FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University athletics administrators
Rick Canter and
Michelle Meadows Shular have been promoted within the department's leadership structure, athletics director
Troy Austin announced Monday.
Meadows Shular, now in her 13th year at Longwood, will now serve as deputy athletics director, while Canter, in his seventh year, was appointed to associate athletics director for student-athlete enhancement.
"These promotions are well-deserved and more than a symbolic gesture for Michelle and Rick," Austin said. "These are two individuals who have initiated positive, impactful change during their time at Longwood by both enhancing the Longwood student-athlete experience and serving as driving forces in the vision for our department as a whole.
"Michelle and Rick embody our core values, and I have long valued their insight, advice and perspective. I am thrilled to formally elevate them to the highest level of our department's leadership."
Meadows Shular has been an influential presence in Longwood athletics for more than a decade and is the longest-tenured administrator in the department. Her fingerprints are on nearly every aspect of the student-athlete experience at Longwood, having served as the catalyst to numerous initiatives that have shaped the department into one whose focus is on providing a quality, influential experience for the university's more than 200 student-athletes.
Since joining Longwood athletics in 2005, Meadows Shular has impacted the department on numerous fronts. She has overseen the department's NCAA compliance program and shifted focus to education and monitoring; led the creation and development of the academic services department to provide resources to student-athletes for athletic, academic, career and personal pursuits; and she engineered the collaboration of Longwood's academic services, athletic training and sports performance departments into the student-athlete enhancement unit, which aims to provide a holistically viable approach to student-athlete success.
Meadows Shular has also held many prominent leadership roles at the campus, conference and national level, including her most recent appointment to the NCAA Division I Softball Selection Committee. She has also served on Longwood's Presidential Advisory Board, the Big South Board of Administrators, the Big South Men's and Women's Basketball Committees, and Big South Softball Committee, among many other posts.
"Michelle has been my right hand since I arrived at Longwood, and Lancer athletics would not have the success we've enjoyed without her influence," Austin said. "She is a professional in every sense of the word, and she has a true passion for helping young people grow. Her rise through the ranks of our department, and Longwood University, is a byproduct of that passion."
Joining Meadows Shular in Longwood athletics' senior leadership circle is Canter, who originally came to Longwood as an assistant sports performance coach in 2011 and has grown immensely in that role. His leadership, among both administrators and student-athletes, has been paramount to the success of Longwood's student-athlete enhancement unit, which encompasses the offices of academic services, sports medicine and sports performance.
Canter's ascent up the athletics department's leadership ladder has seen him climb from assistant sports performance coach to director of sports performance, to assistant athletics director for sports performance and now to associate athletics director for student-athlete enhancement. In each of those posts, he has played a crucial role in evolving Longwood's vision to provide its student-athletes with an all-encompassing approach to wellness with a focus on physical, mental and emotional well-being.
In addition to his role as sport supervisor for men's and women's cross country, Canter also currently oversees Longwood's academic services, sports medicine and sports performance staffs, as well as the recently implemented sports psychology consultation arm of the student-athlete enhancement unit. He is also the lead coordinator for the Lancer Leadership Program, which aims to develop leadership traits for Longwood student-athletes through monthly meetings and exposure to specialized programs and speakers.
"Rick is one of the most unique individuals you will ever meet, and we have all benefited from his perspective on the personal growth that individuals can experience through athletics," Austin said. "The initiatives he has brought to our department have been transformative for our student-athletes in every role he has held. Rarely does a student-athlete come through Longwood without being impacted by coach Canter."
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