA member, currently serving on the NIRSA Assembly and the Outstanding Facilities Awards Committee. I enjoy grilling, watching baseball/football, and hanging out with my dog, Penelope. 

Education Background:
MS in Recreation and Sport Management - University of Tennessee
B.B.A. in Management, Minor in Leadership - University of North Dakota

Dr. Laura Morris is an Assistant Professor in the Recreation, Sport Leadership & Tourism Management program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in Recreation and Sport Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an Ed.D from East Carolina University in Higher Education Administration. She has taught a variety of recreation and sport classes at UNCW. In 2013, Dr. Morris was awarded the Lecturer of the Year honor at UNCW. 

Her research interests include leisure behavior, recreation/leisure in relation to life-long health and wellbeing, happiness, and recreational sport and college student development.

Wendy B. Motch-Ellis is the Director of Campus Recreation at the University of North Carolina Asheville and she serves on the 2021-2022 NIRSA Assembly.   As Co-Chair of NIRSA’s Commission on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, she helped co-author NIRSA’s Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, NIRSA’s National Collegiate Championship Series Transgender Inclusion Guidelines, and served as editor and resource author for NIRSA’s publication Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion:  A Resource Guide for Leaders in Colelgiate Recreation.  Wendy brought to NIRSA national leading experts on LGBT inclusion in sport as presenters and advisors to NIRSA, served as a consultant on the development of the Campus Pride Sports Index, and she has been instrumental in changing the narrative around LGBT inclusion within collegiate recreation.