J. Richard Carpenter, Western Maryland College's athletic director for the past 15 years, has announced his resignation, effective July 1.

Carpenter, 52, will retain his position as professor of physical education and exercise science, and will coordinate the department's graduate program, college officials said. He was hired at Western Maryland as a physical education instructor in 1969.

"There has been an evolution in college athletics over the past several years," Carpenter said in a statement. "The days of the professor-coach and the coach-athletic director are over."

The college will conduct a national search for his replacement. For the first time in the college's history, the new athletic director will be a full-time administrator for athletics.

Carpenter helped found the Centennial Conference in 1992, putting Western Maryland in league with Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Franklin & Marshall and other top academic institutions.

Pub Date: 4/04/99