Member Profile: Cheryl Levis, From Santa Clara to St. Louis
Byl Stu Duardo of the Post - Dispatch

Cheryl Levick's temporary housing arrangement gives her the opportunity to mix with people who are at the heart of her work - even if it happens because of the occasional fire alarm.

It comes with the territory when you live in St. Louis University's Marchetti Towers, where the new SLU athletics director is making do until she can sell her home in California.

Living in a building with students has allowed Levick to quickly familiarize herself with SLU athletes while providing a crash course on the ins and outs of the campus as she makes her daily walk to work.

"The other day I told someone I was going to run home for something," said Levick, 52. "I thought, 'My gosh, I now have thought of this dorm as home.' The advantage is that I have walked the campus from end to end. I'm in the student center a lot and being around the students has been really positive.

"A lot of the kids have come to know me. It hasn't been all bad. When I have worked all day, I can walk three minutes and I'm home. It's probably been the best thing in the world."

The St. Louis native did have to deal with a fire alarm late one night when she evacuated the building with the rest of its residents. She was out of town when the alarm struck again.

But the proximity to campus has been a time-saver for Levick, whose first two months on the job have been a continuous series of meetings with employees, teams, journalists and prospective donors.

At the end of September, Levick had administrative assistant Lisa Miller tally her appointments: she had attended 164 meetings and 20 of SLU's first 29 athletic events.

Fund-raising focus
Several factors have made for the hectic schedule. Levick is focused on fund-raising for SLU's on-campus arena. She is handling details of the school's move from Conference USA to the Atlantic 10 next year. And she is involved in planning for next March's Final Four in St. Louis.

She also has made it a point to meet with an official from virtually every department on campus from admissions to human resources. And she asked to be included on the committee of academic deans and directors, wanting the athletic department to be represented.

"The schedule is a little heavier because of the Final Four and handling two conferences," Levick said. "But I've always been involved in a major fund-raiser. That part is normal."

Breaking down her meetings even further, Levick said that one quarter of her appointments have involved some aspect of the arena. After spearheading several facility projects at Santa Clara University, she is at the forefront of SLU's pursuit of a new home for men's basketball.

Among her less public pursuits is setting the athletic department on a course for increased success. That effort ranges from planning sessions with coaches to enforcing a 12-principle management philosophy with employees.

She handed out her list of principles at an initial meeting with the athletics staff. No. 1 is to make integrity the "defining principle" of SLU athletics. She also emphasized punctuality, organization and loyalty. It all seems common sense, but employees recognize they are being held to a higher standard.

"She's very knowledgeable with attention to detail," said Lori Flanagan, SLU's senior associate athletics director. "She's working every minute. Every moment is geared to making us better.

"Everyone is just a little more focused on knowing they have someone new. Not that she's coming in and cleaning house, but everyone realizes they're on notice to do well and to be very focused. She's made it known she wants to win."

Leading cheers, change at Pattonville
Despite her many tasks, prioritizing is not difficult. Raising money for the arena is critical, and Levick said that eventually fully half of her time will be dedicated to that pursuit.

One of her first goals was forming an arena campaign committee, which will consist of 26 people.

"We have been meeting with donors and corporate sponsors, so that really never has stopped," she said. "But in order to get a big shot in the arm, we needed a bigger workforce. Now we will have 26 people and not just two."

Levick's ability to juggle several major projects does not come as a surprise to those who saw her grow up in St. Louis and attend Pattonville High before moving on to the University of Missouri.

Retired teacher Alex Pifer taught Levick at Pattonville and oversaw the cheerleader squad when she was a member. Cheerleaders were not allowed to hold outside jobs, but Levick's ability to multitask led to a change.
"She was the exception to the rule because she could handle a job and being a cheerleader, so we had to change the rule," Pifer said. "She has always had great leadership skills. She had her head screwed on straight and had everything going for her."

When Levick was hired to succeed Doug Woolard, she asked Pifer to attend the news conference, citing her as a driving force in her career.

The mother of two college-age daughters, Levick does manage to wriggle free of work at times. She has leaned on her sister Pam and brother Doug in recent months since the death of their mother, Marian Lightfoot, the week Levick interviewed at SLU and subsequently was hired.

It was a difficult time in which she wanted to celebrate a homecoming but had to deal with sorrow.
"I look back on that week and a lot of it's a blur," she said. "I can't remember as much of it as I thought I would. It makes me sad that I'm here and my mom's not."

The siblings have spent many hours at their mother's home, sifting through belongings and reminiscing.
Otherwise, Levick puts her mind on her work, and there's plenty to keep her going.

"I am enjoying my new job," she said. "It has been a crazy two months in terms of meeting and greeting folks. But I don't expect it to slow at all. This is the schedule I've always kept."