Karen Neff came to Elon in January 2014. Neff serves as Associate Director of Academic Support for Athletics and monitors the academic progress of student-athletes on the women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer and football teams. She also collaborates with the Director of Learning Assistance to facilitate tutoring services for student-athletes. Neff coordinates with the Elon bookstore to purchase textbooks for scholarship student-athletes and has served as an Elon 1010 instructor for first-year student-athletes since 2014.

Prior to her arrival at Elon, Neff was Learning Specialist and Tutor Coordinator at the University of South Carolina where she worked with several teams in her role as a learning specialist and coordinated the tutoring program for the Academic Enrichment Center. Neff also assisted with the development and implementation of the summer bridge curriculum and programming at USC.

Neff possesses experience from a variety of institutions. She worked with the tutoring and mentoring programs at both Duke University and University of North Carolina and spent time as a Learning Specialist and Academic Advisor at the College of Charleston. Neff began her career in academic support as an academic services intern at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Neff has been actively involved in the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) since 2008 and serves on multiple committees and working groups, serving as chair of the Learning Concerns and Enhancement Committee 2013-2014. In 2010, Neff completed the Professional Development Institute for Learning Specialists and in 2011, earned her N4A Individual Advisor Certification. Neff has also presented at the N4A national conference in 2011, 2012, and 2017.

Originally from Round Rock, Texas, Neff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training & Sports Medicine from Baylor University in 2006 and a Master of Science degree in Exercise Science from the University of Georgia in 2008. Neff worked as an athletic trainer with UGA Track & Field while working on her master's degree, before making the transition to athletic academic services at UMass.

Neff lives in Mebane, N.C., with her husband, Brandon, and their sons, Bryce and Donovan.