Kelsey Hunter was recently named the Assistant Athletic Director for Equity, Inclusion and Student-Athlete Well-being in July 2023. Hunter graduated from Smith in 2017, where she was a varsity athlete on the equestrian team and majored in psychology. She began working for Smith Athletics in 2019 as Coordinator of Student Athlete Development and Enhancement, which later evolved to Student Athlete Wellness Coordinator, and now to her current position.
Aside from the need for mental health support for all students, Hunter explained how post-COVID, the need for her position skyrocketed due to the exponential increase in mental health issues in young adults. Hunter also drew attention to the significance of the Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action this summer along with the rise of national anti-transgender legislation. These events have not only made mental health support even more vital, but they have also brought equity and inclusion to the forefront of the athletic administration’s goals for the future. They intend to “maintain and continue to pursue equity and inclusion work and diverse recruiting” even though admissions can no longer “admit in a race-aware way.”
Hunter said that their approach to achieve diverse recruiting is to make sure “coaches and grad students understand the importance of equity and inclusion” as they are at the head of the recruiting process. She added that diverse recruiting is “something that we inherently stand for. It’s never been just a tick box.”
The department has laid out their goals for the future in a comprehensive racial justice action plan. They recently released separate student-athlete and staff climate surveys asking participants which issues are plaguing the department, so they can tailor their course of action to the more specific needs of members of the athletic community. They are also continuing their efforts to organize regular coaches education, affinity programming for athletes of color, as well as referring athletes to outside resources if the department can’t meet their needs. Hunter said that while the Supreme Court decision slightly complicates their methods of recruiting a diverse pool of athletes, “the goal is still the same, there are just different parameters on what that looks like.”
Additionally, Hunter explained how the anti-transgender legislation has brought transgender issues into the public eye of the sports world. This is not a new issue facing the Smith Athletics community. Hunter said that she has been discussing the difficulties of being transgender and competing at a collegiate level since her time as a student-athlete. She stated that she often discusses with athletes the dilemma of waiting to medically transition until after graduation. This decision is especially difficult in cases of athletes transitioning from female to male or female to nonbinary. Many of the hormone treatments and gender-affirming surgeries in these transitions would force the athlete to move to the men’s category of their sport or stop competing altogether per NCAA rules and regulations.
Hunter noted that there is a common misconception that Smith’s status as a historically women’s college excludes it from gender discrimination and gender issues in sport. However, particularly for transgender athletes, Smith can be a difficult place to compete; there are only women’s varsity teams and athletes who have gender identities other than being a cisgender woman are often forced to compete in a category that does not align with their gender identity, can experience being dead-named in competition or not having a team to compete on altogether if they transition from female to male but still want to remain at Smith.
Hunter’s new position encompasses a variety of responsibilities. One of the most important, especially in addressing the needs of all the intersecting identities of athletes and recruits, is to serve as a liaison between the athletic department and various campus partners. She connects with the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI), Residence Life, Religious Life, The Schacht Center and many other organizations on campus to ensure that student-athletes are able to have fulfilling lives outside of athletics, and to treat their holistic health both in and outside their sport.
Smith Athletics has raised the bar for athletic performance year after year, and many sports have had exponential growth in the last year, from basketball’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament appearance in the Final Four, to cross country’s back to back NCAA Nationals appearances, to field hockey’s New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) semi-final appearance and many more individual and team accolades. The facilities and staff have followed suit. Many of the athletic facilities received or are undergoing renovations and athletes are receiving more gear, resources and specialized strength and nutrition training to take them to the next level.
However, with this increased success can come increased pressure. Hunter acknowledged that being recognized as a competitor on the regional and national stage certainly puts heightened stress on student-athletes to perform again and again. She describes this phenomenon like nurturing a plant. In order for it to thrive, it must be given food, water and sometimes a bigger pot to give it space to grow. Hunter and the administration’s goals are centered around giving athletes the resources they need to grow sustainably and continue this progress.
Hunter was adamant about the importance of student input in her job and in the athletic department’s progress in general. She explained how the new team Diversity of Equity and Inclusion (DEI) boards, as well as last year’s student forum on the mascot have been critical to focusing the department’s goals to fit the needs of students. She said that the department discussed the contentious mascot of the “Pioneer” and agreed that the pioneer represented Smith’s role in breaking barriers in or “pioneering” women’s education rather than its colonial connotations. However, after the student survey’s general discomfort on the mascot, they were able to re-evaluate that the implied meaning of the mascot is “not enough” to discount its troubling historical definition.
Hunter expressed that while the creation of her new position and the detailed planning of the department to improve the mental health of athletes and diversity and inclusion within the department is certainly a step in the right direction, there are obviously steps that still need to be taken. She described collegiate athletics as a “mini Petri dish for society” and therefore not without social pressure and not far-removed from the current events of larger society. Therefore, she emphasized the importance of student-athletes voicing their needs and goals for the department. She hopes that the relationship between the administration and the student body will continue to flourish and contribute positively to both the well-being of the individuals and the success of the program as a whole.
