WSU
Cougars name Matt Leach as Women’s Swimming head coach
From
WSU Sports Info with slight edit from CougGroup Central
PULLMAN,
Wash. – Washington State University Director of Athletics Patrick Chun
announced Thursday the hiring of Matt Leach as the head coach of the Cougars'
Women's Swimming program.
"We
are excited to welcome Matt and Katie to the Cougar Family," said Chun.
"Matt is an exact fit for the next chapter of our swimming program as his
vision and values will elevate our program on a new trajectory. The work Matt
did at his past institution was remarkable and we look forward to having him at
WSU!"
Leach
joins WSU after spending the previous three years at Indiana State where he
started the swimming and diving programs in 2015 and began competing in the
2016-17 season. In the program's second season, Leach was named the 2017-18
Missouri Valley Coach of the Year after guiding the Sycamores to a 13-win
campaign that featured a 10-dual match win streak and a record-setting team
performance at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships where ISU set
school records in every event, highlighted by the program's first individual
conference champion. Nine Sycamores earned All-MVC honors including a trio of
first-team selections.
"I
would like to thank President Schulz and Athletic Director Patrick Chun for
this outstanding opportunity to lead the swimming program at Washington
State," said Leach. "As soon as my wife and I stepped on campus
we could see ourselves being a part of such an outstanding university and
athletic department.
“Anne
McCoy and the entire staff at Washington State were so wonderful and welcoming
to Katie and I, and we felt a part of the Cougar family right away. I am truly
humbled and excited to help grow this program and I look forward to the
challenge of representing Cougar nation. Go Cougs!"
Out
of the pool, Leach saw his team earn CSCAA Scholar All-American honors for the
third straight semester, including the highest team GPA in the Missouri Valley
Conference. Six student-athletes earned MVC All-Academic honors this past
season after five earned the same honor in 2016-17.
Prior
to Indiana State, Leach spent six seasons at the University of Wyoming
(2009-15), including the final four seasons as associate head coach and worked
extensively with sprint swimmers. Leach helped rewrite the Cowgirl record
books, as every sprint event school record was broke during his time on staff.
He has also coached sprint swimmers to NCAA and Olympic trials competitions
including two-time All-America selection Kelsey Conci who earned trips to the
NCAA Championships in the 100 backstroke and the 50 and 100 freestyle, placing
10th in the 100 backstroke at the 2011 NCAA Championships and ninth at the 2012
championships.
Leach
arrived at Wyoming from Louisiana State University where he began as a graduate
assistant in 2004, and then as a volunteer assistant coach for two seasons
(2007-09). At LSU, Leach helped guide several athletes to the NCAA
Championships, and a top-25 ranking for both the men's and women's teams. Leach
also served as the head age group coach at Tiger Aquatics from 2006-09 where he
was named the 2007 Louisiana State Age Group Coach of the Year for his efforts
in his first season.
èHe is from Beaverton, Oregon, and
attended/graduated/competed in swimming for Westview High School in Beaverton.
Leach
swam collegiately at Indiana University (2000-04), where he was a was a
four-time All-American, helped the Hoosiers to a Big Ten Conference
Championship in the 200 medley relay as a senior and still holds school records
as a member of the 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay. Leach also
performed on the national stage, as he took part in the 2000 and 2004 U.S.
Olympic Trials.
Leach
graduated from Indiana in December 2004 with a bachelor's degree in
environmental management. He received his master's degree, also in
environmental planning and management, from LSU in May 2007.
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LEARN
MORE ABOUT MATT LEACH HERE
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Kelly
Ward passes away at 54
Date
for funeral hasn’t been set, she leaves behind three children
Kelly
Ward, vice provost for faculty development and recognition in the College of
Education, died Sunday. She was 54 years old.
By
IAN SMAY, Evergreen news editor
July
9, 2018
Kelly
Ward, vice provost for faculty development and recognition in the College of
Education, died Sunday at the age of 54.
Ward
passed away as a result of injuries following an accident on July 3, according
to a letter from WSU Provost Dan Bernardo.
“Kelly
will likely be most remembered as a champion for women faculty,” Bernardo wrote
in his letter. “She fought to elevate the status of women … at WSU, and worked
to better incorporate the complexity of women’s lives and careers into
decisions around workload, advancements and administrative appointments.”
Since
the news of her death broke, many tributes from former students and colleagues
have poured in on social media and through a memorial page on the College of
Education’s website.
“She
has been an example of how to pack so much into one life,” said KerryAnn
O’Meara, a colleague of Ward’s at the Association for the Study of Higher Education,
a group where Ward was a member. “I am so grateful to have had her in my life
and will hug my people tighter as I know she would want us to do right now and
always.”
“She
really was sunshine,” said Erica Austin, vice provost for academic affairs. “Selfishly,
I also am heartbroken that I was just at the beginning of knowing Kelly, and
that I am cut short from getting to experience Kelly in the ways I see that she
has enriched so many lives.”
In
response to Ward’s passing, the ASHE also released a statement praising her
past work and offering condolences to her family and loved ones. Ward won the
ASHE’s Distinguished Service Award in 2017.
Ward
began at WSU in 2003 in the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling
Psychology. She held multiple positions in the following 15 years, including as
a program coordinator, professor and department chair, according to her
curriculum vitae.
She
also spent a year in the Provost’s Office, where she filled a newly-formed
position, according to Bernardo’s letter. Ward’s job focused on faculty
development.
“When
we decided to pivot the former vice provost for faculty affairs position to one
more focused on faculty development and recognition, Kelly was an obvious
choice,” Bernardo wrote.
Ward
is survived by three children and her husband, Gene.
No
date has been set for a funeral service for Ward. Her husband said it would
take two to three weeks for plans to be confirmed for Kelly’s service,
according to a College of Education news release.
