Dr. Rhonda Beemer, who serves as the faculty athletics representative (FAR) at Northwest Missouri State University, joined 16 other renowned athletics representatives Oct. 1-3 to develop an enhanced understanding of the roles and critical functions of a NCAA Division II Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) during the 12th Division II FAR Fellows Institute.

Selected during 2020, fellows participated in a year-long series of virtual webinars and continued in their roles as fellows to participate in the three-day leadership institute in Indianapolis. Presentations and discussions covered leadership and collaboration skills, the role of the FAR in strategic communications among different campus constituencies and protection of student welfare, with a special emphasis on themes of academic and athletic success, mental health and well-being, and inclusion.

As a result of her fellowship, Beemer has constructed an action plan to initiate conversations with various campus constituents and to focus on both short and long-term initiatives related to student-athlete success and athletic governance on campus.

Highlights of the weekend agenda included professional development sessions about the dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness (DISC) behavioral styles and having difficult conversations conducted by executive leadership coach Justin Patton. Fellows also heard from a panel of representatives from the National NCAA Division II  Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and Jeanette McKillop, associate director of athletics and compliance and senior woman administrator at Franklin Pierce University, led an interactive session about student-athlete identity and return on investment. Terri Steeb Gronau, vice president for Division II, and Dr. Allison Garrett, chair of the Division II Presidents Council and president of Emporia State University, presented updates about the division and the national landscape of college athletics, and the fellows had a chance to meet and interact with other Division II staff members.

Beemer was appointed Northwest’s FAR in 2019 and is responsible for a number of activities related to institutional control of intercollegiate athletics at the University. A member of the Northwest faculty since 2015, she also serves as an associate professor of health and physical education in Northwest’s School of Health Science and Wellness.