Lake Erie College Athletics Department Updates Mission Statement
Lake Erie College Athletics has released a new mission statement and directives for their department. This change comes under Molly Hoffman, director of Athletics.
Hoffman has been with Lake Erie College for 12 years and was promoted to Athletic Director in the last year. She wanted to see changes in Athletics to not only help the current student-athletes be more successful, but to help create a stronger alumni base and retention of employees.
“I am excited to have new mission and vision statements for Lake Erie College Athletes,” Hoffman said. “These statements will improve our focus and give us direction as we develop our students as athletes and as people.”
To create the new mission statement, Hoffman formed a committee that included Student Affairs, Academics and Leadership among the Athletics department. Committee members were Louie Rolko, Irenna Lawrence, Steve Brown, Kim Robare and Dr. Jennifer Kinnaird.
Committee meetings took place monthly during the spring semester and then weekly beginning in May through June. They looked at benchmark schools, collected data from student-athletes and coaches, and used the former mission statement to help create this new one. The new mission statement reads as follows:
Mission Statement:
Lake Erie College Department of Athletics creates an inclusive, academically focused environment for student-athletes to enrich their collegiate experience through competition, community engagement and co-curricular programs.
Vision Statement:
The vision of the Lake Erie College Department of Athletics is to create an environment that enhances the intellectual, physical and social development of the whole person, while focusing on integrity, sportsmanship and ethical decision making.
Departmental Outcomes
The Department of Athletics strives for excellence in a well-rounded experience for NCAA student-athletes. Upon participation in a sport, student-athletes will:
receive a championship experience by participating in postseason tournaments;
Remain focused on high academic achievement as measured by GPA, retention and progress toward degree completion;
give back to the local community by participating in service projects each semester;
be an engaged member of the academic community by participating in leadership activities, internships and campus events
The new mission, vision and department outcomes were then approved by Hoffman and Faculty Athletic Rep Dr. Amanda Curtis. Once approved, it was shared with the athletic department staff and senior leadership. The new mission statement and goals were used for recruitment of student-athletes and athletic department positions that were vacant beginning July 1.
The collaborative work with Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and Athletics will monitor changes in culture and provide opportunities for all of these outcomes to be met. The committee will continue communication throughout this first year to address any obstacles or questions.
“I would like to thank the committee members who collaborated to bring these ideas to fruition,” Hoffman said. “I look forward to the new era of Storm Athletics."