Michael “Mick” Deluca, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Campus Life, has been selected to receive the 2016 NIRSA Honor Award from NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation. The highest distinction bestowed by the national association, the award recognizes a member who “has provided exemplary service to the association and made incredible achievements in the field of collegiate recreation over the course of their career.”
Deluca has been a member of NIRSA for nearly 35 years, where he has played a leadership role on the association’s three boards of directors and has received numerous awards.
Among the many professional colleagues who have applauded him on the award is Greg Jordan, director of campus recreation at Oakland University, who said that Mick is responsible for “significant growth in the profession and has had a strong impact on recreational sports. He supports student development at all levels.”
Deluca has served in a leadership role on campus since 1989, when he joined UCLA as director of the Department of Cultural and Recreational Affairs. Suzette Smith, director of the Student Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said, “Mick’s leadership helped to develop a department at UCLA that many schools today model their programs after.”
Deluca has served on more than 50 professional committees during his tenure at UCLA, including acting as a key UCLA representative for the upcoming LA2024 Olympic bid, in which UCLA has been selected as the site for the Olympic Village to house all competing athletes.
