AUBURN, Ala.(EETV) – The search for Auburn University’s next athletics director is set to begin immediately with assistance from a six-person advisory committee.
“We’re excited to see the high caliber of leaders interested in the position,” said Auburn President Steven Leath.
“Jay Jacobs deserves great credit for leading Auburn athletics, and his successor can build on a department that’s already excelling in many ways. We’ll move quickly, but it’s more important to do it right.”
Parker Executive Search in Atlanta will assist by identifying qualified candidates. The advisory committee will provide critical analysis of applicant profiles and make a recommendation to Leath.
The search committee is chaired by Gaines Lanier, a three-year football letterman at Auburn under Coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan. Lanier is a member of the university’s Board of Trustees and the Tigers Unlimited Board.
Former Auburn women’s golf coach Kim Evans serves as committee vice chair. The five-time SEC Coach of the Year led the program to eight SEC Championships and seven top 10 finishes.
Other committee members are Jason Dufner, Adrienne “AJ” Lee, Beverly Marshall and Quentin Riggins.
Dufner is a former Auburn men’s golf All-American who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the PGA Championship in 2013. Lee is a former Auburn gymnast with a doctorate in higher education administration from Auburn. She now works as a leadership training consultant for “game on Nation.”
Marshall is the SunTrust Bank Professor of Finance in Auburn’s Harbert College of Business. She is the former president of the Eastern Finance Association and researches the financial decision-making of managers. Riggins was an All-SEC linebacker for Auburn in 1988-89. He is a senior vice president at the Alabama Power Company and a member of the Auburn Board of Trustees.
