Van Tatenhove Returns to St. Bonaventure

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Director of Athletics Steve Watson announced today the hiring of Dr. Heather McDivitt for the position of Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Support and Student Services. Megan Van Tatenhove has also re-joined the Department of Athletics to assist McDivitt as an Academic Coordinator.

McDivitt, an Olean, N.Y. native and Portville Central High School graduate completed her undergraduate degree at Grove City College and received a Masters in Education from SUNY Buffalo. After teaching elementary school for four years, she returned to graduate school. She received a Masters of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She comes to SBU from Wingate University in North Carolina where she served as Assistant Professor of Religion. While there she also served as a member of the Academic Affairs Committee, International Studies Committee, Student Affairs Committee and Honor Council. She was recently named the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Faculty Advisor of the Year for 2013.

Heather also worked closely with the student athletes at Wingate. She taught support and study skills classes, coordinated study plans with coaches, served on committees for student success and created a summer bridge program for at-risk students.

“We are all excited to welcome Heather back to the Olean area and to St. Bonaventure” Watson stated. “She has a unique background and experiences which we feel will translate extremely well into her new role working in athletics.”

Her duties will be to oversee the academic progress of all 14 teams at St. Bonaventure. She will assess academic needs of the students, coordinate and carry out appropriate support and intervention strategies, monitor academic progress in accordance with NCAA and University rules and communicate with University faculty, staff and coaches.

"I am thrilled to be working at St. Bonaventure and excited for this opportunity to return to the Olean area. As an educator I feel I can serve as a link between the faculty and our coaches and student-athletes in their pursuit of their degrees, which is the ultimate goal of any university. My teaching and advising experience from the past seven years, including my work mentoring student-athletes has provided me with the background to take this new step in my professional career.”

Megan Van Tatenhove returns to SBU after a year away and following a tremendous career with the women’s basketball team. The Sheboygan Falls, Wis. native finished sixth on the all-time scoring list with 1,453 points and seventh on the all-time rebounding list with 624. During her four-year playing career, she was a 3-time A10 All Conference Player and a 2-time Academic All-Conference honoree. Megan was an Elementary Education major and is currently a graduate student at SBU pursing a Masters degree in Education. Van Tatenhove will assist McDivitt in monitoring student-athlete academic progress.

“Megan was one of the best basketball players to ever play at SBU” added Watson. “But not only was she a great player, she was also an excellent student and leader on and off the court. We’re very lucky to have her back on campus working with our student athletes.”

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