LEWISTON, Maine -- After six years as a Bobcat, Bates Deputy Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator Celine Cunningham has been named the next Director of Athletics at Dickinson College.

"I'm looking forward to my next chapter and I really want to thank Director of Athletics Jason Fein and all my colleagues at Bates who challenged me, and prepared me, to take the next step in my career," Cunningham said. "It's bittersweet, and there's never a perfect time to leave. But I know that Bates athletics is in a great place." 

Cunningham has been at Bates since the 2018-19 academic year. She was promoted to Deputy Director of Athletics in 2022. Prior to her time as a Bobcat, Cunnigham spent time at Stevens as their associate director of athletics and Senior Woman Administrator, as well as their head women's lacrosse coach. 

Cunningham served as a sport administrator for many of the athletic programs at Bates, worked to overhaul and reinvent the eligibility and compliance processes, and re-imagined the student-athlete and coach handbooks as well as the pre-season eligibility meetings for student-athletes. She was the initial inspiration for the idea that led to the creation of the Friends of Bates Athletics Giving Challenge, which raised nearly $700,000 in just its fifth year of existence. Recently, she worked to draft the college's NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) policy for student-athletes. Perhaps more importantly, Cunningham has been a partner to many areas across campus, serving on committees, and assisting with campus events and partnerships.

"It is hard to fathom coming to work each day without Celine being here," Fein said. "She has been an incredible partner and colleague in every sense of the word. I know that she will do great things at Dickinson, and she will be sorely missed at Bates. We can not thank her enough for all she has done."

Cunningham will remain at Bates throughout the month of June, with her first day at Dickinson set for July 1.

"It's been great to see the support of President Garry W. Jenkins and the rest of the administration at Bates for the department, and it's been a banner year for many of our teams," Cunningham said. "With new facilities in the works, I feel like that success is going to continue to happen. I look forward to cheering on the Bobcats from afar!"