From Brandeis University Athletics
Brandeis University Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa ’90 has been promoted to Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, effective immediately, University Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel announced today. Senior Associate Athletic Director Lynne Dempsey ’93 will serve as Acting Athletic Director.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me,” Sousa said. “I will always be a part of the Brandeis Athletics family and will continue to be present in support of our student-athletes in my new role.”
Sousa has been Director of Athletics at Brandeis since 2004. In that time, nine different Judges programs have earned national rankings. The Judges have made 18 NCAA tournament appearances, including five appearances in the national quarterfinals. Brandeis teams have also won 10 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England titles. Thirty different Judges have been named All-American in that span, while four have earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. Sousa was responsible for hiring six of the Judges’ current full-time head coaches.
In 2013, she was promoted to Assistant Vice President for Health and Wellness, and was made Associate V.P in 2014. In that role, she has overseen Brandeis’s Health Center, Psychological Counseling Center and Office of Prevention Services in addition to serving as A.D.
In her new role, she will also oversee the following offices: Community Service, Dean of Students, Intercultural Center, Interfaith Chaplaincy, Orientation, Student Activities, and Student Rights and Community Standards.
A 1990 graduate of Brandeis who was a two-sport standout in volleyball and softball, Sousa earned the department’s Morris A. Sepinuck Sportsmanship Award as a senior. She returned to Brandeis as volleyball coach in 1998, helping the team to three ECAC tournament berths before taking over as Director of Athletics.
Dempsey will succeed Sousa after serving as her top assistant for the past 11 years. A 1993 Brandeis graduate who starred in soccer, basketball and softball for the Judges, Dempsey earned the program’s Max I. Silber Award as the top female athlete as a senior. After a year as a part-time employee with the Judges, she returned to her alma mater full time in 1994 and has served the department of athletics in several capacities ever since. She has been the Senior Associate Director of Athletics since 2011.
Dempsey currently supervises all of the administrative staff and oversees the day-to-day operations of the department. Her other duties include team travel, NCAA compliance, corporate partnerships and working as liaison with Academic Services, Alumni Relations, Student Life, Public Safety, and Health and Wellness. Dempsey serves on several University committees, including the Committee on Academic Standing and the Personal Safety Committee. She will also serve as the point person in the department with recruiting and admissions.