In recognition of Shane Lyons’ leadership in helping West Virginia University (WVU) student-athletes succeed in the classroom and in competition, he was named 2021 NACDA Athletics Director of the Year. With his focus on the student-athlete and their development, Lyons has served on numerous national athletics committees.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lyons chaired the Football Oversight Committee, helping make adjustments to allow for a 2020 season. He is also a member of the NCAA Council, serving as the 2021-2022 chair. Additionally, Lyons served on the NCAA Working Group on Transfers, the Football Competition Committee, and the NCAA Wrestling Academics Enhancement Working Group.

Lyons has also been chair of the Big 12 Athletic Directors Committee, a member of the Big 12 Administration Committee, Finance and Budget Committee and the Game Management and Officiating Subcommittee, as well as serving on numerous other national committees. His fundraising and planning efforts resulted in more than $200 million in WVU athletic facilities improvements.  

Prior to coming to WVU, Lyons spent more than three years as the Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer at the University of Alabama. Before that, he spent 10 years as an Associate Commissioner at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), focusing on conference-wide compliance and academic initiatives, as well as serving as the ACC’s Human Resources Manager. Lyons has also served as Associate Athletics Director at Texas Tech, as an NCAA Senior Membership Services Representative and as Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Championships for the Big South Conference.

James T. Harris III has served as the president and a professor of education at the University of San Diego (USD) since 2015. During his time as president, USD has been recognized for its work in environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and advancing the public good. For example, in 2021 The Princeton Review ranked USD among the 50 most “green” colleges.

In 2021, USD launched the Horizon Project, a five-year initiative designed to move USD into the forefront of Catholic higher education by following Pope Francis’ guidance that as a Catholic community we must be more “open, inclusive and welcoming.” In the fall of 2021, USD enrolled its most diverse class of students in its history. Last year, USD was ranked #1 in the nation for public service by Washington Monthly magazine. In 2017, the university was recognized as having the most beautiful campus in America by The Princeton Review. USD athletic teams compete in the West Coast Conference and Pioneer Football League.

Dr. Harris also holds the title of President Emeritus of Widener University and earlier in his career served as the President of Defiance College. Dr. Harris has served in leadership roles on several national education associations including CASE, NCAA, Campus Compact, NAICU, CUMU as well as on multiple other state and local governing boards. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Monarch School Project in San Diego, a public k-12 school dedicated to serving children who are unhoused.

He has been named one of the Top Fifty Character Building Presidents in the Nation by the John Templeton Foundation, received the Chief Executive Leadership Award by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and has been recognized by the NAACP and for his work in support of civil rights. His alma maters have formally recognized him for his service to society, and the Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees awarded him the distinguished alumnus award, the highest honor given to a graduate. He remains an active scholar and teacher.

Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point. 

A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier. 

West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.  She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential.  West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. 

Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point.

A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier.

West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.  She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential.  West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. 

Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point.

A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier.

West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.  She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential.  West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.