Jeff Orleans, the man who helped draft Title IX and secure nearly perfect graduation rates for Ivy League student-athletes, announced last week that he will retire next year as executive director of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents.
"It just seemed that this was a good time, both for me and for the council, for a transition," Orleans told The Herald about his decision to step down from the body that governs Ivy League athletics. "I've been doing this for a long time, and things were running well enough with the league where this would be a good time for me to leave.
After 24 years at the helm of Ivy athletics, Orleans will depart in June 2009 as one of the longest-serving college sports commissioners ever, according to a statement from the Ivy Group.
Reactions from the Brown administrators and coaches he worked with varied. "I wasn't surprised - he's been in the league for a long time," said Carolan Norris, associate athletic director, who has been involved with Brown athletics, both as a coach and administrator, since 1983. "I'm sure he's up for a new change and a new challenge."
Longtime women's ice hockey Head Coach Digit Murphy, though, said she was surprised. "I was actually pretty shocked. I didn't even know he was thinking about retiring."
As director of Ivy League athletics, Orleans' primary role is to serve as a liaison between the various committees within the Ivy Group, which is comprised of the presidents of the eight Ivy League universities. According to Director of Athletics Michael Goldberger, Orleans is responsible for interpreting rules, relaying information and presenting the right information to the right groups.
"He's brought a continuity and a stability," Goldberger said. "When you have somebody who's worked with the rules - and the Ivy League has more than its share of rules - and the changing personalities in these institutions, it's nice to have someone who's been here for a long time and can understand the rules and explain them clearly."
"Jeff has done such a great job within the league office," said Joan Taylor, senior associate athletic director, who has worked in Brown athletics since 1969, when she was hired as head coach of the women's tennis team. "He's been a very strong proponent of the principles of the Ivy League, and he's been really adept at providing us all - all the committees within the Ivy structure - with guidance."
Orleans has also been instrumental in applying some of those broader rules to individual cases, Murphy said. When one of her athletes faced an eligibility issue because she was a double transfer, "the Ivy League was very supportive in getting her eligibility," said Murphy. "The little nuances of the League - he would support those kinds of initiatives as opposed to questioning and rejecting them. He's a good listener."
Orleans said he wished he could have spent more time with coaches and student-athletes. "For me, it's a chance to hear what people think is working and what's not working," Orleans said. "It's part of figuring out where to put our energies and to answer questions for people - to put a face on the words 'Ivy League' and a face on the rule book."
Orleans did get a chance to visit Brown in the fall of 2006. During his two-day visit, Orleans met with various coaches and student-athletes and had lunch with President Ruth Simmons. "I had tons of fun," Orleans said.
Norris said Orleans has also showed up at athletic events. "He's been at games. Whenever we win the league, there's always somebody from his office who's there; it's always nice to have that support," she said.
Orleans has put much of his energy into promoting gender equity in sports. When serving as a federal civil rights lawyer in the 1970s, Orleans was part of a core group that drafted Title IX. "It was exhilarating because we knew we were going to change educational opportunity in the country in a positive way," Orleans said in a January interview with NCAA Championship magazine.
In addition to his role within the league, Orleans represents the Ivy Group in the wider athletics arena. He serves on the NCAA's Division I Management Council, its Restructuring and Gender Equity Task Forces and its Financial Aid and Women's Basketball Issues committees. "He has been a really strong voice for the Ivies," Taylor said. "He's always ensured that votes surrounding regulations benefit the Ivies rather than hurting us."
Barbara Stevens of the firm Isaacson, Miller will conduct the search for Orleans' successor, alongside presidents Amy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania, Drew Faust of Harvard and James Wright of Dartmouth, Orleans told The Herald. In addition, an advisory committee that includes Dean of Admission James Miller '73 and other Ivy League administrators will aid in the hiring process.With regard to his plans for retirement, Orleans remarked, "I want to stay involved in athletics in some way. The only shortcoming of working in this league office is that 90 percent of the games you go to, you can't root. I'm going to go to a lot of ... games and root for a change."
