Suna Cicekli - Senior Associate AD / People & Culture - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Suna Cicekli

Title:
Senior Associate AD / People & Culture
Email:
Phone:
(405) 325-4206

Suna Cicekli joined Oklahoma Athletics in July 2018 and serves as Senior Associate Athletics Director for People and Culture.

In this role, Cicekli oversees OU Athletics’ traditional human resources services and leads the People and Culture unit’s holistic people-development efforts for staff and student-athletes, providing personal and professional development opportunities for the full department.

Cikekli also oversees programming to improve organizational culture and morale — ensuring a positive environment for all — as well as the Athletics Department Staff Council (ADSC). The mission of the ADSC is to heighten communication among athletics department staff, recognize campus and community achievements and continually identify ways to pursue and sustain success at the highest level.

Additionally, she analyzes and advises on budget and strategic planning related to the department's people and culture efforts and coordinates educational initiatives and speaker engagements that advance staff development and align with strategic goals in people and culture. She also represents OU Athletics on campus and NCAA/SEC advisory boards and collaborates with campus partners, including the human resources, Title IX, access and opportunity and student affairs offices.

Known for her dedication to mentoring international student-athletes, Cicekli is also responsible for providing leadership for graduate assistant and sport career development programs. She also serves as the sport administrator for OU Rowing and Soccer.

Prior to Oklahoma, Cicekli served as the director of assessment and referrals at Methodist Family Health in Little Rock, Ark. In that role, she supervised all inpatient psychiatric program admissions: acute hospital, residential treatment programs and group homes.

Cicekli earned her bachelor's degree in finance with a psychology minor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2002. She earned her master's degree in industrial and organizational psychology in 2006, also from UALR.

Hailing from Istanbul, Turkey, she was a student-athlete on the UALR swimming team. A four-year collegiate letterwinner from 1997-2001 and a team captain from 1999-2001, she also competed for the Turkish national swimming team and is a former member of the board of directors of the UALR Trojan lettermen association.

Cicekli's family in Norman includes her partner Andy, daughters Ruby and Olive and dogs, Boncuk and Yastik.