Princeton University Athletics
Academic-Athletic Fellows
August 02, 2000 | General
The integration of athletics and academics is a challenge at any university or college. Academic integrity-or the lack of such integrity-is at the forefront at many institutions.
A recent Princeton Board of Trustees report acknowledged that athletics is a valuable resource and reinforced that athletics is an important component of the educational experience.
In an attempt to strengthen the true student-athlete ideal while continuing to preserve and advance the University's overall educational mission, the Department of Athletics launched the Princeton Academic-Athletic Fellows initiative in the spring.
The coach of each varsity team is required to identify a faculty member who will serve as its academic-athletic fellow. Their mission is to strengthen and reinforce the ties between a student's academic and athletic pursuits and act as a resource for the student-athletes, coaches, academic administrators and faculty.
The creation of the academic-athletic fellows initiative was conceived by director of athletics Gary Walters, who recalls how an experience from his days as a Princeton student-athlete impacted him and his teammates.
"I remember the impact that [then sociology professor] Marvin Bressler had on members of the basketball team," Walters says. "My hope was that we could replicate that model for other athletic programs. I believe this makes Princeton unique in the way it facilitates harmony between academic and athletic pursuits."
This academic and athletic link will provide athletes with a central point when attempting to identify various University resources, such as advice to resolve specific academic and social issues. Jeff Stout, professor of religion, filled the role of an academic-athletic fellow when men's soccer coach Jim Barlow '91 was an undergraduate playing for Bob Bradley '80.
"I found myself interacting on a fairly regular basis with members of the team, a few of whom came to me for advice about academic problems," Stout says. "When Jim became the varsity coach after Bob's departure, my role with the team became somewhat more formalized. It's been enormously rewarding to become a part of the soccer community at Princeton. I've done it for the friendship, not because I'm trying to perform a kind of social work. But the friendships make a difference to the way the place feels."
Fellows recognize the value of athletic participation and realize that it is a complement to an undergraduate education. Role models themselves, fellows will help to enhance the relationship between the academic and athletic cultures.
"We are fostering the conceptual idea of the integration of mind, body and spirit," Walters says. "We are providing a non-threatening academic and social support system for athletes that also will strengthen the relationships of coaches and faculty. We want to ensure that our athletes explore the many great opportunities that are available to them during their four years at Princeton."
When Walters was appointed athletic director in 1994, one of the primary charges from the Board of Trustees was to strengthen the ties between athletics and academics. Throughout the years a number of initiatives have been instituted to better promote that relationship. The "fellows" concept is the latest vehicle designed to improve student-athlete welfare and bridge the academic and athletic interests.
"We're wagering," says Stout, one of many fellows in place for next year, "that throwing some interested academics into the midst of Princeton teams will at least create the conditions under which some new, beneficial relationships might take shape."
by Kurt Kehl