University of North Carolina Athletics
John Blanchard Announces Retirement
February 27, 2013 | General
CHAPEL HILL - Senior Associate Director of Athletics John Blanchard is retiring from the University of North Carolina effective the end of this month after 25 years at UNC in student services and academic support to open his own consulting business.
Blanchard has been the director of student-athlete services since July 2002. He helped to create the unit within the Department of Athletics upon returning to Chapel Hill after a stint at the University of Minnesota. Student services includes career planning, life skills, community service, the Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy and programs that enhance the overall student experience and welfare.
"I have been privileged to work for three of the most outstanding directors of athletics - John Swofford, Dick Baddour and Bubba Cunningham," says Blanchard. "The coaches and staff with whom I have worked all these years are incomparable. The thousands of students I have served have fueled my passion for education and student development, challenged me and taught me. They have a special place in my heart.
"Dick Baddour set the vision for the leadership academy, telling me when people thought of leadership development in college athletics he wanted them to think of the University of North Carolina. I believe we have accomplished that. I hope to share what I have learned these past 11 years in my new business. My wife, Dawn, and I are excited to embark on this next chapter of my professional life. I informed Bubba last spring about my intention to retire after becoming eligible for retirement and start a leadership consulting enterprise. Bubba was then, and has remained, most supportive. Carolina Athletics is in great hands with his leadership."
Blanchard served as the athletic department's liaison with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the College of Arts and Sciences' Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes and the Faculty Committee on Athletics.
Blanchard designed and initiated programming in the Carolina Leadership Academy that began training student-athletes in 2004 and has been praised as one of the top programs of its kind in the country.
"The leadership academy is a model program for schools all across the country and is so highly regarded because of the vision that (former athletics director) Dick Baddour and John Blanchard had," says Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. "John is a tireless advocate for students, education and leadership development. We are thankful to him and his family for a quarter-century of outstanding service to higher education. He has been an advocate for literally thousands of students. He may be retiring from UNC, but I am confident he will make a positive impact on many more organizations, schools and programs as he embarks on the next step of his career."
The 1975 Stanford graduate first worked at Carolina as Director of the Academic Support Program for Student Athletes from 1985 to 1999. He developed the academic support program with then athletic director John Swofford and was its first director.
He is on the Executive Committee for the Sports Management Institute, has worked with the Kansas City Royals for seven years as coordinator of leadership development and served as member and chair of the NCAA's Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct.
"John was one of the key leaders on Dick Baddour's team who canvassed the country to learn about leadership development and training," says Lissa L. Broome, Wells Fargo Professor of Banking Law and Carolina's Faculty Athletics Representative. "He helped fashion the leadership academy into what is likely the most comprehensive and preeminent leadership program in the country for student-athletes, coaches and administrators. He also designed a role within the athletics department for an administrator focused on student-athlete services. We will miss John's many contributions to the University and our students."
