Duke faculty appoints representatives to laisson with each varsity athletic team

Colleges & Universities Duke University
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<p><a href=“http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/09/26/News/Athletic.Academic.Plan.Receives.Mixed.Reviews-2308456.shtml?norewrite200609261835&sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com[/url]”>http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/09/26/News/Athletic.Academic.Plan.Receives.Mixed.Reviews-2308456.shtml?norewrite200609261835&sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>"At the Academic Council meeting last Thursday, … a Duke Law professor who chairs the council, introduced the “Faculty Athletics Associates Program,” which calls for faculty representatives to be assigned to each of Duke’s 22 varsity teams.</p>

<p>“I was hoping to increase the connection and depth of understanding between faculty and coaches,” Haagen said. “The purpose is to have better interaction in terms of each side understanding the other…”</p>

<p>"Haagen’s involvement in the program began in the spring, when questions were raised about the role of athletics at Duke in response to the controversy surrounding the 2005-2006 men’s lacrosse team.</p>

<p>Haagen, who teaches sports law and works extensively with the Department of Athletics, became aware of a program at Princeton where faculty members are assigned to teams. He thought a similar plan could work at Duke, with some adjustments to adapt to the “different conditions…”</p>

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<p>Wonder who is going to be kryzyzewski’s ‘liason’…</p>

<p>I see this as a positive step needed to reign in Athletic Department, short of what big spender (see WSJ) Gordon Gee did at Vandy. I love our D1 program, wouldn’t want to lose it, but if we need to remind coaches and students what is #1 priority, then this is a good step forward.</p>

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<p>I agree. Even as other EC programs often have a faculty liaison. </p>

<p>I am no defender of Gee on other grounds, but I do admire his move to trim the independence of the athletic department - often based on independent sources of funding at certain large schools, which can lead the coaches, boosters etc., to think they are a law unto themselves.</p>

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<p>On the other hand, part of this program is to allow faculty members who ordinarily are not engaged with the lives of their students outside of the classroom to learn about the other aspects of what makes a College Education. Sadly, at most institutions of higher learning, there are groups of faculty who seem to think that academics is not just the #1 thing, it is the one and only thing, and that has to change too.</p>

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<p>A thoughtful expression of this view:</p>

<p><a href=“http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/09/29/StaffEditorials/Take-AthleticAcademic.Divide.Seriously-2317238.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com[/url]”>http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/09/29/StaffEditorials/Take-AthleticAcademic.Divide.Seriously-2317238.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;