Opportunity to engage - esports at UA

01/18/2018

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I hope this e-mail finds you well, and off to a great start for the spring 2018 semester.

By now you may already have heard of the incredibly positive response to our announcement about the creation of an esports varsity team and club program. In just four weeks, more than 1,000 students – current, admitted and prospective – have contacted us to express their interest in UA’s esports activities. Local and national news outlets continue to include us in their coverage of this expanding trend, so we can reasonably expect even more responses. We are very excited by the prospect of attracting, retaining, and educating students as we generate substantive opportunities in this growing area./p>

Making our esports program distinctive, productive and collegiate

As one of the initial U.S. universities to roll out an esports varsity team and club program, we have the opportunity to make our program distinctive. We can achieve that by purposefully linking our esports program to academic and career pathways.

For example, there may be opportunities for experiential learning in the areas of sports medicine, psychology, nutrition, and physical therapy. Broadcasting and graphic design are obvious options, and I am sure we can identify potential opportunities in engineering, advertising, sales, marketing, event planning, game development, law, and intellectual property. The potential academic applications and pathways to gainful employment in the burgeoning realm of esports are endless.

Invitation to participate: Open Forum on esports

Now that Michael Fay, our new esports Director/Head Coach, has arrived on campus, we will convene an Open Forum for all academic and administrative colleagues to discuss how we can integrate the esports initiative into our respective units. I have great faith in our collective ingenuity and creativity, and am confident we can make this an outstanding and well-rounded program for our students.

Our first Open Forum will be held next Wednesday, January 24th, from 12-1 pm in the Simmons Hall auditorium. If you are interested, we would love to see you there.

I am excited about all of us working together expeditiously to attract and expand the horizons of students. Thank you again for your continuing efforts on behalf of our students and The University of Akron.

Sincerely,

President's signatureMatthew J. Wilson
President
The University of Akron


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