Irwin Academic Services Center
402 East Armory Avenue
Champaign, Illinois 61820
Mail Code - 530
Phone - 217/333-2240 Fax - 217/244-3121
ACADEMIC STAFF
- Terry Cole, Senior Associate Athletic Director
- Tom Michael, Assistant Athletic Director/Academic Services
- Shari Clapp, Academic Counselor
- Joe Cross, Academic Counselor
- Kathy Kaler, Academic Counselor/Life Skills Coordinator
- Kristin Kane, Academic Counselor
- Annie Rymer White, Academic Counselor/Tutor Coordinator
- Carla Suber, Learning Specialist
Clarissa Gentzler, Grant-in-aid Specialist
gentzler@uiuc.edu | 217/333-2241
Chris Byron, Compliance Assistant/Eligibility
cbyron@uiuc.edu | 217/244-4224
Support Staff
| Terri Bodecker | bodecker@uiuc.edu | 217/244-6567 | |
| Jan Glosser | jglosser@uiuc.edu | 217/333-2240 |
Graduate Assistants 217/333-8629
| Janna Sartini | sartini@uiuc.edu| Alex Tirapelle | atirapel@uiuc.edu | |
Terry Cole, Senior Associate Athletics Director
 Terry Cole - Senior Associate Athletic Director |
t-cole@uiuc.edu | 217/333-3630
Every student-athlete who comes to the University of Illinois is on a path toward receiving a quality education, a degree, and the necessary skills to be successful after college.
Terry Cole, in his 27th year with the U of I, oversees Academic Services, Strength and Conditioning and Sports Medicine. Cole is also the sport administrator for the football program. He has been part of academic services since 1979, when he joined the staff as an academic counselor.
The East St. Louis, Ill., native received both his undergraduate and master's degrees from Illinois.
Cole and his wife, Elyne, have two children and live in Champaign.
Tom Michael, Assistant Athletics Director for Academic Services
 Tom Michael - Assistant Athletics Director for Academic Services |
tmichael@uiuc.edu | 217/333-2240
Tom Michael has served as Assistant Athletics Director for Academic Services since February, 2002. Prior to his promotion, Michael spent seven years as an Academic Counselor for men's and women's basketball, women's swimming and wrestling at the U of I. Michael was also Head Academic Counselor from 1999-2002.
Michael is responsible for the planning, development and coordination of academic support programs and services for Illinois student-athletes in all 19 varsity sports. In addition to the administration of the department, Michael works with various student-athletes.
Michael was a four-year basketball letterman at Illinois from 1991-94. In his playing days, Michael helped the Illini to a 70-49 record in four seasons, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
In 1992, Michael led the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (75-of-152, .493), which still stands as the Illini all-time season mark. His career three-point percentage (.449) ranks fourth on the Illinois all-time list. He is eighth in the Illini record books for three-point field goals made in a season (75) and ninth for career three-point buckets (149).
Michael received a B.S. degree in speech communication in 1993 and earned an M.S. in sports administration in 1994. He was an Academic All-Big Ten selection in 1993 and 1994.
Prior to joining the U of I staff, he worked with his family's business.
Michael is married to the former Shana Schneider. They have three children, Nicholas, Nathaniel, and Kylie.
Shari Clapp, Academic Counselor
 Shari Clapp - Academic Counselor |
clapps@uiuc.edu | 217/244-7787
Shari Clapp is in her fifth year with the University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics in its Academic Services office. Clapp works with the men's and women's tennis and golf teams, women's soccer and the baseball team. She has additional responsibilities as the coordinator of the orientation program for student-athletes.
A native of Barnsdall, Okla., Clapp has been working in similar capacities with college student-athletes for most of the last 13 years.
Prior to arriving in Champaign, Clapp worked in both educational administration and as assistant director of the academic advising and career counseling unit for student-athletes at Ohio University.
Previously Clapp provided academic support for athletes at the University of Pittsburgh, Rider University and Oklahoma State University.
Clapp earned her bachelor's degree in geography at Oklahoma State in 1992 and her M.S. in the same field in 1998.
Joe Cross, Academic Counselor
Joe Cross - Academic Counselor |
jlcross@uiuc.edu | 217/333-3169
Joe Cross is beginning his fourth year as Academic Counselor. Cross works with men's and women's track and field and cross country teams, men's and women's gymnastics, and the softball program.
Prior to returning to Illinois, Cross worked as the Academic Coordinator in the Academic Student Services area of the Southern Illinois at Carbondale athletics department for one year. He also served one year as graduate assistant in the department.
Cross graduated in 2001 with a degree in sport management from Illinois, where he was also a student-athlete on the men's basketball team. He earned his master's degree in sport management from SIU-Carbondale in 2003.
Cross lives in Urbana with his wife, Marjorie, and three children, Lauryn, Christopher, and Hannah.
Kathy Kaler, Academic Counselor/Life Skills Coordinator
 Kathy Kaler - Academic Counselor/Life Skills Coordinator |
Kathy Kaler is in her fifth year as an Academic Counselor at the U of I. Kaler works with the women's swimming & diving and volleyball teams. Kaler coordinates the Douglas C. Roberts CHAMPS/Life Skills Program, organizing workshops, seminars, study skills and the first year student-athlete meetings. She also serves as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) liaison.
Kaler came to Illinois in October, 2001 from Danville Area Community College, where she was the director of the campus fitness center and was head coach of the women's basketball team. Kaler led her teams to four straight 20-plus-win seasons, seven consecutive winning seasons, and five years in which her teams were nationally ranked.
Kaler received her MS from Western Illinois University in Athletic Administration. She earned her BS from Eastern Illinois University where she competed on the intercollegiate volleyball, basketball and softball teams, and received her AS from Parkland College. While at Parkland, Kaler was an All-American in volleyball and started on the state championship basketball team in her sophomore year.
A native of Rantoul, Kaler was the first female inducted into the Rantoul Township High School Hall of Fame in 1994. Kaler currently resides in St. Joseph.
Kristin Kane, Academic Counselor
 Kristin Kane - Academic Counselor |
kane1@uiuc.edu | 217/244-8023
Kristin Kane is in her sixth year as an Academic Counselor for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics and fourth with the football program. Kane handles the academic support for the defensive team members.
Prior to her move to football, she served as academic counselor for men's and women's track and field and cross country, men's and women's gymnastics, softball, and the cheerleaders.
Kane has worked in the Academic Services department since the 1999-2000 academic year. She spent time as a graduate assistant, intern, and interim counselor before being hired full time in the fall of 2001.
A native of Aurora, IL, Kane graduated magna cum laude from Loras College (Dubuque, IA) with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology and physical education in 1998. She was a member of the Loras College women's basketball team from 1994-1998, serving as the team captain her senior year. In 2000, Kane earned an M.S. in kinesiology from the University of Illinois.
Annie Rymer White, Academic Counselor
 Annie Rymer - Academic Counselor |
arymer@uiuc.edu | 217/265-4069
Annie Rymer White was hired in March 2007 as an Academic Counselor for the Fighting Illini football program. She monitors the academic progress for selected team members. Rymer White also coordinates the tutor program for all student-athletes.
Prior to U of I, she served as an Academic Advisor at the University of Cincinnati from 2005-07. Rymer White was an advisor for baseball, men's and women's soccer, men's golf, women's basketball and football programs during her tenure.
Before her stint at UC, Rymer White served as a Graduate Assistant (2002-04) and Intern (2004-05) in the Irwin Academic Services Center.
A native of Tolono, IL, Rymer earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Illinois. As an undergrad, she majored in kinesiology and was a member of the inaugural Illini softball team in 2000. She earned a Master of Science in sport management in 2004. Rymer White and her husband Kelly reside in Urbana.
Carla Suber, Learning Specialist
 Carla Suber - Learning Specialist |
cesuber@uiuc.edu | 217/244-1305
Suber came to the University of Illinois in May, 2006 from Temple University, where she also worked as a Learning Specialist. In her role as Learning Specialist, she works with student-athletes in areas such as study skills and time management with an emphasis on those students with specific learning issues. At Temple, she worked with sports such as football, men's and women's basketball, lacrosse and softball.
Prior to arriving at Temple, Suber worked at the Center for Sport Psychology in Philadelphia where she served as an evaluator and presenter working with coaches and student athletes. She also has vast teaching and clinical counseling experience working with adolescents and families in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. Suber has worked as an assistant softball, swimming, and water polo coach while teaching middle school English and History.
She was a member of the Florida A&M University swim team where she earned a Bachelor's degree in English in 1992. Suber completed a Master's degree in Secondary Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995 and a second Master's degree Counseling Psychology from Temple University in 2000.
