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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Wheat Named To Ole Miss Student-Athlete Services Staff
8/3/2000 | Football
Aug. 3, 2000
OXFORD, Miss. -- Laurie Wheat has joined the Ole Miss athletic staff as an academic counselor in the Student-Athlete Services department, Director of Academic Support David Harris announced Thursday. Wheat comes to Ole Miss from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served as the Assistant Director of Academic Support for Student-Athletes.
"Laurie is a great addition to our staff, and she brings enthusiasm and energy to the Student-Athlete Services office," said Harris. "In our search, Laurie stood above the other candidates because of her vast array of experience. She has worked at North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Ohio State, and as a result of her time at those institutions, she can bring different perspectives to our office and offer new ideas that we can implement to help our student-athletes.
"When I met her, I knew that she would be a great asset to our office. Her energy and experience are a good combination, and I feel she will be an outstanding academic counselor here at Ole Miss. Our student-athletes will enjoy working with her."
Wheat will serve as the academic counselor for the Rebel football program. Her primary duties will be to oversee tutoring assignments and study hall completion, assist student-athletes with their schedules and maintain student-athletes progress records. Wheat will hold weekly meetings with student-athletes, help monitor compliance and eligibility issues and nominate student-athletes for academic awards and honors.
Wheat will also assist with the department's tutoring program, helping schedule tutors for all Ole Miss athletic teams.
Prior to coming to Ole Miss, Wheat served on the North Carolina academic services staff, primarily working with football, women's cross country and women's track and field.
A native of Panama City, Fla., Wheat graduated from North Carolina in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a concentration in criminology. After graduating, Wheat became an assistant counselor in the Academic Support Program and worked with students with learning disabilities.
Wheat earned a master's degree in Higher Education/Student Affairs with a concentration in Sports Management from The Ohio State University in 1997. Following graduation from Ohio State, she worked in the academic services office at Virginia Tech.
She married Gary Wheat on July 22 of this year. Gary is the Director of Sport Development for the City of Tupelo Convention and Tourist Bureau.
