Last month, Women Leaders in College Sports hosted its annual Women Leaders National Convention.
The convention brought together women from all over the country who have been instrumental in the growth and development of women's athletics in the 50 years since the passing of Title IX and included a compelling keynote speaker line-up and expert panels, breakout sessions focused on leadership, career strategy and networking opportunities.
Kent State was represented at the Title IX Trailblazers: Lunch with Legends event, as Judy Devine, former Senior Associate Athletics Director and Professor, Emeritus, and Chris Plonsky, former women's basketball player and Kent State Athletics media relations assistant, were two of 56 Trailblazers invited to share their experiences as women in the college sports industry.
"Celebrating these Trailblazers was a highlight of the convention this year," Suzette McQueen, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator, said. "Judy Devine and Chris Plonsky are certainly two amazing representatives with ties to Kent State, and our women's programs continue to benefit from their leadership every day."
Devine, who led the charge for diversity and equality during her tenure as a coach and administrator at Kent State, was the first female administrator inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame in 2014 and was awarded Kent State's Diversity Trailblazer Award for her contributions of diversity to the university community the same year. She was also inducted into the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Hall of Fame in 2016.
Plonsky earned a Bachelor's degree in Journalism in 1979 from Kent State, where she was a three-year basketball student-athlete, undergraduate KSU athletics media relations assistant and editor of The Daily Kent Stater. She has worked at the University of Texas for 35 years and was named the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) Division1-A Administrator of the Year in 2004. In 2021, Plonsky was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
The 2023 Women Leaders National Convention will be held in New Orleans on Oct. 8-10.
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