Leah Rawls Atkins


Leah Marie Rawls Atkins is an American historian and former water skiing champion. She served as Director of the Auburn University Center for the Arts and Humanities.
Atkins won the 1953 World water skiing championships in Toronto. After a career in water skiing, she earned a Ph.D. in history from Auburn University in 1974.
Atkins was the first woman in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. The Leah Rawls Atkins Award, Auburn University’s highest award for athletics, is named in her honor.

Personal life

In 1954, Atkins married American football player George Atkins.