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General David Alexander, Assistant A.D. for Communications

DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS AND RECREATION CATHY CUMMINGS HAKER TO RETIRE AFTER 43 YEARS OF SERVICE

ALBANY, N.Y. - Cathy Cummings Haker, Director of Athletics and Recreation, is retiring after 43 years of service to The College of Saint Rose. Her retirement will be effective July 1, 2019, and Saint Rose has embarked on a national search for her replacement.
 
Haker has been instrumental in developing a flourishing NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics department of 19 programs that consisted solely of men's and women's basketball when she arrived in 1976 as the head women's basketball coach. Most recently, she launched a women's lacrosse program, with play starting in Spring 2020. Additionally, she has taken pride in the Golden Knights embodiment of Division II's Life in the Balance philosophy, in which student-athletes excel academically and athletically, while being engaged with the local community.
 
"I am so thankful for the tremendous opportunity that The College of Saint Rose offered me as a young professional fresh out of college. Little did I know at the time that I would spend my entire career at Saint Rose, with the ability and the support to grow an athletics program in so many ways," said Haker. "It has been the dedication and passion of hundreds of coaches, staff members, administrators and faculty over the years, in service to our students and the College, which has brought us so much success. I will miss the day-to-day interactions with colleagues and our wonderful students, but Saint Rose is woven in the fabric of my being, and I will forever be a Golden Knight!"
 
"We are so grateful to Cathy for the way in which she has led the Saint Rose athletics program over these many years," said Saint Rose President Carolyn J. Stefanco. "Cathy saw Golden Knights athletics through an evolution, and she served as a leader in a field where, even today, just 18 percent of Division II athletics directors are women. Our student-athletes value her as someone who emphasizes their growth as people as much as their growth as players, and both men and women in athletics have looked to her as a role model. We know that, because of her great respect for our players and coaches, we will continue to see her cheering in the stands for our Golden Knights."
 
Haker played a key role in the $7.5 million expansion and renovation of the Events and Athletics Center in 2004, and the development of the Christian Plumeri Sports Complex that opened in 2010. The softball field within the complex bears her name in recognition of her leadership.
 
Haker guided Saint Rose from membership in the regional Northeastern Athletic Conference (NAC) to national affiliation with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). She also directed the College's subsequent transition into the NCAA; Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC); and the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC), now the East Coast Conference; and played a vital role in the College's successful bid for membership into the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10).
 
Haker served for six years as an ECAC basketball officials' supervisor following 12 seasons as the head coach of the Saint Rose women's basketball program and was a member of the NCAA Division II women's basketball committee. In addition, she chaired the NCAA Northeast Region women's basketball committee from 2000 to 2004.
 
Haker was furthermore president of the Northeastern Athletic Conference for five years, was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics District 31 Executive Committee, held the positions of secretary/treasurer and vice president of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and served as secretary and vice president of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference. She also held coaching and administrative positions for the Adirondack Region of the Empire State Games throughout a 17-year span.
 
A native of Delmar, New York, Haker was a standout on the field hockey, women's basketball, and women's lacrosse teams at Hartwick College.
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