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Staff Directory
- Title:
- Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Administrative Officer/SWA
Sport AD: W. Gymnastics, Softball
- Alma Mater:
- UC Irvine, '96
Dr. Christina Munger-Rivera serves as the Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Administrative Officer/Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) at UCLA, having joined the staff in September 2007.
In her role, Dr. Rivera directly supervises Women's Gymnastics, Softball, administrative areas and leads department efforts, especially in the areas of internal operations, Title IX, women in sport, governance and legislation, department meetings, campus partnerships, and performance evaluation and program assessment. As a member of the Executive Team reporting directly to the Director of Athletics, she serves in a leadership role for coaches and staff, and works towards establishing department goals and policies that align with University values.
Additionally, Dr. Rivera collaborates with University officials to provide guidance and direction to coaches and staff in order to enhance the growth and development of student-athletes on and off the field. In the face of changing NCAA legislation, she also works to develop strategic and innovative programs that benefit the department and are executed in a consistent, efficient and professional manner throughout the support services areas. Her role also requires her to exercise broad discretionary authority to solve problems in assigned areas of responsibility, including working closely with the Chief Financial Officer to ensure the department is consistently providing a quality student-athlete experience and that the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion are embedded in all UCLA varsity programs.
Prior to serving as the Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director, Internal Operations/SWA, Dr. Rivera was the Associate Athletic Director responsible for the academic and student support services provided to Bruin student-athletes. This included academic counseling, academic mentoring, peer learning, student services and student-athlete development programming. She also had direct oversight of the academic eligibility certification process as well as the requirements associated with the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) and NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR).
Dr. Rivera joined the Bruins after spending four years as the Associate Director and Eligibility Coordinator for the Student-Athlete Academic Services Office at USC, where she also served as the Academic Counselor to the football, men’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams. Prior to her stint at USC, Dr. Rivera was an Athletic Academic Counselor for the Student-Athlete Support Services Office at Ohio State University. During her time in Columbus, she was also a lecturer for the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, as well as for the Athletics Department.
Dr. Rivera has served on various campus, conference and national committees, including serving on the NCAA Student-Athlete Experience Committee and Board of Directors for the Collegiate Women Sports Awards, which honors the nation’s top NCAA women student-athletes recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. She is also a graduate of the Sport Management Institute (SMI) and LEAD1 Institute. In July 2021, she was honored as one of the 12 inaugural members of the LEAD1 Diversity Fellowship Program, a year-long opportunity for people of color and female administrators evaluated by a panel of experts as the industry’s most ready to assume an athletics director position. To add, she was a recipient of the Next Level Female Executive Scholarship to attend the 2021 Collegiate Athletic Leadership Symposium (CALS).
Dr. Rivera is a member of the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) and Women Leaders in College Sports. In June 2007, she received the N4A Professional Promise Award presented to a member who has dedicated their energy to the Association and its members. She has also presented at several conferences in regards to factors related to academic achievement and student-athlete retention, as well as the use of technology for reporting and increasing academic accountability in athletics.
Dr. Rivera earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Higher Education Administration at Ohio State University in August 2004 where her dissertation focused on the identification of key factors student-athletes perceived to be important to the college student-athlete retention process. She also earned her Master’s degree in Educational Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and her Bachelor’s degree in Social Ecology at UC Irvine, where she was a varsity soccer student-athlete.
A native of Southern California, Dr. Rivera currently resides in Westchester with her spouse and son.
