Announcing our new Director of Athletics
Aug. 23, 2019
Dear students, faculty and staff,
I am pleased to announce that Lauren S. Haynie will be joining Brandeis as its ninth director of athletics.
Lauren is currently Wellesley College’s senior associate director of athletics and PERA (physical education, recreation and athletics) and will arrive on campus September 23. She will succeed Jeffrey Ward, who has served as interim director of athletics since September 2018.
In her new role as director of athletics, Lauren will report directly to me and oversee the university’s entire athletics program. She is expected to enhance the student-athlete experience, help guide and mentor the coaches of our 19 varsity teams, and work as Brandeis Athletics’ primary representative in interactions with leaders across campus.
Lauren has nearly two decades of experience in collegiate athletics, including in management, mentorship, and sports medicine, and has a strong record of championing diversity and inclusion in all her work.
Before working at Wellesley, Lauren served as the special assistant to the athletic director for the department of athletics, physical education, and recreation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to that, Lauren was the assistant director for sports medicine at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She also previously served as the head athletic trainer at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, and as the assistant director for sports medicine at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Lauren is a member of Women Leaders in College Sports, the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association, and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
I would like to thank the members of the university’s search committee, which included staff members Mark Brimhall-Vargas, Dennis Hicks, Bill O'Reilly, Gabe Margolis, Jennifer Salmon, and Jennifer Walker; faculty members Jennifer Cleary, Michael McKay, and Rebecca Torrey; student members Jacob Judd and Daria Bakhtiari; and Board of Trustee member Josh Kraft.
I also would like to thank Jeffrey Ward for his excellent stewardship of Brandeis Athletics over the past year. We have all been the beneficiaries of the wealth of his extensive experience in athletics.
Please join me in welcoming Lauren into our community.
Sincerely,
Lisa M. Lynch, Provost