Bio

Kristina Navarro Ph.D., CSCS served as the Director of Athletics and Assistant Chancellor at UW-Platteville for four years from May 2020 until her sudden passing in November of 2023. 

Reporting to the Chancellor as a member of the cabinet, Navarro oversees the Division of Athletics and Recreation which includes 16 NCAA Division III athletic programs, intramurals, campus recreation, fitness and wellness programming, the Pioneer Leadership Institute and the Pioneer Activity Center. As a tenured faculty member, Navarro teaches 5 courses and coordinates the graduate program in sport administration within the College of Liberal Arts and Education.

In her faculty and campus leadership role, Navarro continues to build campus wide leadership development programming for the Chancellor's Scholars, Capstan Scholars, Regent Scholars, and Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee groups. These groups intentionally merged with the launch of the Pioneer Leadership Institute in 2020.

Externally, Navarro has led the charge to launch the Division of Athletics and Recreation's first ever annual fund campaign coined Pioneering Forward and developed a comprehensive Corporate Partnerships strategy for the Pioneers. Together these revenue generation efforts have allowed the Pioneers to unveil a large Daktronics video board in Bo Ryan Court and Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. Most recently, campus and athletics received a one million dollar gift to support renovations of Bo Ryan court and add a premium seating space for commencement, convocation and athletic events. Externally the Pioneers continue to raise more than $450,000 annually in operational expenses and work to execute a facility branding plan to enhance recruitment via their branding and apparel partnership with Nike/BSN.

Prior to UW-Platteville, Navarro served as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Leadership Development and Strategic Partnerships at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. She also was an Assistant Professor of Practice at Rutgers.

Navarro came to UW-Platteville with nearly 15 years of higher education and sport management experience. She has worked in the athletic departments at UW-Madison, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Oklahoma and UW-Whitewater.

Navarro calls the WIAC one of the best NCAA Division III conferences. "As a former student-athlete and administrator at the Division I and III level, the ability to develop cross campus synergy and high impact experiences championed by athletics at the Division III level aligns with my passion and purpose," she said. "As a product of the WIAC and Wisconsin System, the ability to return to my home state to work with higher education leaders who are committed to a growth mindset is a blessing."

At Rutgers, Navarro oversaw the Athletics Office for Leadership Development and Strategic Partnerships (LDSP) as well as supported departmental fundraising efforts. The mission of LDSP was driven by a constant pursuit of excellence, innovation, engagement and collaboration. Navarro began at UW-Whitewater in September 2013 as an assistant professor in sport management and swiftly worked her way up through the ranks. In 2015, she was named the Director of Student-Athlete Engagement, overseeing comprehensive student-athlete development and academic excellence programs for Warhawk Athletics. Navarro's role continued to increase, adding sports administrator to her resume as well as marketing and engagement duties.

In addition to her responsibilities in athletics, Navarro also served as a tenured Associate Professor in the College of Education and Professional Studies, managing the Higher Education Athletic Administration graduate program and supervising internship and practicum students. Prior to arriving at UW-Whitewater, Navarro spent a year as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Administration Graduate Program at University of Oklahoma following a 2009-12 stint at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at UW, she held roles as the Interim Senior Developmental Skills Specialist for football, Interim Academic Advisor and Career Development Coordinator, and Learning Specialist and Mentor. From 2007-09 at UNC-Chapel Hill, Navarro was the Co-Director of the Carolina Leadership Academy's CREED and Peer Mentor Programs in the Office of Student-Athlete Development. Navarro earned a B.S. in sport management and business administration with a concentration in strength and conditioning from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2006. She went on to earn a master of arts in sport administration from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2009. Navarro then added a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis with a focus on higher, postsecondary and continuing education from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012.

A third-generation educator, Navarro grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. Outside of work, Navarro is an avid biker in both mountain and fat biking and has competed at the national level in both styles.