The University of Central Arkansas welcomed Richard Hammond as the new director of Campus Recreation.
As UCA’s director of Campus Recreation, Hammond will provide overall leadership to Campus Recreation.
“We are fortunate to have his experience at UCA,” said Gary Roberts, dean of students. “Richard comes to us from Valdosta State University where he has had many years of experience as a director of their campus recreation including the building of their campus recreation center.”
At UCA, Hammond will also oversee the Health Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Center that opened in fall 2014 after undergoing extensive renovation and expansion. The center is now a total of 115,000 square feet and includes a six-lane swimming pool and outdoor recreation programs.
“UCA has a wonderful HPER facility. Now we just need to make sure that we get every student at UCA to come through the door so they can experience it,” Hammond said.
Hammond comes to UCA after spending 18 years at Valdosta State University as director of campus recreation. He also has worked in campus recreation at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Georgia Southern University and Southwest Texas State University.
Hammond earned a Bachelor of Science in health, leisure and sports/sports science from the University of West Florida and a Master of Arts in interdisciplinary studies from Southwest Texas State University. He and his wife, Leighia, have four children. Hammond began his new post on Nov. 2.
“I am very excited about working at UCA and to have this opportunity to continue the great work that the Department of Campus Recreation has been doing,” said Hammond. “I hope to learn as much as I can about the Department of Campus Recreation at UCA in the months to come, so that we can provide the best possible experience for the UCA community.”
