Already the president at Grand Valley State University, Thomas J. Haas now has yet another responsibility to the university and the GLIAC.

It was announced Friday that Haas was elected to the NCAA Division II President’s Council, the main governance body in Division II athletics. His responsibilities will include representing both GVSU and the GLIAC on the Division II board.

“I am very honored by this election,” Haas said. “It’s a four-year appointment, and I know I’m going to be working with budget and strategic planning, which is of course very important to the success of any organization.”

Haas joins other collegiate presidents and chancellors on the council, each of whom are assigned to a specific sub-committee. Haas will sit the budgeting sub-committee and will have a hand in financial planning for Division II athletics.

Haas said he was nominated by presidents within the conference.

“I was asked by a number of my colleagues in GLIAC to see if I was interested in being nominated when a slot was made open,” he said. “I was very humbled by that, and I said that I’d be very happy to be considered and serve, and they in turn sent a letter on my behalf nominating me for this appointment.”

This is not the first occasion in which a GVSU president has been appointed to the President’s Council. Haas follows former university presidents Arend D. Lubbers and Mark Murray as a member on the council, which meets four times per year to discuss issues and make bureaucratic decisions in Division II athletics.

But as Haas accepts his invitation to the position on the Division II board, GVSU loses representation from Athletic Director Tim Selgo, who recently completed a four-year appointment on the NCAA Management Council.

Haas was quick to point out Selgo’s work with the NCAA and to recognize the contributions in Selgo’s tenure.

“(Selgo) was very instrumental in his own Division II leadership role,” he said. “His leadership here at Grand Valley State University is, in my mind, second to none.”

Selgo served as the chair of the NCAA Management Council in his third year on the board, and headed up Division II’s Life in the Balance program, which worked to decrease the length of the Division II sports seasons by a small number of games.

“We believe in Division II there should be a balance between academics and athletics,” Selgo said. “We felt that the number of contests was starting to creep up toward where Division I is at, and we didn’t want that. Therefore we set about making reductions across the board.”

As Selgo leaves his post, Haas’ appointment will ensure GVSU still has direct representation in NCAA Division II athletics. Following former school leaders, Haas said he sees his role on the President’s Council as part of the job of a GVSU president.

“I do see it (as a tradition at GVSU),” he said. “I think it’s important that we provide service and leadership, given that we’ve been successful. You can’t just sit back and expect others to come forward with the efforts that are required to provide the experiences for our student athletes and student athletes across the nation.”

Haas’ four-year term began in January and will run through early 2015.

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