Jacqueline Schuman, the vice chancellor and director of athletics and recreation, received the Executive of the Year Award Oct. 13 at the 2025 Women Leaders in Sports convention, hosted by Nike in Kansas City from Oct. 12 to 14.

Schuman was appointed director of athletics at UMass Boston in 2021, followed in 2022 by her appointment as vice chancellor. In the last four years, she secured a partnership with New Balance as the official apparel partner of Beacons Athletics, led the renovation of the Clark Athletic Center and created two new sports varsity programs.

Schuman said her passion for athletics is rooted in her family and her father, who is a track and field coach. Witnessing the transformational work he performed for people inspired her to seek a career where she could emulate his leadership. She recalled the time one of her father’s athletes, who had a disability, ran a personal best. “I remember seeing my dad running over and jumping with him and thinking ‘I want to be able to make an impact like that,’” Schuman said.

When she was attending Vanderbilt, a Division I school, Schuman had her own career as a track and field athlete specializing in long-distance races. “I think being a track athlete is one of the reasons I am really goal oriented,” she said.

During high stakes situations, she said, “I use strategies I would use while lining up for a race to get my head clear and focus.”

“I have an ability, because of the resilience built through being an athlete, to lock in and shift my perspective, or to be ready and to figure out a way [to succeed] when I get knocked down,” she added.

Before joining UMass Boston, Schuman worked as the director of skills and student life development at the University of Tennessee. In this role, she supported students as they navigated the additional responsibility of being a collegiate athlete. For example, she facilitated communication between students and professors about conflicting practice and travel commitments. Her support focused on facilitating effective academic progress towards graduation and competition eligibility.

Schuman said the student life development role gave her a deep understanding of the varied circumstances student athletes face depending on their sports and field of study. Now, as an administrator, she aims to lead the coaches, staff and university under a vision that considers the student athlete holistically. She puts particular attention in helping them have an experience that prepares them for life, leadership and civic engagement.

Schuman said it is a privilege to be a student athlete and represent this university, so they have to consider what they are doing to give back to that community. Her new “Advancing the Legacy of Excellence” plan includes priorities in student wellness, stakeholder engagement, gender equity and capital investment.

According to the Beacons Athletics website, the goal of the strategic plan is to craft a structure of support in the classroom and on the field and propel UMass Boston to the top NCAA Division III public university program in the nation.

“We wanted to enhance the experience for our student athletes, enhancing participation opportunities for women and ensuring those experiences are equitable between men’s and women’s sports,” Schuman said.

A key element of the plan was the renovation of Clark Athletic Center, aiming in part to support the addition of the varsity women’s lacrosse program for the 2024-2025 season and field hockey for the 2025-2026 season.

Construction included a new wing of offices — one for every single head coach for the first time ever — expansion of the locker room space to accommodate visiting teams and a renovated turf softball field. The softball field will now have a grandstand and a refurbished area around the field to match the men’s baseball facility offerings.

“I feel really grateful to see really powerful women leading athletic departments and being really successful, giving me the confidence to do it myself while I know I can also lean on them,” Schuman said. “[The award] shows that we have begun to advance where we are, and it continues to put UMass Boston on the map.”