Exercise Science's Beth Patton named 2025 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Faculty Mentor of the Year

Want to know what Ashland University student athletes think of Beth Patton, Ph.D., associate professor of Health Science and Exercise Science internship coordinator?

Her being named the 2025 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Faculty Mentor of the Year pretty much says it all.

“I have two mentor awards (2016: Jessica Brown Shannon, women’s soccer; and 2021: Cat Darnell, women’s swimming) and I have been nominated for the Taylor (Excellence in Teaching) Award a few times and was a finalist last year, but I think this one means more just because of the level it’s at,” said the 27-year AU instructor. “I am going to be representing the university and I am proud of that.”

Patton will be recognized at the GMAC’s Spring Awards Banquet on Tuesday, May 20 in Cincinnati and will be the conference’s nominee for the NCAA Division II Faculty Mentor Award.

“This is the first time Ashland has won this award,” AU Director of Athletics Al King said. “The four years we’ve been in the league a couple of times we’ve had the student athlete of the year, but we haven’t had this one, so we’re pretty excited about that and excited for her.”

King said a couple of women’s soccer players nominated Patton, which didn’t surprise him at all.

“Every year when we ask students for feedback about faculty members, Beth’s name always comes up,” King said. “I think that’s because Beth has been around athletics a lot. Her son played baseball here and her husband coached here (pitching coach). I just think she has a good feel for student athletes, some of the problems they face, some of the time commitments they face, the challenges they face.”

Because about 75% of the Exercise Science majors at AU are athletes, Patton is pretty much a faculty advisor for all of the university’s sports.

“My relationship with my students is more than just advising,” said Patton, who has most of them in her classes, which include freshmen through seniors. “They stop by just to talk and some to get advice about grad school. I usually write 10 to 15 letters of recommendation every year.”

Two of her fellow three full-time Exercise Science faculty members were former student athletes she mentored: Levi Jones, a former AU wrestler and 2022 grad, and Mike Lewandowski, a former AU baseball player and 2016 graduate. Randy Gearhart, Ph.D., who started at AU a few years after Patton, is the fourth full-time Exercise Science faculty member.

Because it is one of the biggest majors on campus, Exercise Science was able to add Lewandowski, who was an adjunct professor, to full time for the 2025-26 academic year.

The Exercise Science Program also was going to add another faculty member to replace Patton, who was planning to retire at the end of this academic year, but her desire to mentor the new faculty, as well as help with the Exercise Science accreditation process, is postponing her retirement.

Could that mean another GMAC Faculty Mentor of the Year Award in 2026?

If this year is any indication, many AU student athletes would love to see that.