Come and learn about leadership from a university/community leader during our 18:83 Speaker Series!  Each session will be at 2:30pm on a Wednesday in the Memorial Union (1st floor Social Stair).  Each speaker will be focusing on leadership and personal/professional development for students.

This week's presenter is Bill Chaves, the UND Athletics' Director. 

A two-time recipient of national Athletic Director of the Year honors, Chaves came to Grand Forks after having spent the previous decade as director of athletics at Eastern Washington University.

Chaves was honored in 2015-16 for the second time by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) as one of 28 winners of the Under Armour AD of the Year Award (ADOY). Chaves also won the honor in the 2012-13 school year, and was recognized that year in Orlando, Fla.

Highlighted by the installation of the first-ever red synthetic surface in America, the tenure of Chaves at EWU has been punctuated by progress and innovation – but with a definite eye toward the future. He played an integral role in advancing an overall athletics facility vision for the department. His accomplishments also included several key revenue generation initiatives which played a major part in growing EWU's athletic department with an eye toward keeping pace with other NCAA Division I programs.

In 2015, Chaves was appointed to the NCAA Division I Council representing the Big Sky Conference, and served for three years. During his time on the council, he also served on the competition oversight committee and on the women's basketball oversight committee. Recently, Chaves was the only Division I athletic director to serve on the 2-year NCAA Governance Working Group as requested by the NCAA’s Board of Directors. He also has served on a national working group that studied transfers.

In addition, Chaves served four years (2008-12) on the NCAA Administration Cabinet and in his last year served as chair. He also spent 2013-14 on the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct.

Chaves came to Eastern after three years as an associate athletic director for external affairs at Baylor University. He has vast experience in marketing and development at several schools, including two years at Northern Colorado (1999-2001), which became a member of the Big Sky Conference in the 2006-07 school year. Chaves has also served on the Big Sky Conference Championship and Competition Committee since 2008, including as chair from 2010-12. Since 2010 he has also served on the league’s Eligibility Committee. Besides three years at Baylor, Chaves was also at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst as an assistant athletic director (2002-04) and at Northeastern University as director of external affairs for the athletic department (2001-02).Chaves was also sports information director from 1990-95 at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. Chaves received his bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Saint Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla., in 1988. He received the first of two master’s degrees from Oklahoma State in 1991 in health, physical education and leisure. He earned a second master’s degree in sport management in 1999 from Massachusetts.