A first-year AD at UIS, Laura Liesman is focusing on ‘the drive to competitive excellence’
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Laura Liesman was happy in her position in athletic administration at Georgian Court University (GCU), a Division II institution in New Jersey. The Illinois native was intrigued, however, when a colleague mentioned that the University of Illinois-Springfield (UIS) was looking for a new athletic director. The chance to move closer to family motivated her to take a closer look.
“I was very impressed with the opportunity,” Laura says. “The commitment of the coaches and athletic staff to growing their programs and providing an exceptional overall experience for the student-athletes is very positive. Their desire to succeed — not only in their individual programs, but for all the programs — was really a draw for me.”
Laura was named UIS athletic director last August. Her 18 years at GCU is certainly an asset as UIS continues to build its athletics.
“Competitively, we want to contend for championships in all our programs. Our coaches are committed to that challenge and through recruitment and development of student-athletes, we are confident we will reach that goal. We will continue to assess our facilities and how we upgrade those to assist us in the drive to competitive excellence,” she says.
On-field success is very much in line with UIS’ overall strategic goal of institutional growth, but Laura’s responsibilities extend to promoting excellence in the classroom and opportunities post college.
“We need to prepare our student-athletes to be ready for life after college,” she says. “That includes the development of a career network and leadership opportunities for them. Re-engaging our alumni and the Springfield community in that process is also important.”
UIS is committed to integrating athletes into campus life. Faculty and staff support them both in the classroom, and when they represent the university on the playing field. In return, they ask that student-athletes give back.
“Obviously, COVID derailed some plans, but we want our teams engaged in service opportunities with local partners. The ability to connect and give back to the community is important, and our student-athletes gain so much from those relationships.”
UIS is fortunate to be in an area with many strong high school athletic programs and conferences, and Laura said it is critical to build and maintain relationships with area coaches and athletes.
“Our coaches will continue to recruit locally while they look regionally, nationally and internationally. We want all our teams to have diverse rosters as that promotes learning within each team.”
Outside the job, Laura is acclimating well to the community. “I was surprised at the number of wonderful restaurants as well as the many parks, golf courses and other community activities here. I’m excited to attend shows at the Performing Arts Center. It’s great to be back in the Midwest, and I’m looking forward to calling Springfield home.”
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