Faith Shearer was promoted to Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator in August of 2021. She served as Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator since joining Elon University in 2002. Shearer oversees the Phoenix women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, track and field, cross country and volleyball programs. In addition, she coordinates gender equity and diversity efforts for the athletics department, serving as one of Elon’s deputy Title IX coordinators as well as the department’s NCAA Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee. Shearer also oversees various student-athlete wellness initiatives, community service efforts and advises the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
During her time at Elon, Shearer has also served as sport supervisor for the men’s and women’s tennis teams and the softball program. In addition, she has also provided departmental oversight for academic advising, supervised communications, coordinated eligibility certification and served as the department’s liaison to admissions. In 2010, she served as the athletics campus contact for the department’s NCAA certification self-study. Shearer was honored with the Phoenix Community Engagement Award at Elon’s 2014 Staff Appreciation Day.
Shearer currently serves on the Colonial Athletic Association Senior Woman Administrator Committee and is a liaison for the track and field and men’s golf committees. Prior to Elon joining the CAA, she served on the Southern Conference women’s basketball, track and field, diversity and inclusion, and audit committees. Shearer was a member of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics from 2006 to 2010, serving as chair in her final year. She also served as chair of the 2009 NCAA Women of the Year selection committee and has previously served as a member of the NCAA Olympic Sport Liaison Committee. A member of Women Leaders in College Sports, Shearer is also a past member of the organization’s board of directors.
Shearer came to Elon after working at Johns Hopkins University for three years (July 1999-June 2002) as its Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation and Senior Woman Administrator. She also served for two years as Assistant Director of Athletics for Internal Affairs at Morgan State University, and for two years as Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance and Game Operations at North Carolina Central University.
The graduate of Smith College, Shearer holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She was a four-year member of the Smith volleyball team, captaining her senior year squad. Shearer earned a graduate certificate in the Johns Hopkins University Women, Leadership and Change management program and went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Organization Development and Human Resources at Johns Hopkins.
