Director of Admission Michael Goldberger will take over as athletic director beginning July 1, President Ruth Simmons announced Wednesday morning. Goldberger will replace Joan Taylor, who has served as interim athletic director for the past year.
"After conducting an extensive national search, it became clear that there was only one person in the country who fulfilled all of these (qualities desired) for an athletic director," said Luiz Valente, professor of Portuguese and Brazilian studies and comparative literature and chair of the committee that chose the new A.D.
For many students, Goldberger's name is synonymous with acceptance or rejection letters, but he began his time at Brown as an assistant baseball and football coach. "Goldie," a football player for former Head Football Coach John Anderson while both were at Middlebury College, taught math at a reform school before coming to Brown to serve as assistant football coach at the age of 22.
Goldberger said that though he was very happy with his job in the Admission Office, he is grateful for the opportunity to face new career challenges. He said he felt he is entering the athletic department at a particularly strong time, but he still has ideas for the department he would like to pursue.
"I would like to talk to athletes and students and determine issues" that they find important, Goldberger said. One of the biggest challenges Goldberger faces as he enters his new position is determining what role athletics should play at an Ivy League institution, he said.
Goldberger said he believes athletes are frequently given a hard time because of stereotypes, but he stressed that athletes at Brown are extremely bright - among the smartest 10 percent in the nation.
Goldberger said he would like to break down the barrier between academics and athletics and work toward "getting that feel on campus that coaches are educators and athletes are students."
When he first arrived at Brown, Goldberger said, he dreamed of "big-time coaching," but having held positions in admission for over 20 years, he was somewhat surprised to be asked to take over as athletic director. However, because of his past links with the Brown athletic department, Goldberger said, "it would be logical to ask."
Though it is unusual to switch from admission to athletics after 22 years in the former, Goldberger said he has followed a rather unorthodox path since arriving at Brown, moving from athletics to admission and back again.
The announcement of Goldberger as the new A.D. surprised some, especially since the University hosted visits from three finalists for the job recently, the Providence Journal reported.
Goldberger said he hopes to help integrate athletics, academics and social life at Brown. According to Goldberger, at a school like Brown the three experiences are inextricably linked, and all help form the Brown experience. He said he is looking forward to improving what he already considers a strong department.
"This is just a great day," he said.
