MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Athletic Department has named Kevin Keenan as the new faculty athletics representative, appointed by Chancellor Mark Mone and announced today by Director of Athletics Amanda Braun.
 
"We are extremely thankful that Kevin has joined our team as our faculty athletic representative," Braun said. "We are excited to work with him and for the work he will do on behalf of our student-athletes."
 
Keenan replaces Neal Pease, who retired at the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year and had served in the position since 2018. Keenan was previously a member of the Athletic Board and the chair of the board for two years.
 
"I appreciate the Chancellor appointing me to serve in this position," Keenan said. "I look at this position as coming full circle in my own personal path working with student-athletes. I have always appreciated my interactions with student-athletes, either as a strength coach or a professor in Kinesiology. I know how incredible the role of athletics can be in the experience of all students, let alone those students actually competing in athletics." 
 
The faculty athletics representative (FAR) is a position required by the NCAA and plays an important role on each college campus, serving as an advocate for MKE student-athletes while also providing oversight and guidance in regards to academics and student wellness within the athletic program. Although the FAR must be a university faculty or administrative staff member that does not work in the athletic department, Keenan is no stranger to athletics. 
 
An Associate Professor and Chair in the Kinesiology Department at UWM, he first started working at the university in 2008. He received his BS and MS in Kinesiology at the University of Michigan and PhD in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado in 2005. 
 
As a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan, Kevin worked as a strength coach and had the opportunity to interact with a wide array of student-athletes. As the head strength coach at Providence College in Rhode Island, he oversaw the training of 22 varsity sports. 
 
"UWM has so many talented and hardworking student-athletes, and devoted coaches, that I am honored to serve as the new FAR," Keenan said. "I look forward to working with the staff in athletics to help develop our students as both scholars and athletes."