LEWISBURG, Pa. – The NCAA has presented the Bucknell University Department of Athletics and Recreation with a Diversity in Athletics Award. Bucknell was one of seven schools recognized for “Gender Equity Compliance,” which is one of eight categories of diversity success stories highlighted by the NCAA, with research supplied by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University.

Bucknell joined Clemson University, University of California at Riverside, University of Michigan, University of Richmond, University of Southern California and Washington State University as honorees in the Gender Equity Compliance classification. Other categories include diversity strategy, gender diversity of department employees, racial diversity of department employees, value and attitudinal diversity of department employees, graduation of African American male student-athletes and graduation of African American female student-athletes.

According to the LDS Web site, the Gender Equity Compliance rankings were based on the proportion of female student-athletes relative to the proportion of female undergraduates. Data was gathered from the U.S. Department of Education’s gender equity survey. Athletics departments within one percent of equality received the highest Gender Equity Compliance scores. In the 2006-07 academic year, women comprised 51.6 percent of Bucknell’s student body, while women accounted for 52.2 percent of all participating Bison student-athletes.

“Bucknell University is proud to be a place that embraces diversity in all of its forms, and we appreciate the NCAA’s recognizing our commitment to providing opportunities for all our students in both academics and athletics,” said Bucknell University President Brian C. Mitchell.

“This is a significant honor for Bison Athletics, as a commitment to providing equitable opportunities for both women and men is a key piece of our mission,” said John Hardt, director of athletics and recreation. “We have a lengthy and well-thought-out long-range diversity and gender equity plan in place, one that recently received high marks from the NCAA Committee on Certification. Diversity in all forms will always be a departmental priority.”

Bucknell is a highly selective, privately endowed liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 3,400 undergraduate students. Recently, 17 Bison programs earned NCAA Public Recognition for having Academic Performance Rates in the top 10 percent nationally in their respective sport. In addition, Bucknell ranks fifth in Division I in the total number of CoSIDA Academic All-America selections, with 116 national Academic All-America awards since 1970.