After 22 years of service as Drexel’s Director of Athletics, Eric Zillmer, PsyD, is stepping down from his position effective June 30 to focus on a year-long sabbatical, President John Fry announced in a statement to the Drexel community.
Zillmer, who works primarily as a professor of neuropsychology at Drexel, assumed the Director of Athletics position in 1998 and, since then, has established the sixth-longest tenure in the United States, Fry said. During this tenure, Zillmer spearheaded efforts to refine Drexel’s athletics.
“During Zillmer’s tenure … Drexel athletics has been transformed in extraordinary ways,” Fry said. “From securing a partnership with Bachelors Barge Club on historic Boathouse Row and the adaptive use of the Philadelphia Armory to host the Arlen Specter US Squash Center as a national training center, to building the Recreation Center, Buckley and Vidas bubbles, renovating the Vidas Athletic Complex and even creating a new Dragons athletics logo.”
After a year-long sabbatical, which begins after his departure June 30, Zillmer plans to return to Drexel with an increased focus on his work in the psychology department.
Zillmer has conducted extensive research work and contributed to several publications on neuropsychology, psychological assessment and the ways psychology connects to sports.
In addition, Zillmer is a fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the American Psychological Association, the Society for Personality Assessment and the National Academy of Neuropsychology.
“Drexel has been so very fortunate to have Dr. Eric Zillmer guide our athletics program,” Fry concluded. “Please join us in congratulating [him] on his accomplishments and wishing him well on his future endeavors at Drexel University.”
Effective immediately, Drexel’s Subir Sahu, Senior Vice President for Student Success and overseer of Drexel Athletics, will be leading a nationwide search for a strong candidate to fill Zillmer’s shoes as athletic director.