General | 6/29/2026 10:42:30 AM
Dr. Wayne Lewis, Jr., president of Houghton University, was named chair of the President’s Council of the Empire Athletic Conference. Lewis started his two-year appointment as chair on July 1.
Dr. Lewis was elected unanimously when the Council met for its annual meeting in November 2025. He is set to replace former chair Dr. Beth Paul, president of Nazareth University, who served from 2023-2026.
"I am humbled and honored to serve as Chair of the Empire 8 President's Council, and I sincerely appreciate the confidence my colleagues have placed in me," said President Lewis. "The Empire 8 is, without question, one of Division III's premier athletic conferences. I look forward to collaborating with Executive Director Mitrano, my fellow presidents, and our directors of athletics to build on the conference's tradition of excellence while continuing to provide extraordinary experiences for our student-athletes."
Dr. Lewis became the sixth president of Houghton in June, 2021. Prior to his leadership at Houghton, Lewis’ experience included leadership roles in the Christian, non-profit, for-profit, and government sectors. After beginning his career in education as a public-school classroom teacher, he moved into higher education, where he served as a faculty member, program administrator, and college dean. He served the Commonwealth of Kentucky in state government, first as Executive Director of Education Policy & Programs in the Kentucky Education & Workforce Cabinet, and later as Kentucky’s Commissioner of Education, where his leadership priorities were college and workforce readiness, teacher licensure, special education, and early learning. As Commissioner, he served on Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB), and Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC)
“Dr. Lewis is a highly engaged and educated on the challenges facing intercollegiate athletics as well as the important educational role that participating in athletics plays in higher education," said Empire 8 Executive Director Chuck Mitrano. "We are fortunate to have his knowledge and leadership at a pivotal time in college athletics, NCAA Division III and Empire 8."
During his tenure, Houghton’s accomplishments have included continued endowment growth, consolidation and refinancing of institutional debt, transition from Houghton College to Houghton University, undergraduate and graduate enrollment growth, expansion of graduate programs, the establishment and growth of Houghton’s Early College, conference championships in tennis and cross country, and the expansion of Highlander athletics.
In addition to his leadership at Houghton, Lewis serves as an ex-officio member of the General Board of The Wesleyan Church, a member of the board of trustees for the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York (CICU), on the NCAA Division III Membership committee, the boards of directors for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) and the National Institute for Execellence in Teaching (NIET), and advisory councils for the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) and the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH) at Tulane University.
A member of the Empire 8 since 2012, Houghton has won five Empire 8 Championships (women's cross country - 2019, men's cross country - 2023, men's tennis - 2021, 2023, 2024). In addition, Houghton student-athletes have excelled in the classroom and community, with countless Academic and Scholar All-America selections. The Highlanders achieved academic success with 99 student-athletes earning Empire 8 Presidents’ List honors in the fall semester and 97 earning the honor following the spring semester.
In 2020, former Houghton women's cross country and track and field standout Emily Blosdale was named the Empire 8 Woman of the Year. Former Houghton men's soccer standout Jesse Toth (2017) and cross country/track and field star Seth Greene (2022) were past Empire 8 Male Senior Scholar Athletes of the Year, while women's soccer student-athlete Alexis Lamb was selected as the 2018 Empire 8 Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In 2025-26, Emberlynn Nolt of the women's cross country team and Hannah Farley of women's basketball were named Empire 8 Torchbearer Award winners, honoring the top student-athlete in each sport.
The Empire 8 is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and its 12 member schools compete at the Division III level. The Empire 8 sponsors 28 sports, which is the most in Division III.
Houghton participates in 17 sports as part of the E8: baseball, men's and women's basketball, field hockey, men's and women's cross country, men’s and women's soccer, softball, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women's volleyball.