WMUL/TRAVEL INFORMATION 113 Dr. Stephen J. Kopp, former special assistant to the chancellor with the Ohio Board of Regents, and former provost of Ohio University, is MU PRESIDENT DR. STEPHEN J. KOPP Marshall University’s 36th president. He was named president by Marshall’s Board of Governors in June 2005. “Looking at Marshall and the Huntington community, I have been so impressed with the tremendous relationship between the two,” Kopp says. “That support base, not just in Huntington but in the state as a whole, is a tremendously strong foundation for building a vibrant future for Marshall University, and helping the community and the surrounding area improve the quality of life for West Virginians. To be a part of that, to work with the community to help that transition take place, is an incredibly exciting opportunity.” Kopp speaks often of the “promise of a better future” for West Virginians, and says an important part of fulfi lling that promise is a solid com- Stephen J. Kopp mitment to advance student learning. President “We need to produce learning that makes a difference in the lives of our students and the communities that they are a part of,” Kopp says. “It’s a process that involves the entire campus community. How can we improve the achievement of the students? We need to push ourselves to get better and better.” Kopp and his wife, Jane, have two grown children. Their son, Adam, lives in Chicago and works in the law of- fi ce of the Illinois lieutenant governor. Their daughter, Elizabeth, a physical therapist, and her husband, Mat- thew Bradley, M.D., an orthopedic resident, live in Portland, Ore., and are the proud parents of the Kopp’s fi rst grandchild, Rachel. Kopp was a special assistant to the chancellor with the Ohio Board of Regents from 2004 to 2005. The spe- cial assignment, made at the request of the chancellor, Roderick G. W. Chu, involved two areas of respon- sibility: leading a statewide initiative to advance innovative practices that improve student access, learning productivity and accountability in Ohio public institutions of higher education, and assisting the nation of Hungary on behalf of the board and the state of Ohio with implementing European Union higher education reforms. Previously, Kopp was provost for two years at Ohio University (2002-2004) in Athens, Ohio, where he shared with the president the central administrative role in the university and served as the chief academic and op- erating offi cer. He led the senior administration effort to assist the university’s medical school in privatizing its patient services clinic. He also participated in Ohio University’s $200 million Bicentennial Campaign, raising more than $7 million in major gifts and pledges. As provost, Kopp had the principal responsibility for planning the university budget, which was $540 million in fi scal year 2005, and working with the vice presidents to coordinate internal institutional affairs. Kopp also was founding dean of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Pro- fessions at Central Michigan University, and founding dean of the College of Allied Health Professions at Midwestern University. He also served in a variety of positions for nearly 20 years at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Kopp received his B.S. in Biology in 1973 from the University of Notre Dame, and his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics in 1976 from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was a postdoctoral fellow at St. Louis University Medical Center, department of physiology, and a research fellow and NIH fellow in the department of biochemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 114 Bob Marcum was named Marshall University’s Director of Athletics on July 1, 2002. Marcum, a Huntington, W.Va., native and Marshall graduate, returned to lead the Marshall athletic department after serving as the athletic director at the University of Massachusetts for nine years. A well-respected and experi- enced veteran in the world of college athletics, Marcum has already made a signifi cant impact at his alma mater. Arguably, Marcum’s greatest accomplishment at Marshall was securing the Herd’s inclusion in Conference USA, beginning competition in the realigned league in the fall of 2005. The Herd’s move to C-USA provides Marshall athletics with greater exposure in some of the nation’s top media markets, a greater potential for revenue in television and marketing, more football bowl game options and an increased level of competition in all varsity sports. On the fi eld, the nationally-recognized football program has continued to succeed under Marcum with a Mid-American Conference championship in Decem- ber of 2002 and another GMAC Bowl win later that year. In addition, Marcum has helped to secure home games with high level non-conference opponents such as Kansas State in 2005 and worked to secure a landmark seven-year series with intrastate rival West Virginia University. Olympic sports have also seen considerable success, from the volleyball team’s C-USA regular-season and tournament championships in 2005 to the Herd’s most recent national championship appearance at the NCAA Doubles Championship in women’s tennis in 2004. Women’s basketball has also made Bob Marcum tremendous strides since Marcum’s arrival, putting together four consecutive non-losing seasons - the longest such streak in the last 18 years. Director of Athletics Marcum has also overseen considerable upgrades and improvements to many of the Thundering Herd’s athletic venues, including enhancements at both Joan C. Edwards Stadium and the Cam Henderson Center. The latest addition is the new 13,000-square foot, state-of-the-art Jonathan Edward Dunfee Strength and Conditioning Center that opened in the summer of 2006, more than tripling the size of the previous facility. In the classroom, Marshall athletes have succeeded at the highest levels. Two of the Herd’s seven Academic All-Americans have been selected during Marcum’s tenure while Marshall ranks fi rst in the number of student-athletes on the C-USA honor list (3.0 GPA) - more than any other school in the conference since joining the league. Marcum came to Marshall from UMass, where he was just the third individual to serve as athletic director at the school since 1948. In addition to being recognized as the Atlantic 10’s dominant all-around athletic program, UMass produced more Atlantic 10 all-academic selections than any other school and has led the conference in academic all-league picks six times during his stint. In its ninth full aca- demic year under Marcum’s direction in 2001-2002, UMass won the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Cup for the sixth time in the eight years. Recognized as one of the most knowledgeable and experienced in his fi eld, Marcum has forged an outstanding reputation in intercol- legiate athletics. His leadership and vision were instrumental in UMass’ rise to prominence in the 1990s, and his diligent efforts were recognized by his peers when he was honored as the 1999 NACDA Northeast Region I-AA Athletic Director of the Year. An outstanding athlete during his youth in Huntington, Marcum attended Marshall where he earned his bachelor’s degree in social studies and physical education in 1959. An avid golfer and stock car enthusiast, Marcum has displayed a philosophy that stresses the importance of combining athletics and academics in a young person’s life. Marcum’s knowledge of the inner workings of college athletics stems from the wide spectrum of sports related positions he has held. After earning his master’s degree in education administration from the University of Akron in 1970, Marcum served as Associate Athletic Director at Iowa State University from 1971 to 1978. He left Iowa State to become the Director of Athletics at the University of Kansas, a position he held from 1978 to 1982. Marcum then took over the reins as the Director of Athletics at the University of South Carolina from 1982 to 1988. During his time at South Carolina, he led the school into the Metro Conference (its fi rst conference af- fi liation in more than a decade) and watched the athletic program capture a pair of Metro Conference all-sport championships. DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS BOB MARCUM Marcum went to UMass, located in Amherst, Mass., from his post as vice president and general manager of the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he served from October 1990 through February 1992. He was vice presi- dent of the Charlotte Motor Speedway from July 1988 through October 1990. A member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Marcum completed three-year terms with the powerful NCAA Championships and Competition Cabinet and the NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee on August 31, 2001. He currently serves on the NCAA Football Issues Committee. It is this knowledge and experience, coupled with a genuine way of dealing with people, that has given Marcum his reputation as an athletic director who cares not only about his program, but more importantly the people in it. Born on Oct. 29, 1936, Marcum has one daughter, Diana, a 1980 graduate of Iowa State, and three grandchildren. 115 ATHLETICS STAFF Jeff O’Malley Beatrice Crane Banford Derek Gwinn Scott Morehouse David Steele Assoc. AD/ Assoc. AD/Senior Assoc. AD/ Assoc. AD/ Assoc. AD/ Chief of Staff Women’s Administrator Compliance Facilities Finance Aaron Goebbel Randy Burnside Isaiah Childers John Sutherland Robert Bookwalter Asst. AD/ Asst. AD/ Director of Marketing Assoc. AD/ NCAA Faculty Athletic Ticketing Media Relations & Promotions