January  07, 2008

Athletics Director Chuck Gordon resigns to take new position at the American University in Cairo

Rock Island, Ill. - Chuck Gordon, director of athletics at Augustana College since 2004, will resign at the end of this month to take a new position leading the athletics programs of the American University in Cairo (AUC). Dave Wrath, assistant director of athletics / media and alumni relations, will serve as interim athletics director while a national search for Gordon's replacement is carried out.

"I want to thank everyone for my time at Augustana," Gordon said. "It's been a great place to work and Laura and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this community," he added, citing the opportunity to continue his career in athletics administration overseas as the reason for his resignation. "This unique opportunity came at just the right time in our lives. We're excited and looking forward to the move," said Gordon, whose title at AUC will be Director of Athletics and Assistant Dean of Students.

The American University in Cairo (AUC) is an independent, not-for-profit, multicultural institution that enrolls a little more than 4,000 undergraduate students. Currently located on 7 acres in downtown Cairo, AUC is preparing to move its entire campus in June 2008 to newly built facilities on a 260-acre campus, which includes a state-of-the-art athletics complex. The university sponsors 15 formal athletics programs ranging from basketball and tennis to martial arts and table tennis. Teams compete in tournaments organized by the Egyptian National Sports Federation for Universities as well as in friendly matches against colleges, clubs and other institutions in Egypt and abroad.

Gordon's resume includes positions at several of the nation's top NCAA Division III institutions. In addition to his years at Augustana, Gordon has served as athletics director at Washington University in St. Louis (1979 - 1985), Rhodes College in Memphis (1985 - 1990) and Emory University in Atlanta (1990 - 2003). Shortly before coming to Augustana, Gordon saw Emory's athletics teams place second in the NCAA DIII Sears Director's Cup national rankings of overall success in NCAA DIII athletics.

"During his four years at Augustana, Chuck Gordon has considerably advanced our athletics programs," said Augustana College President Steve Bahls. "He has been an effective advocate for the importance of athletics at Augustana and I'd like to thank him in particular for his successful efforts to strengthen the bonds between our department of athletics and our academic programs."

During this period Augustana's Department of Athletics has maintained its commitment to academic success as well. The college's all-time number of Academic All-America award winners (118) ranks fifth in the nation among all NCAA institutions. Athletes at Augustana earned seven such awards during Gordon's tenure, a period that also saw four athletes earn the prestigious NCAA post-graduate scholarship.

Dave Wrath, who has served as assistant director of athletics / media and alumni relations since 2005 (and as Augustana's sports information director since 1981), will serve as interim director of athletics as the college conducts its search for Gordon's replacement. Wrath is a 1980 graduate of Augustana who has earned numerous honors during his three decades as a sports information director, including induction to the College Sports Information Directors Hall of Fame in 2003.

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