Dr. Joshua Wilkey has been named Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) at Brevard College (BC), announced BC President Bradley J Andrews. A vital position for the holistic and experiential success of BC’s student-athletes, the FAR serves as the liaison between the athletic department and the college’s faculty. The position is a presidential appointment required by the NCAA.
In his seventh year at Brevard College, Dr. Wilkey is currently BC’s Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and holds a faculty appointment in the college’s Business & Organizational Leadership Program.
“Dr. Wilkey has played a key role over the past several years, in terms of working with student athletes and eligibility,” said President Andrews. “I am confident in Josh’s ability to continue using his expertise in serving our students’ needs and addressing issues in this critical role.”
Valuing the richness that Division III Athletics brings to the Brevard College campus community, Dr. Wilkey is excited to serve BC’s student-athletes and faculty in his role as Faculty Athletics Representative. Dr. Wilkey regularly teaches and interacts with student athletes, helping navigate academic challenges and find workable solutions that help embrace dual identities as scholar-athletes.
“NCAA Division III Athletics is such a valuable and enriching part of our campus community, and I am incredibly excited to serve our student-athletes in this new capacity,” said Dr. Wilkey. “Our student athletes are leaders on the field, on the court, in the classroom, and across campus, and I am continually impressed by their commitment to our campus community. While I already know so many of our student athletes from my work as a professor and an administrator, I can’t wait to get to know even more of them when I attend their games and matches, practices, and SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) meetings.”
Dr. Wilkey sees intercollegiate athletics as one of the single greatest opportunities for equity within higher education, providing a pathway to a baccalaureate-level education. Over the years, he has worked with first-year student athletes, watching them excel both in their sport and in the classroom, then head across the graduation stage to go out and change the world, having had a robust educational experience made all the more meaningful by their participation in a sport they love.
“Dr. Wilkey’s rich understanding of the student-athlete experience, along with his immense expertise in higher education makes him a natural for this position,” said Director of Athletics Myranda Nash. “His attentive nature and genuine care of the well-being of every student at Brevard College is remarkable. We are extremely thankful to have Josh as our Faculty Athletics Representative.”
Dr. Wilkey first came to Brevard College as an Adjunct Instructor of History in 2016 and remained a History professor through 2021 teaching ten different course offerings. In 2018, he was named Director of Institutional Effectiveness, responsible for the college’s assessment, accreditation, compliance and institutional initiatives, amongst other duties.
In August of 2021, Dr. Wilkey was appointed as Brevard College’s Associate Dean of Academic Affairs to serve as the second highest-ranking academic administrator at the college. In this role, Dr. Wilkey is responsible for general academic administration along with all student success initiatives based in Academic Affairs, including student retention, academic support services, disability services, BC’s First Year Experience, and advising.
Last fall, Dr. Wilkey also became an Assistant Professor of Business & Organizational Leadership where he continues to teach courses in Organizational Leadership and Research Methodology.
While not an intercollegiate athlete himself, Dr. Wilkey grew up playing baseball and was an Atlanta Braves fan. He spent most of his summer evenings “parked in front of an AM radio listening to Chip Caray and Pete Van Wieren announce Braves games, an experience that forever endeared me to the power of sports as a way of thinking about the potential of the world outside my hometown and impoverished upbringing.”
Later in life, Dr. Wilkey went to work at a local radio station in his hometown, working both as a sales representative and announcer, spending two seasons as the color commentator for Pisgah High School Black Bear football. Eventually, before he found his way to higher education, Dr. Wilkey owned and operated small-market radio stations in Tennessee and Kentucky, often pitching in as color commentator for high school football.
Dr. Wilkey did not have the opportunity to attend college until later in life, but quickly realized once he entered college that he would likely never exit.
“I took a circuitous path to higher education,” recalled Dr. Wilkey. “I was 31 the first time I stepped into a college classroom and I pretty quickly decided that I probably never wanted to leave. I fell in love with teaching and with serving students and realized that my calling was in higher education.”
Dr. Wilkey earned Bachelor of Science degree in History from Western Carolina University in 2014, then added a Master of Arts degree in History from WCU in 2016. In May of 2022, he earned a Doctor in Education degree from the University of Alabama.
Originally from Dillsboro, North Carolina, Dr. Wilkey and his family currently reside in Sylva, North Carolina.
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