The Chronicle

Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: News
Last update: 4/8/08 at 6:58 AM EST

Chris Kennedy

President Richard Brodhead named Chris Kennedy as interim athletic director in a statement Monday. Kennedy, senior associate director of athletics, will assume the responsibilities of former Director of Athletics Joe Alleva until a permanent replacement is found.

Brodhead also announced that Roy Bostock, Trinity '62, will chair the search committee to find the next athletic director.

Kennedy said he would not apply for the position but plans on maintaining department standards as the search is conducted.

"In an interim situation, it has to be somebody to keep the ship on course," Kennedy said. "You don't want to saddle the person who gets the job permanently with hair-brain schemes that you had or initiatives that might not be what he would choose to do.

"The role is to keep things together, keep things moving forward and beat the snot out of Carolina every time we play them."

Kennedy has served various roles at Duke for 32 years, including the last eight in his current position. He worked closely with Alleva, handling many day-to-day responsibilities. Kennedy, also an adjunct assistant English professor, was one of the primary authors of the new athletic strategic plan, which will be presented to the Board of Trustees in May. He guided Duke through its NCAA certification twice in the last 10 years.

Kennedy applied for the athletic director position in 1998, when Alleva was appointed. Although he will not apply for the new opening, Kennedy said he will help to further the process in any way he is asked.

"It's not very different from what I've been doing," Kennedy said of the interim promotion. "I'm in the same suite as [Alleva] and worked with him on pretty much everything going on. There isn't going to be much of an expansion of responsbilities."

Alleva resigned from his position Friday as he was hired by LSU. He served as Director of Athletics for 10 years.

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