DSU AD Moves to Executive Student Affairs Post; Louis B. "Skip" Perkins, Jr. hired as Interim AD

DOVER, Delaware  --  With the goal of student success in mind, Delaware State University announced today that Candy Young, the DSU athletics director since August 2012, has been asked to assume the duties of interim associate vice president for Student Affairs.

DSU President Harry L. Williams said that due to the track record of academic achievement among student-athletes under Ms. Young’s AD’s watch, the University wants to extend her leadership impact to the entire student body through Student Affairs.

During Ms. Young’s AD tenure:

• DSU has been the top school for four consecutive years in the MEAC All-Academic Team (3.0 GPA and above), including the current school-record 136 DSU student-athletes recognized during the 2013-14 school year.
• The retention rate for student-athletes over the last two years was 96.2%; the latest four-year graduation rate was 54% (as compared 36% for all students).
• Enhanced opportunities for female athletes to excel competitively have been provided, as well as opportunities for growth and development of female coaches.
• The annual Delaware Diamond Extravaganza event was established to honor individuals making significant contributions to women’s athletics and education, while also showcasing DSU female student-athletes.

“We believe that Ms. Young will strengthen Student Affairs and enhance its positive impact on the student body,” said Dr. Williams.

The new post for Ms. Young is consistent with the University’s Pride 2020 Strategic Plan and its goals for student success, including the improvement of retention and graduation rates, and the expansion and enhancement of quality programs, services and activities to enrich the student experience.

DSU also announced that it has appointed Louis B. “Skip” Perkins, Jr., as the interim associate vice president and athletics director.

Mr. Perkins comes to DSU after serving as the director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Howard University from 2010 to 2014, a post in which he oversaw 19 varsity sports programs that had more than 400 student-athletes.

 

Under his leadership at Howard, a new Academic Support Center was established, which resulted in an overall cumulative GPA of student-athletes that was above 3.0 over the last two school years (2012-13 and 2013-14). Mr. Perkins also oversaw the $10 million renovation of Howard’s Burr Gymnasium, as well as the installation of a synthetic turf system for Greene Stadium.

He also served as the AD of the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff from 2007 to 2010. During his UAPB tenure, five conference titles were won by four different varsity teams – women’s cross country, men’s cross country, women’s soccer and men’s basketball.

The University will commence a search process in the near future for a permanent athletics director.

COURTESY DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS