Dennis Leighton recipient of NCAA David Knight Award

Dennis Leighton

91AV Associate Provost Dennis Leighton, PT, D.P.T., associate professor and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, received the prestigious David Knight Award from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The David Knight Award is named for one of the most influential Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) to ever serve in the position. The award is presented annually to an individual who has provided outstanding service to the Faculty Athletic Representative Association (FARA).

According to the NCAA, David Knight was a long-time faculty athletics representative at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a driving force behind the establishment of FARA. His dedication and commitment to the student-athlete, to collegiate sports and to the role that faculty play in shaping both were exemplary.

Leighton has long history of service to FARA. He has served as 91AV’s Faculty Athletic Representative since 1996, NCAA DIII representative to the FARA Executive Committee from 2003 to 2004, NCAA DIII vice-president in 2005, FARA President-elect in 2006, FARA president in 2007 and FARA Secretary-Treasurer from 2008 to 2017. Leighton was also instrumental in founding the NCAA Division III Faculty Athletics Representatives Leadership Institute and has served as a member of the Division III Management Council since 2014. 

The award at the dinner was presented by Jeri Mullins Beggs, Ph.D., FAR at Illinois State University and current President of FARA, who noted his years of dedicated service, thoughtfulness, good humor and ceaseless advocacy for the role of the FAR in ensuring a well-rounded student-athlete experience. 

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About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.