On Thursday, Deputy Director of Athletics Patrick Dunkley was named interim athletic director to fill the void left by Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby, who will leave the Farm to take over as commissioner of the Big 12 Conference on June 15.

Dunkley, who was appointed to the position by Provost John Etchemendy, has been with the Cardinal athletic department since the spring of 2011. Prior to his time in the athletic department, Dunkley spent almost a decade with Stanford’s Office of the General Counsel. In his time on the Farm, Dunkley has overseen human resources, NCAA, Pac-12 and institutional compliance, as well as other legal matters.

Dunkley, a graduate of San Jose State University and Santa Clara University School of Law, spent more than a decade with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, an international law firm, and Charles Schwab, the American brokerage and banking company, before his time at Stanford.

In addition to hiring Dunkley to oversee the athletic department in Bowlsby’s absence, Etchemendy also appointed two co-chairs to assist in the search for the new athletic director: Robert Simoni, the Donald Kennedy Chair in the School of Humanities and Sciences, and Jeff Wachtel, the senior assistant to the president.

The university expects to find a full-time replacement for Bowlsby by September.

–Jack Blanchat