Q&A: Barbara Chesler

Title: Senior Associate Athletic Director
Years at Yale: 27
First job at Yale: Associate Athletic Director
Education: B.A., Indiana University, Bloomington; Masters from the University of Iowa, Athletic Administration
Extracurricular: Enjoys hiking, tennis, travel and serves on the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Women and Girls Fund

Where did you grow up and were you always interested in sports?
Wow, we’re going back a long time now. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.   And, yes, I was always involved in sports. I loved baseball and wiffle ball (laughs). I played tennis and ice skated as a youngster and beginning in junior high, I played on all the teams. I was very fortunate that my junior high school in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s had girls teams. I think this was somewhat unusual for this era. My high school also offered many interscholastic opportunities for girls and I played field hockey, volleyball, basketball and tennis.

I'm sure I was influenced by my older brother, ten years older, who played baseball and tennis with me and took me to all his games.

How did you come to work at Yale? 
I did graduate work at the University of Iowa and my first job out of graduate school was at Manhattanville College where I coached field hockey and was an assistant athletic director. I was there for five years. I found my way to Yale through the recommendation of a former field hockey coach at Iowa. I was going to be her graduate assistant, but she left to become an administrator at Barnard/Columbia. We stayed in touch and when a job opened up here at Yale, she encouraged me to apply.   

What was your first job at Yale?
Athletics was very different when I arrived in 1985.  We didn’t have nearly the staff we have today. Our teams played primarily against local schools plus the Ivies.  My primary responsibility was overseeing our varsity teams. I did budget work, scheduling, served as the admission’s liaison, and handled athlete eligibility. In those days, the latter was minimal. Today it requires the work of two full-time people. We had two computers in the entire department.  

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work in many different aspects of intercollegiate administration. I've done some development work, and overseen our facilities area. Specifically, in the past 17 years, I’ve served as the primary liaison with central facilities on all our capital projects; renovations and new buildings. We have done close to 20 different projects during this period thanks to the vision of our athletic director and the generosity of our alumni.   

You mentioned that you're proud of some "sidebars" to your career?
In 2003, I cultivated an endowment for women’s athletics called WISER, which stands for Women’s Intercollegiate Sports Endowment and Resource. This is now a million dollar-plus endowment that was started by nine Yale alumnae.  The purpose of the endowment was initially to raise supplemental funds for our women’s programs, but WISER has also fostered relationships between current women athletes and our alumnae. It has helped recent women graduates get jobs and meet people when they leave New Haven. WISER has become less about fundraising and more about making connections; although the fundraising aspect is still very important.

I’ve also been extraordinarily fortunate to be involved on a number of NCAA committees.  I am most proud to have served as the chair on the inaugural NCAA women’s rowing championship committee. The first women’s rowing championship was in 1997 and planning began a year and a half prior. I was on the committee for the first 5-6 years.  I am truly grateful to Yale for this experience as I am sure that it was due to the incredible history of our women’s crew program that I was selected for this committee.

What are some of the highlights of your job?
There have to be hundreds. I’ve been lucky enough over my tenure to have been exposed to many different aspects of collegiate and athletic administration and to work with an incredibly talented group of athletes and coaches.  Sports has been part of my fabric for so long and I consider it a privilege to have had this career in intercollegiate athletics.

I’m at a university and in a league that fit with my values and principles. We do the right thing here. We provide our young men and women with the chance to excel in their respective sport and compete at the highest level and at the same time they are the top students in the country. Yale has afforded me with the most extraordinary opportunities: I am working at one of the greatest institutions in the world; I have met and work with incredible people; I’ve travelled many places throughout the world with some of our teams; I've had the opportunity to work with the International Special Olympics and be part of Yale’s Tercentennial. Asking me what is the favorite part of my job is like asking me what’s my favorite sport -- I can’t answer it. 

Who have been your role models along your career journey?
There are a number of people who have influenced me throughout my life. One who most inspired me as a teenager was Billie Jean King. I wanted to be a tennis player just like her. I will never forget her playing Bobby Riggs! To this day, I can still envision how excited I was when she won. I’m sure at the time I didn’t understand, but in retrospect, that victory had a huge impact on shaping my career.

I also had a physical education teacher in high school named Jean Martin.  She was my tennis coach and really encouraged me as an athlete. I recall her telling my folks that she thought I should become an administrator of girls’ athletics; at the time, I didn’t even know what that meant.

During my junior year in college, when I decided I wanted to pursue a career in athletic administration, I looked for graduate programs where women leaders in college athletics were working or had gone to school. I chose the University of Iowa because of many women, but specifically Dr. Peggy Burke, who was at the time chair of the Physical Education Department, and Dr. Christine Grant, who was the women’s athletic director. These women worked tirelessly for the passage of Title IX and fought hard to create more of a future for girls and women in sports. 

When I came to Yale, a woman named Louise O’Neal was the a senior administrator at Dartmouth and ultimately became the athletic director at Wellesley College. She had previously been at Yale as the women’s basketball coach.  She was and still is a wonderful mentor.   

What advice do you have for staff members who want to grow their careers at Yale?
You have to follow your passions. Do something you love doing. I’ve been so fortunate over the years to call what I do every day “work.” Is every day perfect? No. But overall, I have stayed here for 27 years because I really love what I do. Be sure you’re doing something you are passionate about, and if not, try to seek out something that you think would be a better fit.

I would also recommend becoming engaged in the Yale community. I remember from my first years at Yale meeting people such as Trish Pierce, who at the time was associate dean at Yale College, and Joe Gordon—I’ve now known them for over 25 years. Joe’s worn many hats, but I think he was acting master at Pierson and invited me to be a fellow. I am still involved with Pierson today.  As I mentioned, I’ve served as our admissions liaison and today have many personal friends who were working there back in the ‘80s.

Reach out and become involved in the both the Yale and New Haven communities. I’ve been on an endless number of University committees. Yale is family. It’s a big part of who I am.  

I understand you are a champion of sustainability here at Yale?
I am working to try and help our department have more sustainable practices in the areas of recycling, water usage and reducing our carbon footprint. This is just another example of how Yale affords people the opportunity to get involved and make a difference. My involvement with our sustainability team came from a personal quest. I’m a big outdoors fan and working to help save our planet is really important to me. I first learned we had an Office of Sustainability when President Levin mentioned Julie Newman at an Officer’s open house around 2004. Eventually I went to meet with Julie and told her I was interested in seeing how Athletics could partner with her office. Obviously, sustainability also ties in well with capital projects and the renovation and building of new facilities.  

Do you have any special workplace memories?
Thousands! I would say the first ones that come to mind are championship moments and big wins for our teams; that is what everyone in our department works so hard to achieve. Being with different teams at the time they’ve won or medaled at a championship is without question some of my best memories. After that comes the friendships that I’ve made throughout my tenure at Yale. I have worked with and met so many great people. Starting the WISER Endowment is another special memory; I sat in this office with six to nine women and in the course of an hour, they had pledged over $350,000 to start this fund. Lastly, I love when former athletes come back to visit. They have grown up so much and it’s very rewarding for me.