TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Department of Athletics has made four additions to its Student-Athlete Support Services unit, executive senior associate athletics director Dr. Joe Luckey announced Thursday. Jada Harris, Elijah Van Dyke and Jessie Mills have been added to The UC Student-Athlete Development Academy as coordinators of student-athlete development and letterwinner engagement, while Samantha Finglass McKean joins the department as program director of C-Club.
Harris, a Cincinnati native who holds a bachelor’s degree in sport leadership and management from Miami University and a master’s degree in business administration and sport administration from Ohio University, is responsible for creating leadership, personal development, community impact and career exploration programming for The Academy. She also coordinates community impact, letterwinner and special event initiatives while managing student-athlete and alumni data, reporting, branding, social media and storytelling. Harris collaborates with coaches, staff, alumni and community partners to promote student-athlete development and welfare.
Van Dyke, from Wheaton, Ill., holds a bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in sports business, along with a minor in special events management from Arizona State. In addition, he possesses a master’s degree in sport business from Temple. Van Dyke also creates leadership, personal development, community impact and career exploration programming for The Academy. He also coordinates community impact, letterwinner, and special event initiatives while managing student-athlete and alumni data, reporting, branding, social media and storytelling. Additionally, he collaborates with coaches, staff, alumni and community partners to promote student-athlete development and welfare.
Mills, who holds a bachelor’s degree in special education from Austin Peay and a master’s in educational leadership from Memphis, returns to Clifton after serving as assistant athletic director for student-athlete development from 2015-21. The Northville, Mich., native who also spent time at UCF and Memphis, works with The Academy team to enhance student-athletes’ success at Cincinnati and prepare them for their careers beyond college. She also serves as the coordinator of the Bearcats Go Pro career initiative.
Finglass McKean is a native Coppell, Texas, who earned her bachelor’s in media studies from Texas A&M and a master’s in intercollegiate athletic leadership from Washington. McKean, who also possesses experience with the Texas A&M Letterman’s Association and Rebel Athletic, works to cultivate a lifelong commitment to connection and celebration among former Bearcats student-athletes. She serves as a bridge between the Cincinnati Athletics Department and the generations of Bearcats who helped build the foundation for the program today.