Dr. Darlene Bailey

is honored with a Brick from Chris Adams, Jan Bogle, Margie Dersi, Becky Endicott, Lisa Klaassen, Marilyn Krager, Rae Long, Ruth Matz, Sherilyn Maynard, and Gretchen Torline.

We honor Dr. Darlene Bailey in the Plaza of Heroines for her exemplary dedication to Wichita State University, the Athletic Department, and to women participating in athletics.

Dr. Bailey has distinguished herself in her six years as Associate Director of Athletics at Wichita State University, after having served in a similar role at the University of Idaho. Her second year at Wichita State marked a return to her duties as Associate Director of Athletics after having done a superb job as Interim Director of Athletics for five months from June until October 1993. Dr. Bailey was well qualified for this responsibility since she had served as Director of Athletics at Eastern Washington University from May 1990 until January 1991. At that time, she had the distinction of being one of fewer than ten women directors of athletics with responsibilities for men's and women's programs in NCAA Division I.

Bailey's duties at Wichita State include administration of sports programs, oversight of the internal operation of the Athletic Department, and management of the Department annual operating budget. She serves as the institution's NCAA compliance officer, communicating with the Office of Civil Rights regarding ICAA and Title IX compliance. She has made a significant contribution to Wichita State University by bringing us into compliance with both the letter and the spirit of Title IX and increasing educational equity for women's athletic programs.

Prior to coming to Wichita State University, Bailey administered the University of Idaho's 13-sport athletics program, including coordination of an annual walk-a-thon, the largest single-event fund-raiser in the athletics department, and development and implementation of a compliance education program.

A native of Kearney, Missouri, Bailey performed a number of roles at Eastern Washington, also serving as Associate Director of Athletics from July 1988-November 1989, Acting Vice-president for Student Services from November 1989-August 1990, and as Consultant to the Athletics Department from January-June in 1991.

Bailey moved to Eastern Washington from the University of South Alabama, where she was Assistant Director of Athletics in 1988. She initiated her career at Ohio University as Academic Coordinator in the Athletics Department from 1983-85 and 1986-87. Bailey was also Assistant Athletics Director at Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the 1985-86 school year. While a student at William Jewell College, Bailey served as Sports Information Director from 1980-82.

Bailey serves on the Administrative Committee of the NCAA Business and Finance Cabinet, and on the Legislative Committee of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators. She teaches one course each semester in the Sports Administration program in the Department of Health and Physical Education. Previously, she had a two-year stint as a member of the gender equity subcommittee advising Washington State legislators on matters related to increasing opportunities for women in sports from 1988-90. She co-authored a $2.5 million Title III Grant to improve services for Eastern Washington University students in 1990. She received a $12,000 NCAA Choices Grant for Drug Education while at University of Idaho.

Bailey, 35, earned a bachelor's degree in history from William Jewell in 1982, and has two degrees, a master's degree in sports administration in 1983 and a doctorate in higher education administration in 1987 from Ohio University.

Her friends and colleagues honor her in the Plaza of Heroines for her outstanding contributions to athletics, for her commitment to women's equity in athletics, and for her example as a role model to women and men aspiring to excellence in professional life. She is known for her energy, her integrity, and her imagination. Those who work with her capture her spirit of team work and her dedication to athletic and professional excellence.

September 14, 1998