General | 7/3/2023 10:37:08 AM
Dr. Beth Paul, president of Nazareth University, was named chair of the President’s Council of the Empire Athletic Conference. Paul started her two-year appointment as chair on July 1.
Dr. Paul was elected unanimously when the Council met for its annual meeting in November 2022. She is set to replace former chair Dr. Gerard Rooney, president of St. John Fisher University, who served from 2020-2023.
“It’s an honor to be the new chair of the Empire 8 President’s Council,” said President Paul. “Our Empire 8 student-athletes are truly an inspiration as they combine academic and athletic excellence with personal and social responsibility. They show us what commitment and perseverance can accomplish.”
Dr. Paul became the tenth president of Nazareth on July 1, 2020. She has over 30 years of experience in higher education and executive administration. Paul was vice provost and professor of psychology at The College of New Jersey from 1992-2009, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, and executive vice president at Stetson University from 2009-16 and president at Capital University from 2016-20.
“President Paul is perfectly positioned to continue the momentum the conference has built in straightening our services to the membership and continue to be a national leader in NCAA Division III,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “She has been engaged on the President’s Council and served on various Presidential sub-committees. Her vision of higher education and the role college athletics plays will be tremendous assets as she begins her presidency. We are fortunate to have her service at such a critical time for Empire 8 and Division III.”
During her tenure, President Paul led Nazareth through the COVID-19 pandemic and was nationally recognized by
Great Value Colleges as one of the top 15 colleges nationwide for excellence in responding to major societal crises of 2020 including the pandemic and racial injustice.
Under Paul’s leadership, Nazareth recently changed its name to Nazareth University on June 1, 2023, after operating as a college for 99 years. Nazareth University is on the cusp of its 100th anniversary in 2024 and starts a two-year centennial celebration in fall 2023 when the inaugural class of Nazareth University students arrive on campus.
President Paul guided Nazareth to pioneer an initiative to lead the way in artificial intelligence ethics. Nazareth also became one of only 75 Bonner Leader institutions nationwide when Nazareth introduced a Bonner Leader Scholarship program in 2023 for students interested in social justice and being changemakers in their community.
A charter member of the Empire 8, Nazareth has won 66 Empire 8 Championships since the league’s inception in 1999. In 2022-23, the Golden Flyers won seven Empire 8 Championships (men’s cross country, women’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field). In addition, Nazareth student-athletes have excelled in the classroom and community, with countless Academic and Scholar All-America selections. The Golden Flyers achieved academic success with 161 student-athletes earning Empire 8 Presidents’ List honors in the fall semester and 183 earning the honor following the spring semester.
Nazareth’s Henry McKinney was selected as the Empire 8 co-Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Matt Reimann (men’s cross country), Elizabeth Tripp (women’s swimming and diving), Matt Droney (men’s basketball), Isaiah McMurray (men’s tennis) and Lauren Bendall (women’s indoor track and field) were named Empire 8 Torchbearer Award winners, honoring the top student-athlete in each sport.
The Empire 8 is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and its nine member schools compete at the Division III level.
Nazareth participates in 21 sports as part of the E8: field hockey, men’s golf, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women's soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women's volleyball.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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