Joel Dant |
Culver-Stockton College athletic director Joel Dant will resign from his current position, effective June 30, 2010, the school announced this afternoon.
"I will serve out the remainder of this fiscal year as athletic director and leave the college as that is best for my long and short term personal goals," said Dant.
Dant was named athletic director on April 21, 2009, and began his duties on June 1, 2009, with the goal of emphasizing a strong vision of leadership, management and organizational development.
"We now have a full staff of excellent coaches and the athletic program appears to be on track to move forward in the direction that was set when I joined the college almost a year ago," said Dant. "That direction was to recruit student athletes who would not only graduate, but also be more competitive in their respective sports.
"The biggest and most important contribution that I have made to that end was to hire and maintain a staff of coaches who embrace this philosophy and will sustain it for years to come."
A Hannibal, Mo., native, Dant earned a bachelor's degree in sociology at C-SC and his master's degree in labor and industrial relations at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich. He began his corporate career in human resources at Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich.; and after eight years, moved on to the Pillsbury Company, Minneapolis, Minn., where he spent another eight years in diversity management and human resources. In 1999, he began an eight-year stint as vice president-human resources at Leaf North America, Lake Forest, Ill. His experience also includes vice president, human resources, Credit Division, Sears, Roebuck and Co., Chicago; director, people services, United Airlines, Chicago; and director, human resources, Alliant Energy Resources, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Most recently, he was vice president of business development for a privately held U.S. talent management firm, Kensington International.
While at C-SC, Dant was a student athlete and excelled both on the basketball court and in the classroom (dean’s list his senior year). He was all conference and honorably mentioned as an NAIA Academic All American his senior year. Dant also played semi-professional basketball for a brief period after graduate school.
"I have truly enjoyed the opportunity to come back to my alma mater and look forward to observing in the classroom and on the athletic fields the fruits of, not only my labor, but all who contributed. I will work closely with the administration to hire my successor."
Culver-Stockton College announced a search for Dant’s successor will begin immediately.
