STOCKTON, Calif. – A former in-state student-athlete and California product, Leslie Chang was hired at Pacific as Associate AD for Student-Athlete Development and Compliance/Senior Women's Administrator.
 
Chang, an Orange County, California product who was a tennis student-athlete at CSUN, arrives at Pacific after serving as Assistant Commissioner for Student-Athlete Programming at the Big West Conference. Reporting directly to the Commissioner, Chang was the primary liaison for the league's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and DEI committee, Big West Undivided while serving as a member of Senior Staff.
 
"I am so excited to be a Pacific Tiger and I would like to thank Adam Tschuor, Wes Yourth, and all those on the search committee who have entrusted me with this important role. My goal is to create innovative programming so Pacific student-athletes can excel in the classroom and in their sport, and are ready to run across the graduation stage because they're prepared for what comes next. I can't wait to get to Stockton and build relationships with folks on campus and in the community but most importantly with our student-athletes," Chang said.
 
Chang also played an integral role in Diversity Equity and Inclusion programming. She helped facilitate partnerships across the conference and provided strategic initiatives to enhance student-athlete development and health and safety across 11 member institutions.
 
"Leslie stood out during the interview process as a leader for our department and someone who can make an immediate impact in the growth of our student-athletes. She's experienced the industry from many viewpoints as a former student-athlete, an athletics administrator on campus and in a conference office, and we're thrilled to have her join our staff in a significant leadership position," said Adam Tschuor, director of athletics.
 
Prior to the Big West, Chang spent three years in the Student-Athlete Success Center at Florida Atlantic. She was an active member of N4A (National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals) serving on the Membership Recruitment & Retention and LGBTQIA+ subcommittees as well as graduating from the 2019 N4A Professional Development Institute.  

Before FAU, Chang worked at Mississippi State for two years where she also earned her master's in sport administration. Chang worked as a learning specialist for the Bulldogs football, baseball and women's basketball programs.
 
Chang partnered with other Mississippi State alumni, Dr. Kelsey Slater, Ph.D and Dr. Jim Watkins, Ph.D to author two publications: "NCAA Division I Subdivisions and the Background of Athletic Academic Advisors" in the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Sport and "The Relationship Between Academic Clustering and Athletic Academic Support Department Reporting Lines in NCAA FBS Programs" in the Journal of Intercollegiate Sport.
 
Chang graduated from CSUN in 2016 with a degree in communication studies and minors in marketing and women's studies. During four years on campus in Northridge, Chang was a member of the Matadors women's tennis team, serving as team captain for two seasons as an upperclassman.
 
In addition to her roles with the tennis program on the court, Chang was active within the department and served as CSUN SAAC president as a senior. She also took on a role of mentorship and scholarship to guide other student-athletes in the Matador Achievement Center.  

Chang earned a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida and is currently working towards a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration at University of Massachusetts Global.  

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