By Braden Ochs | Echo
Amy Stucky, who has served in various athletics administration roles since 1996, has left an administration position to become a full-time faculty in the kinesiology department. It's a new experience for Taylor not to have her in athletics administration, and it's new for Stucky to be in a full-time faculty position.
Matthew Renfrow, department chair and associate professor of kinesiology, has supported her decision to teach full time. It's a change for Taylor, but it is something exciting for current and incoming students.
"We know her well and she has many strengths to bring to the (sport management) major including strong communication and organization skills, a deep (understanding) of, specifically, college athletics and the administration thereof, as well as a strong desire to see the major improve and grow," Renfrow said.
When Stucky worked in the associate athletic director position, she was responsible for day-to-day operations involved with budget and financial management, policy and procedure development, oversight and supervision of events and facilities. Although she has never been in a full-time faculty position, she has taught classes part-time while she worked in her other roles at Taylor.
"(Changing positions) was all my choice," Stucky said. "The position presented itself, and I prayed about it."
Stucky wanted to be sensitive to God's calling, and she felt God calling her to do something else, like teaching sport management full-time. Stucky knew she wanted to stay at Taylor.
According to Stucky, she started her Taylor experience ever since her birth. Her father, Ned Stucky, worked with the Taylor basketball camps for 59 years before retiring this year. Throughout her childhood, the Stucky family came from Portland, Indiana every summer to live on Taylor's campus. They would live in local residents' homes, and Stucky, throughout her childhood, lived in most of the residence halls on campus.
"We laugh in the family because I was born on Wednesday, and went to camp on Sunday," Stucky said.
Stucky worked many different roles in basketball camp even before her undergrad. She would work concessions, work as a secretary and help with anything else on the to-do list.
She came to Taylor as a biology major with a minor in athletic training. Graduating in 1992, she moved to Indianapolis to do athletic training. After one year, she moved to the Chicago area for two years to continue athletic training.
Stucky returned to Taylor in 1995 as Assistant Athletic Trainer and Assistant Hall Director for Olson Hall, which was her residence hall during her undergrad time at Taylor. Soon after coming back, she started working on her master's degree at Ball State in physical education.
During her second year at Taylor, she joined the faculty part-time, and became Assistant Athletic Director. However, due to new responsibilities, she left her role as Assistant Hall Director. She worked in these three roles for almost 10 years, then as her Assistant Athletic Director role developed into Associate Athletic Director, she left her athletic training role. She still kept up with faculty work.
Until this past year, Stucky was in the associate athletic director position, along with her part-time faculty role. In the year of 2015-16, she served as interim Athletic Director. Even though she has been in an administrative role for most of her time at Taylor, she is excited to start her journey as a full-time professor.
"It's an awesome opportunity to utilize a world of sports that we love, and then make sure we have very qualified, professional young people that are stepping into that field," Stucky said. "It doesn't take very long to hear all the negative in sports, but there's a whole lot of positive, and I want to utilize it."
Stucky is excited for her new opportunity to be assistant professor of sport management. She loves to get to know her students and is ready for what the future holds.
