In a statement released Aug. 7, President Richard Brodhead announced that he had reappointed Joe Alleva as director of Athletics.
Alleva was retained in light of an extensive report generated this summer by a nine-person review committee comprised of Trustees, alumni and faculty and chaired by Trustee Emeritus Harold Yoh, Engineering '58.
Over 150 people commented to the committee on Alleva's job performance, said John Burness, vice president for public affairs and student relations.
Brodhead said "the emphasis on the integrity that [Alleva] has infused in our programs and the central place he gives to the idea of scholar-athletes" was the key factor in granting the director of athletics the five-year extension afforded by the reappointment.
"You take all the different parts of what you hear and try to get a sense of what the main lines of the story are," Brodhead said. "I thought the case for Joe Alleva's strengths in the report was very strong and they're very central strengths for a program like ours."
Alleva has been a member of the Department of Athletics since 1980 and has held his position as director since 1998. He earned a second appointment in September 2003.
"I am excited and honored to be reappointed as the director of this outstanding athletic department," Alleva said in a statement. "We have made tremendous progress over the past nine years and there is much more to do."
In the statement, Brodhead said he has asked Alleva to construct a "comprehensive strategic plan" for Duke Athletics within the next year.
The long-range strategy for athletics will likely include plans for facilities-like the proposed Wallace Wade Stadium renovations slated to come before the Board of Trustees at its next meeting-as well as how better to bridge the "athletic-academic divide," which was brought to the forefront of University discourse in light of the lacrosse scandal.
In Alleva's tenure, Duke has won six national championships, 44 ACC championships and has produced 147 All-Americans. Yet there have been several highly publicized issues that affected the department profoundly, from a steroid scandal in 2005 to the circumstances surrounding the lacrosse case.
"The situation of college athletics is changing rapidly and in challenging ways," Brodhead said. "We want to be foresightful in being prepared for these changes."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.