The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) is thrilled to participate in the sixth annual Division III Week - a celebration of the division's unique philosophy that equally values academics, athletics and student-athletes' involvement in a full and rich campus life. Division III Week provides an opportunity for all individuals associated with a Division III institution or conference to recognize the powerful impact of athletics and student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community.
Follow all of the DIII Week stories being told across the country by checking out the Twitter hashtag #d3week. Want to tell a Division III story of your own? Use the Twitter hashtag #whyd3.
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Br. Norman W. Hipps, O.S.B
Saint Vincent College
Br. Norman, a Benedictine monk, mathematics professor and administrator, was named the 17th president of Saint Vincent College in 2010. A member of Saint Vincent’s faculty since 1972, Br. Norman served in a variety of administrative positions at the College prior to being named president. Born in the small town of Carrolltown, in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, Br. Norman earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1966 from Saint Vincent before obtaining a master’s degree and Ph.D. in mathematics from Northwestern University.
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Br. Norman with members of last year's Homecoming Court |
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Br. Norman presenting Helena Shoplik with Saint Vincent’s President’s Award at a recent Honors Convocation |
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Br. Norman addressing a student and alumni gathering during a recent Homecoming and Fall Family Weekend |
So what do I like about Division III and the PAC? As is well known, Division III highlights the compatibility between academics and athletics. You can see this in the decisions that Susie Ellis and Kevin Wanichko made in coming to Saint Vincent. Susie wanted to play basketball, and perhaps tennis, at a school with a strong accounting program. Kevin saw coming to Saint Vincent as an opportunity to advance the success of the cross country program and to study communications, specializing in advertising and public relations.
Our annual President’s Award is made to the outstanding student in academic achievement, student leadership and community service. I’m proud that in the last two years, both awardees were varsity student-athletes. Zach Ligus, a captain of the swim team who set school records in 10 different events, is now a pre-med student at the University of Pittsburgh medical school. Helena Shoplik, a captain of the women's lacrosse team, was a Fred Rogers Scholar and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in school psychology at the University of Maryland.
It also pleases me that the majority of the PAC schools are faith-based. At a recent baseball game when one of our players suffered a concussion, both teams gathered in prayer as the student-athlete was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Similarly, our 2016 PAC championship men’s basketball team rallied in support of one of their teammates when his mother died of breast cancer. The team subsequently visited the grade school where she taught and engaged in several fundraising efforts for cancer research.
I’m happy that our division and conference support academic excellence, competitive athletics and the spiritual formation of our young men and women.
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