Dr. Tammy James to be Presented PSAC’s L.P. Hill Unity in Sports Award at WCU Home Basketball Game on February 21
WCU Community & Public Invited to Celebrate Beloved Faculty Member
West Chester University's very own Dr. Tammy James, a longtime faculty member in the Department of Public Health Sciences and now also special assistant to the president for student engagement and retention, was among 17 honorees identified recently by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in its inaugural class for the L.P. Hill Unity in Sports Award. The systemwide award recognizes the contributions of an individual or group on each member campus that, through intercollegiate athletics, epitomizes the promise of Unity, Equity and Access For All. Dr. James, who has championed the success of all students throughout her 25+ years as a beloved faculty member at WCU, will be recognized prior to the tip-off of the men’s home basketball game against Lock Haven on Saturday, February 21, at 3 p.m. in Hollinger Field House. The West Chester University community and members of the public are invited to come out to celebrate Dr. James as she receives this prestigious honor.
“Dr. James excels at making students realize their potential, so they can activate their success,” said Director of Athletics Terry Beattie. “She inspires students’ hopes and, as an advocate, is their strongest ally. Dr. James deserves this statewide recognition, and West Chester University is especially proud of her and her continued commitment to all students. Every student should have a Dr. James in their corner.”
Dr. James’ career centers on helping students from all academic entry points. Among her many success-related duties, Dr. James also represents the Division of Academic Affairs on the CARE team to ensure that concerns for students’ well-being are properly routed and addressed. Prior to her current role, Dr. James was faculty associate for student engagement and retention.
Beginning at WCU in 1994, Dr. James has overseen the development of the highly successful Athletic Mentoring Program, which provides personal and academic support for all WCU student athletes. She applied this model to develop a thriving program entitled COMPASS, which provides academic mentoring support to multicultural students throughout campus. Dr. James continues to provide leadership to the COMPASS program.
“I’ve learned so much about our students by leading two very telling programs,” she said in a recent interview. “I feel honored that students have let me into their lives to see what their needs are, what the barriers are, and what will enable them to not only succeed at our University, but to thrive. I love applying what I have learned to all of our students.”
Dr. James was a finalist for the Pariser Faculty Mentor Award by the PSAC in 2018, which was created by the Division II Student Athlete Advisory Committee to honor an institutional faculty member who has demonstrated dedication, support, and guidance to student-athletes and the institution's athletics program. The award was posthumously named for the inaugural winner of the award in 2013, Dr. Dave Pariser of Bellarmine University, who passed away January of that year.
More About PSAC’s L.P. Hill Unity in Sports Award
PSAC’s L.P. Hill Unity in Sports Award is named after Leslie Pinckney Hill, the first president of Cheyney State Teacher's College. From 1913 to 1950, he was the principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia and oversaw its establishment as Cheyney State Teachers College. The Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard-educated son of a father who had once been enslaved taught at Tuskegee Institute. Mr. Hill was a renowned educator, writer, poet, and community leader. In 1927, a year after the first documents that created the Pennsylvania State Normal School Athletic Association, he argued for the inclusion of Cheyney in the Association's bylaws which had been left out in the initial drafting. The Board of Principals immediately rectified this error, and all 14 state-owned institutions were then included in the Association's initial governing documents.
Here is a complete list of PSAC’s 2025-26 L.P. Hill Unity in Sports Award honorees.