Posted: Sep 12, 2023

Home Is Where The Heart Is: Carty Ready To Lead UVI Into New Era of Excellence

By Rob Knox, Freelance Writer

ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS -- Dr. Karen Carty had to pinch herself to ensure she wasn't dreaming.

After all, Carty has enjoyed a year to cherish. Seven months into 2023 has yielded significant achievements for the affable Carty.

First, she earned her Doctor of Education degree in higher education administration from Bradley University in May. A few months later, Carty accepted the distinguished position of Athletics Director for the University of Virgin Islands.

"It's almost like a fairy tale come true where the homegrown talent goes away, succeeds, and then comes back to pour into the local community," Carty remarked. "It's also a massive deal because my parents attended UVI. My father went to UVI St. Thomas in the late 60s and early 70s and graduated in 1973. My mother attended UVI St. Croix in the late 80s and early 90s. There were times when she couldn't find a sitter, and I would go to campus with her, so UVI has been a part of my life from the beginning."

Returning to the Virgin Islands has been a full-circle moment for Carty, who is excited about the opportunity to lead UVI into a new era of excellence. UVI has been an enormous part of Carty's life. Growing up in St. Croix, she lived about 20 minutes away from campus.

No matter where her career journey has taken her, the Virgin Islands have always held a special place in Carty's heart. Her high school was 10 minutes from campus, and her mom had an office within walking distance from the St. Croix campus.

"I also remember being on campus in St. Croix as a high school student taking part in the different programs UVI offered," Carty said. "So, being a leader at the University means the world to me now. Having such an amazing leadership role at an institution integral to my upbringing is a tremendous honor. I'm also excited about the opportunity because I can use the skills and abilities I've honed over the last 19 years to improve things at UVI."

Carty's return home was achieved the old-fashioned way through her tremendous work ethic, diligent leadership style, and ability to make a positive impact everywhere her career has taken her. Walking in her purpose, Carty knows she has changed the world every day through her enthusiasm, energy, and engaging personality.

Being an athletics director is still surreal to Carty, who never imagined herself in such a transformational role. Yet, the seeds were planted by one of her former athletics directors, Dr. Chris Reynolds, at Bradley, who showcased what lifting others looks like by encouraging Carty to start her doctoral degree at Bradley and pulling her into several meetings where she could watch and learn from him.

In addition to Reynolds, Carty also credits the impact and influence of her former athletics directors Dr. Paul Bryant at Alabama A&M and Tara Owens at Maryland Eastern Shore; working with those three athletics directors set Carty up on a path to success.

"The crazy part about all of this is that up until this opportunity presented itself, I did not want to be an athletics director," Carty said. "Throughout my career, I have not been one to chase titles or specific jobs. I go after opportunities aligned with my values, goals, and skills; this position at UVI did just that. It will allow me to use my background in marketing, communications, and leadership to take UVI athletics into the new era of its membership in the NAIA and GCAC and leave a lasting legacy at the University.

"I feel prepared now because it is an opportunity closely aligned with the work I want to do. I want to do work promoting my home islands and positively keeping the U.S. Virgin Islands on the map. I also have almost 20 years of experience in college athletics departments, so I know a thing or two about running one. I've worked with some amazing athletics directors whom I have been able to learn from and whom I can still call for advice. So having access to these great leaders and having learned so much from them will put me in a good place to lead the UVI athletics department."

Carty spent two years as the Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Communications at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) after joining the league office in July 2021. She served as the conference's primary media contact for football, men's basketball, and softball, as well as commissioner requests and broadcast initiatives. She was also an executive producer with the MEAC Digital Network.

In 2021, Carty spearheaded the creation of MEAC Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Coca-Cola, the conference's football pregame show that aired on ESPN+. The first episode aired on October 16, 2021, from the campus of South Carolina State University and marked the first time an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference produced its pregame show. Season one of Countdown featured three episodes highlighting the athletic and academic excellence of the MEAC institutions.

"I think my experience in media relations prepared me for this opportunity by introducing me early on to hard work," Carty said. "It also allowed me to be around people from all of the different areas within athletics and gain an understanding of each area. I worked closely and traveled with the athletic trainers, compliance officers, academic advisors, and even business managers. Access to these people gave me a working knowledge of their areas."

"Also, being a part of the support staff helped me to understand what it takes to run an athletics department. I was in the trenches doing the hard work, so I know what the SIDs, athletic trainers, and academic folks go through to make things happen in a college athletics department. In the words of the great Canadian poet Drake, "We started from the bottom, now we're here."

Before joining the MEAC, Carty spent two years at Bradley University as the Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing, Fan Engagement, and Diversity Initiatives. She joined Bradley from Grambling State University, where she served as Assistant Athletics Director for Media, Marketing, and Promotions from April 2017 to July 2019.

Before her appointment at Grambling State, Carty worked in the South Carolina State athletics department from 2014-17. She was the Director of Marketing and handled media relations for volleyball, women's soccer, women's basketball, and softball.

Before going to South Carolina State, Carty spent three and a half years as the sports information director at Baltimore City Community College (BCCC). Before BCCC, Carty spent six years in the sports information office at Norfolk State.

Carty is a former Norfolk State women's tennis player who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in general business with an emphasis in marketing. Carty, named to the 2004 MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team, is excited to apply everything she learned to make a difference for her student-athletes.

"At my core, I am a servant leader," Carty said. "I will focus mainly on ensuring that my student-athletes, coaches, and staff are empowered to be the best version of themselves at all times. I want to ensure that our student-athletes not only perform well on their respective playing surfaces but also excel academically, and we will do our best to prepare them for life after UVI. I want to ensure we're preparing them to be good and productive human beings."

"Another focus of my leadership will be to ensure I lead with empathy. It's easy for many people to focus on the results, winning, or other things, but I want to keep people at the forefront of my leadership experience. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that we need to be more empathetic in dealing with others in the world, and I plan to have that be a foundational factor of my leadership."

A lifetime member of the Golden Key International Honour Society and Beta Gamma Sigma, an honor society for business majors, Carty earned her master's degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Ala., in 2009. Carty participated in the NCAA's 2019 Leadership Education Series in Indianapolis, Indiana. Additionally, she was the 2021 recipient of the Rudy Keeling Postgraduate Scholarship, given annually by the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA).

Carty's career journey has been an inspiration. She has relied on a committed group of friends, colleagues, and advisors to help her navigate the evolving athletics landscape.

"Make sure you have a group of people you can turn to who can give you honest feedback and appropriate advice for whatever adversity you are going through," Carty said. "I call those people my board of directors. Those people will give it to me straight and tell me what I need to hear even when I don't want to hear it. If I had to advise people dealing with adversity, I would tell them to remember to control the controllables, keep the main thing the main thing, and not take anything personally. Doing those three things will help folks navigate adversity better."

Carty plans to use those lessons to make a difference at UVI as she prepares for her ultimate challenge.

"I am looking forward to getting on campus at UVI, rolling my sleeves up, and getting to work," Carty said. "The hard work that we will put in in these first few years will hopefully set up UVI Athletics to be a force to be reckoned with in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference in the years to come."

Rob Knox is an award-winning professional. A member of the Lincoln (Pa.) Hall of Fame, Knox currently serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Knox enjoyed a distinguished career as an athletics communicator for Lincoln, Kutztown, Coppin State, Towson, and UNC Greensboro. He also worked at ESPN and for the Delaware County Daily Times. Recently, Knox was honored by CSC with the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award and the NCAA with its Champion of Diversity award. Knox is a graduate of Lincoln University and a past president of the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA).

About UVI Athletics

The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and, as of July 1, 2023, competes in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC). Entering the 2023-24 season, the Buccaneers will begin their 17th season of athletic competition. As the only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Caribbean, UVI currently sponsors six sports, including men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, and men's and women's outdoor track and field. For more information on UVI Athletics, visit UVIAthletics.com.