Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute introduced its new director of athletics on Wednesday in Troy.
Members of the men’s and women’s hockey team and campus officials came together on a basketball court to celebrate a new era for the Engineers.
Kristie Bowers has been a star Division I athlete, coach and administrator. Now she is RPI’s first female athletic director.
The former Boston University associate athletics director replaces Lee McElroy, who retired after eight years.
Bowers, who had been with BU since 2019, holds a PhD in community and public affairs from SUNY Binghamton. The 37-year-old says she is pleased to return to the area.
“New York has been our home for a long time and Boston was an incredible home in the interim but being closer to them and being closer to family is definitely a key piece to it.”
At BU, she guided student-athletes in wellness, academic support, and character and career development. She helped students obtain funding to support medical and education expenses and says good grades were a priority.
Bowers says Drew Marrochello, Director of Athletics at BU, was instrumental in her ascension.
Marrochello was athletics director at nearby Hudson Valley Community College from 1997 to 2005.
“He just has spent so much time cultivating me over the last four years challenging me to continue to be ready for this opportunity and when, you know, Parker’s search firm reached out and said ‘Hey what do you think?’ I immediately was like ‘well in know who to ask,’ because he’s got an inside knowledge on RPI and this community in Troy,” she said. “I really wanted a community I could be a part of and my wife and I could be a family here. And, so, he sealed the deal for me of this was the right spot for me.”
Bowers was a star goalie for Binghamton’s women’s soccer team. She helped lead the Bearcats to their first conference title and holds school records for career saves and minutes played. Bowers says as a former student-athlete, she understands what tools they’ll need to succeed.
“It’s about the community around you that helps raise you up and helps form who you are as you graduate and as you move on in college and after college,” she said.
Before becoming an administrator, Bowers coached soccer at Western Carolina University and supported and advised students at Binghamton.
Bowers, the first woman in the role at RPI, says the research university aligns with her values academically and athletically. She says her main objective is to help lead the Engineers toward success.
“We understand that we’ve gotta lift all boats here,” Bowers said. “Were excited about pursuing success not only in our hockey programs but also our Division III programs that are equally as important when it comes to the Liberty League.”
Aside from athletics and academics, Bowers says students should take advantage of name, image, and likeness, or NIL, opportunities now that NCAA rules have relaxed.
“I do take a much more educational approach and I do think RPI has a lot of resources from their patent law group and their entrepreneurial arm that will help our student-athletes find that success if they’d like to in that space,” Bowers said.
RPI President Marty Schmidt says as the board worked through potential candidates, Bowers stood out because of her attention to the classroom.
“Having an athletics department that understands that is really important and having the leader of that organization have that and we certainly feel we got that with Dr. Bowers,” Schmidt said.
Amanda Rampado, a graduate student-athlete on the women’s hockey team, took part in the selection process. Rampado says that taught her about the administrative side of the job.
“It was really cool seeing all of the different perspectives that go into it,” Rampado said. “Like obviously being a student, you don’t really see all of the higher-up-type things so seeing the conversations that we were having about diversity, equity and inclusion, all of the financial side of things, it was definitely interesting to get that broader view of what goes into the hiring process.”
Rampado says taking part in the selection process opened her eyes to what qualities employers are seeking.
“From a student, I was just looking for someone who could be transparent with us like present,” Rampado said. “But, of course, somebody who could be, like, from the area would be important so there’s not a huge culture change, has experience with, like, a Division I/Division III combination-type school, the type of projects that they’ve worked on, the fundraising. That really, like, kinda, opened my perspective on what really goes into hiring a candidate.”