WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Whitman College Athletic Director Kim Chandler has named Al Reiser as the College's first Associate Athletic Director.

"I am excited to have Al Reiser join our team," said Chandler.  "Al's candidacy rose to the top from a robust pool of candidates as we searched for a qualified and experienced candidate to oversee our compliance needs in addition to other departmental initiatives.

"Al brings a unique set of qualities to this position and to the Whitman Athletics Department. He has a strong academic background and will be finishing his Ed.D in education this summer. He also brings a strong athletic background with his work in Division I athletics, along with his undergraduate work at a NCAA Division III, highly selective liberal arts institution. This unique blend of experiences, coupled with Al's passion to return to the Division III level and his passion for working with coaches and student-athletes, will enable him to contribute at a high level to our department and to our entire campus community."

"I'm incredibly excited to join the team," said Reiser. "Whitman represents an opportunity for me to return to my DIII roots. I'm passionate about student development, and I'm passionate about competing at the highest levels. I look forward to helping young scholar athletes on their journeys through college and sport. I'm happy to be joining the Whitman family, and I can't wait to see how far we can go."

Reiser brings over 15 years of work in academics and athletics at the collegiate level and comes to Whitman from the University of Wyoming where he served as the school's Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Services since 2014. At Wyoming, he oversaw the initial and continuing academic eligibility for all student-athletes and was the athletics liaison to the University.

Prior to Wyoming, he served four years as the Assistant Director of Academic Services for the University of Utah Athletics and, before his time with the Utes, was the Athletics Mentor and Academic Specialist for Indiana University Athletics in Bloomington.

Reiser has a proven track record of success. At Wyoming, he led the athletic department to record highs in academic progress rate and grade point average. Prior to that, he did the same for the football team at the University of Utah.