2013

Linda Moulton

 

In 2011, Linda Moulton retired as Clark University’s first female Director of Athletics and Recreation, a position she held for 24 years. Since retiring, she has maintained her involvement in collegiate athletics as an independent consultant specializing in external reviews of Division III athletic departments as well as conferences. Thus far, she has worked with the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), and Wheelock College.

During her tenure in athletic administration, Moulton was highly respected among Division III colleagues. She served on NACWAA’s Board of Directors (1987-1994) along with NCAA leadership positions including: Division III Management Council, Steering Committee, Restructuring Task Force, Nominating Committee, and the Committee on Women’s Athletics, among others. In addition to serving on numerous committees at the state, regional, and national level, from 2001-2003 she was president of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference.

In 1986, Moulton was a founding member of the Haverford Group, an affiliation of 26 academically selective and geographically diverse Division III institutions bonded by philosophical compatibility. She was sought as a visiting consultant for nearly 20 Division III athletic departments across the country.

Moulton was responsible for Clark’s entrance into athletic conference play in 1993. The former independent institution joined both the Constitution Athletic Conference (men) and New England Women’s Eight Conference (women). Moulton then was a leading member of the NEW 8 when it invited several CAC schools to join and became the NEWMAC.

On campus, Moulton established Friends of Clark Athletics as well as the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame, Athletic Board, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Under her guidance, the athletic department saw growth and improvement in several areas. The number of full-time head coaches increased, as the number of programs with part-time coaches decreased. In Moulton’s last five years at Clark, varsity participation increased 21% for men and 18% for women. Student-athletes were among the university’s academic and community leaders, as 35% earned all-academic honors and 65% volunteered for community service projects. From 1987-2011, Clark’s intramural program grew 45%, while the recreation and wellness programs significantly increased their levels of involvement.

An Illinois native, Moulton received her bachelor’s degree in physical education from Eastern Illinois University, where she was a four-year athlete, competing in badminton, basketball, field hockey, softball, and tennis. She later earned a master of education in athletic administration and curriculum from Northeastern University.

Moulton spent her entire career in physical education and athletics as a teacher, coach, and administrator. She initially focused on teaching and coaching multiple sports at the elementary and prep school levels, which she did for more than a decade. After a stint as assistant women’s basketball coach at Harvard University, Moulton moved into collegiate athletics full-time and held administrative positions at Wellesley College, Smith College, and the College of William and Mary.

Moulton has received several professional honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award from Eastern Illinois University last year. Additional accolades include NACWAA’s Jostens District I Administrator of the Year Award and the Jeanne Rowlands Merit Award for outstanding service, given by the Massachusetts Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (MAIAW).

Pam Gill-Fisher

Pam Gill-Fisher is Supervisor of Physical Education, Emeritus of the UC Davis faculty and the former Senior Woman Administrator and Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of California, Davis. A two-time member of the Cal Aggie Athletic Hall of Fame, she has served the university as a player, coach, faculty member and administrator.  Her involvement at UC Davis spanned 5 decades. 

Gill-Fisher was especially instrumental in the continued growth of women's athletics on campus. During her tenure, UC Davis won two Sports Illustrated awards for the best NCAA Division II program for women and five NCAA women's championships.  Gill-Fisher helped capture one of those titles, coaching the NCAA Division II Tennis Championship.  She served on many NCAA committees including the Division II Management Council.  Additionally she served as the chair of the campus Academic Federation, which represents non-senate faculty members on campus.  She was awarded the Federation’s highest honor, the James Meyer Award, for service and contributions to the campus.

She coached volleyball, basketball and tennis during her career at UC Davis and earned numerous coaching awards with winning records in all three sports.  As an administrator she supervised eight sports in addition to supervising athletic training, compliance, academic advising, and financial aid. Gill-Fisher has received several honors for her outstanding service, including being named in 1994 and 2001 as the NCAA Division II Administrator of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators. She also served on the Board of Directors and as President of the organization from 2000-2004.

During her career, she served for 20 years on the UC Davis Title IX Committee and wrote many of the policies currently used for compliance.  Additionally, she was an invited speaker at several NCAA Gender Equity Conferences, the AAUW, Soroptomist, Rotary and numerous other universities to address Title IX.

Gill-Fisher earned her undergraduate degree in physical education and her master’s degree in sports psychology from UC Davis, before doing additional graduate work in sports administration at Penn State University. She also has a master's in counseling psychology from National University as well as a California Lifetime Teaching Credential from UC Davis.

Sharon Taylor

Sharon E. Taylor served as Director of Athletics at Lock Haven University from 1988 to 2012; she served as the interim director in 1987-88.  Taylor was responsible for coordinating and directing LHU’s 18 intercollegiate sports.  The majority of Bald Eagle and Lady Eagle teams compete at the NCAA Division II level, with the exception of the Field Hockey and Wrestling programs, which compete at the Division I level.

The former women’s field hockey coach at LHU, Taylor earned an impressive 333-96-27 record at the helm of the Lady Eagles from 1973-95, making her the winningest coach in Lock Haven University history.  Only the second field hockey coach in LHU’s first 50 years of the sport, Taylor guided The Haven to six national championships (one AIAW and five NCAA), seven Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles and seven additional national championship or semi-final appearances.  In 1995, in her final season as head coach, Taylor led the Lady Eagles to a perfect 21-0 record and her final PSAC and NCAA Division II crowns.  In addition, her 1979 lacrosse team won the first Division II National Championship sponsored by the United States Women’s Lacrosse Association (USWLA).

Organizationally, Taylor was President of the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA), the National Governing Body for the sport in Olympic and Pan American competition, from 2001 through 2006 when a structural reorganization eliminated the position of president.  From 1987 through 2000 she represented USA Field Hockey on the Board of Directors of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).  Taylor has served as President of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA), the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the Eastern Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW), and as Vice President for Division III of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW).  Additional administrative experiences include terms as President and Vice President of the College Field Hockey Coaches Association, a member of the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse and Field Hockey Committees, a U.S. Delegate to the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) and the Federation Internationale de Hockey (FIH), and as a consultant to the President’s Commission on Olympic Sport.  Due to positions held, she served on numerous committees in the NCAA and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Among Taylor’s many contributions to the field of athletics, she is responsible for having conceived and initiated the idea for a collegiate championship in the sport of field hockey.  Working first within the USFHA and later in conjunction with the AIAW, she guided the origination and development of the championship which was the forerunner of today’s NCAA Field Hockey Championship.

A tireless advocate for issues of civil rights and fairness in society, Taylor has worked to expand opportunities for girls and women in education, generally, and in sport and athletics competition, specifically, since the advent of the passage of Title IX in 1972.  From the early days of the struggle in Congress to keep the statute strong, through all efforts to weaken or roll-back its coverage, Taylor has supported the expansion of opportunity for women without diminishing programs that serve men.  She is recognized nationally as one of the pioneers for athletics equality and a continuing source of commitment to the promise of Title IX.

Taylor has been honored by numerous organizations for contributions to sport, to equity, and to her profession of intercollegiate athletics.