Associate athletic director appointed

Associate Athletic Director Mary Ann Rohleder announced Wednesday that Amelia Noel will replace Elizabeth "Buzz" Kurpius as associate athletic director for academic affairs, effective Jan. 1.\nKurpius, who has directed the athletic department's academic affairs since 1974, will retire Dec. 31. She has worked closely with scholarships and financial aid requirements.\nNoel, an academic counselor, was one of four finalists selected by a "search and screen committee" comprised of IU coaches, athletics committee members, athletic administrators and student-athletes. The committee informed IU Athletic Director Clarence Doninger of its selection Aug. 31, and Noel said Doninger called her that evening.\n"We really followed the guidelines of the athletic committee," Doninger said. "They were very interested in this position. It's a very important position.\n"The academic counseling office may be the most important office we have here. That's what we're about. I don't say that lightly. I mean that, and Buzz has headed that well for a number of years."\nNoel has been working with Kurpius for the last six years as an academic counselor and co-director of the Champs Life Skills Program, an NCAA-sponsored program designed to develop student-athletes outside the athletic realm. She will continue her role with the program and oversee the academic counseling of about 700 athletes.\n"This is absolutely a dream job for me," said Noel, a Harvard graduate. "I love school. Working with students is my primary interest."\nNoel, 29, has always taken an interest in higher education and its students. She came to IU in the fall of 1994 to pursue her master's degree in college student personnel. She will earn her doctorate by Jan. 1, 2001.\nRohleder, chair of the committee, said there were several qualified in-house candidates and the selection was not easy.\n"We were looking for somebody who likes working with young adults, who had experience in academic counseling in an athletic department," Rohleder said. "We were looking for someone to continue the program with the integrity Buzz has run it in the past. We have had a very good academic program and we want that to continue with Amelia."\nAlong with direct interaction with IU athletes, Noel will also be responsible for immediately hiring her own replacement, a new academic counselor, and a replacement for counselor Mary Rose, who will also retire Dec. 31.\n"I think she'll do just fine," Kurpius said. "I had a good run, a wonderful staff, and now it's someone else's turn"