A Tip of the Viking Helmet

Athletic Director Here to Win

After an intensive national search, CSU selected Scott Garrett as its seventh director of athletics, providing leadership and oversight for 18 NCAA Division I sports. For the past nine years, he was a senior athletic administrator at Kansas State University.

“Scott Garrett is a very successful leader who has had a tremendous impact at every level of athletics administration he has touched. He is all about building a winning culture with integrity and values – both on the field and in the classroom,” said President Harlan Sands. “We are very excited that he is on our team.”

Garrett believes there are numerous opportunities to move CSU Athletics forward and says he will “help staff and coaches deliver transformational experiences for student-athletes and enthusiastically cultivate Cleveland State stakeholders for their support in our efforts.”

At Kansas State, Garrett was responsible for all aspects of athletics administration, including strategic revenue generation initiatives and fan experience programming. His leadership helped generate 46 sellouts in football; national Top 25 attendance rankings in men’s and women’s basketball, women’s soccer, volleyball and baseball; and a 40 percent increase in overall ticket revenue. His duties at Kansas State also included management of a donor portfolio accounting for over $1.5 million in contributions annually; spearheading the department’s strategic planning efforts; and sport administration oversight, including coaching personnel evaluations and search management.

40 Under 40

Madalynn Wendland and Dakota King-White were chosen for Crain’s Cleveland Business’ annual 40 Under 40 ranking, which highlights top young professionals in Northeast Ohio who are making major contributions to their communities.

Madalynn Wendland

Wendland is an associate clinical professor in CSU’s School of Health Sciences, associate director for inter-professional education, and co-founder and coordinator of PLAAY on the Move, an initiative that promotes independence, mobility and access for young children with mobility and sensory impairments.

King-White is an assistant professor and coordinator of the school counseling degree program in CSU’s College of Education and Human Services. Her research focuses on improving mental health and educational outcomes for children in K-12 schools.

Through her efforts with PLAAY on the Move, Wendland leads a multidisciplinary team of faculty, students and volunteers who foster the use of low-cost, adaptive technologies in the community. This includes adapted battery-powered, ride-on cars, many of which are then donated to local families through the generous support of National Interstate Insurance and the Reinberger Foundation. Wendland’s team also takes the cars, as well as multi-directional, body-weight-supported, hands-free harness systems, to local venues such as the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Metroparks Zoo and the Children’s Museum of Cleveland.

Dakota King-White

King-White studies the psychological, emotional and behavioral health of children in K-12 schools with an emphasis on children of incarcerated parents. She is currently working with local school districts to develop and implement learning and support models that can improve both mental health and educational outcomes for all students. Among the tools she is using is a children’s book she authored, Oh No! When a Parent Goes Away, which provides specific engagement tools for working with elementary school children.

Space Advisor

Mark Sundahl, professor of law, was appointed to the Regulatory and Policy Committee of the NASA Advisory Council. The committee provides advice and expert counsel regarding policy and regulatory changes that are needed to assist NASA in its mission to increase humankind’s understanding and use of outer space. Specifically, the committee will focus on leveraging strengths of the private sector in the development of human activity in earth orbit, on the moon, and eventually on Mars and other celestial bodies.

Sundahl is an international expert on space law and policy and serves as director of CSU’s Global Law Space Center, one of the first academic research centers focused on laws governing outer space. He also has been involved in many domestic and international initiatives in the field, including the ongoing work of The Hague Working Group on the Governance of Space Resources and the United Nations’ Space Learning Group. He has also served as chair of the FAA’s International Space Policy Working Group and as an advisor to the U.S. Delegation to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.