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Professors, coaches team up to help student-athletes

Wesleyan professors join forces with Marlin coaches to bring success in the classroom as well as on the scoreboards

It’s not about making the highlight reel on SportsCenter. It’s not about getting a million-dollar contract to play in the pros. For most, it’s not even about the glory, though Marlin student-athletes have certainly enjoyed a fair amount of time in the spotlight. At Virginia Wesleyan College, athletics are seen as a complement to academics, and more than a third of the student body competes at an institution that cares equally for its academics and its athletics.

So much so, in fact, that the two have joined forces. The outcome? The Faculty Team Advisors Program (FTAP), which is now in place for the 2005-2006 academic year.

The program, the first of its kind at the College and modeled after such successful archetypes as Princeton University’s Academic-Athletic Fellows Program, matches coaches with professors as teams focus on the enrichment of Virginia Wesleyan student-athletes. The combination bridges the gap between athletics and academics to foster a closer working relationship between those who inspire students in the classroom and those who motivate them on the playing fields and courts.

The task of recruiting of faculty members was undertaken by David Buckingham, dean of students, and Larry Hultgren, associate dean of students and professor of philosophy. The 18 professors serving as faculty advisors this year represent 12 of the 29 academic departments on campus.

“I believe that athletics is just another venue for lifelong learning,” says Sharon Payne, professor of health and human services and faculty advisor to the women’s volleyball team. “I believe it has great deal to do with the development of confidence, identity and character, and I think that especially for women it is a good training ground for functioning in a world that many times is hard and competitive and may function differently from the way that women intuitively work with one another. It teaches self-discipline, time management, and all those skills important for adulthood. And if you have a way to practice that while balancing academic work in college, you go out to work prepared to handle a career or graduate school and the demands of adult responsibility in our culture.”

 “I think it’s a great step in the right direction,” said Dave Macedo, head men’s basketball coach. “It allows faculty to see exactly some of the things the athletes go through and it’s really another pair of eyes to help us to monitor our student-athletes. As coaches, it’s our primary responsibility to make sure our student-athletes are progressing – [faculty] are kind of another advisor for them and can also contribute to their growth.”

“I think that it’s really important for us as a college to keep academics at the forefront of everything that we do so that when students can see that professors are also supportive of their involvement in athletics, they can begin to develop the connections,” Payne added. “I hope that I can be an advocate for that kind of integral learning. I hope that I can be a resource for them in questions of academics and I hope I can challenge them. Those are some of the things that I think about when I think about this program.”

Partnerships for the 2005-2006 academic year are as follows:

  • Dr. William Gibson (political science) and Nick Boothe (baseball)
  • Dr. Connie Bellamy (English) and Stephany Dunmyer (women’s basketball)
  • Dr. Doug Kennedy (recreation and leisure) and Dave Macedo (men’s basketball)
  • Robin Takacs (recreation and leisure) and Sarah Foley (cheerleading/dance)
  • Nancy Montgomery (recreation and leisure) and Mat Littleton (women’s cross country)
  • Dr. Malcolm Lively (education) and Mat Littleton (men’s cross country)
  • Dr. Mavel Velasco (Spanish) and Kim-Michael Mertes (field hockey)
  • Dr. Steven Emmanuel (humanities) and Dave Doino (golf)
  • Dr. Linda Ferguson (management/business/economics) and Fran Amasia (women’s lacrosse)
  • Dr. Ben Dobrin (health and human services) and J.P. Stewart (men’s lacrosse)
  • Dr. Sara Sewell (history) and Jeff Bowers (women’s soccer)
  • Wayne Pollock (recreation and leisure) and Sonny Travis (men’s soccer)
  • Dr. Larry Hultgren (philosophy) and Conrad Parker (softball)
  • Patty Clark (library science) and John Brinkman (women’s tennis)
  • Dr. Keith Moore (residence life) and John Brinkman (men’s tennis)
  • Dr. Carol Johnson (English) and Mat Littleton (women’s track)
  • Dr. Clay Drees (history) and Mat Littleton (men’s track)
  • Sharon Payne (health and human services) and Anna Tool (volleyball)

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