CLEVELAND – Western Michigan Vice President/Director of Athletics Dan Bartholomae has been named the winner of the Mid-American Conference's 2023-24 1-MAC Administrator Award for Diversity & Inclusion.
During Bartholomae's tenure, WMU has become a leader in student-athlete and staff development with a focus on creating a welcoming and inclusive environment within the department. Bartholomae started the first stand-alone life skills program in WMU history in Broncos EmPOWERed, a donor funded effort to support the holistic development and personal growth of Bronco Student-Athletes. The Broncos EmPOWERed Program includes career development and graduate school prep, leadership development, personal development, financial education, community service, diversity and inclusion, and personal brand management. WMU student-athletes have led the MAC in back-to back years in community service hours, while their service record was ranked #16 in the country in 2023-24, and the Women's Golf program was recognized by Helper Helper as the national champion in service.
"What an honor to be thought of in this capacity by my peers," said Bartholomae. "As is the case with any individual recognition, it is representative of being surrounded by a great team, and I thank our student-athletes, coaches, staff and President's Cabinet colleagues for believing in our vision and working so hard to achieve our goals."
Since his arrival in 2022, Western Michigan received the three largest gifts to women's sports in school history. Bartholomae's leadership and support has translated to over $3M in capital construction to support women's sports, including new locker rooms for the women's basketball, gymnastics, and cross country and track and field programs. WMU's golf team also received a $1.5M gift for the construction of the Jeff and Stephanie Bergeron Golf Performance Center within WMU's Donald J Seelye Athletic Center.
Bartholomae has also embedded principles of diversity, equity and inclusion into WMU Athletics' Strategic Plan. The plan has established the Black Cultivated Athlete group and WISE, which has created safe and supportive spaces for underrepresented student-athletes. WMU Athletics has also partnered with groups across campus to sponsor events like the WMU Blake Male Summit and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Bartholomae is the third WMU administrator to win the award since its inception in 2018, joining Sr. Associate AD for Broncos Empowered Julian Jones (2022) and Sr. Associate AD for Medical Services Dennis Corbin (2018).
Buffalo football graduate student-athlete Taji Johnson was named the winner of the Diversity & Inclusion Student-Athlete Award, while Eastern Michigan won the institutional award.
