Garner named interim athletic director

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 4, 2008) – Dr. Lin Garner has been named interim athletic director at Lipscomb University, President L. Randolph Lowry announced today.

Garner, assistant athletic director for academics and senior women’s administrator, fills the vacancy left by Steve Potts, who resigned from Lipscomb earlier this month to accept the position of senior associate director of athletics at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

“I am pleased that Dr. Garner has accepted this interim position and are confident that her leadership through this time of transition will continue to build on the successes and growth the Lipscomb athletic department has experienced under Steve Potts’ guidance,” said Lowry. “We will conduct a national search for a permanent successor to fill this position. The intent of this nation-wide search is to find a leader who will build on this strong foundation and take Bison athletics to the next level.”

Lowry has appointed Joseph M. Ivey, senior vice president for advancement at Lipscomb, chair of the search committee.

Garner, who has been on the Lipscomb faculty for more than 20 years, was a full-time professor of English until joining the athletic administration in 2000 as the university made the transition to NCAA Division I. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi.

A member of the NCAA Division I Atlantic Sun Conference, the Lipscomb University Bisons field teams in men’s and women’s basketball, cross country, golf, indoor track, tennis track; men’s baseball and women’s softball and volleyball. In 2007, the Lady Bison volleyball team won the conference tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In May, the Bison baseball team advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament for the first time in university history and became the first Bison team to win a game in an NCAA tournament.