Dr. David Glenwick Completes Term as Fordham’s FAR

This summer Dr. David Glenwick, professor of psychology, completed his 3-year term as Fordham's Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA.  In this piece he shares his reflections on that experience.
 

    
  "All of us on the Fordham faculty engage in some service activities as part of our responsibilities.  For the past three years it's been my privilege to serve as Fordham's Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) to the NCAA.  Every college or university belonging to the NCAA is required to have its president appoint an FAR. That person serves as the institution's faculty liaison to the NCAA and as a liaison linking the institution's faculty, student-athletes, and administration (both athletic and general) with one another.  As a result of serving in this capacity, I've been fortunate to be able to gain an appreciation of what the various athletics-related constituencies at Fordham do.  In the following paragraphs, I would like to offer some reflections on this."
 
  "1. Athletics Department:  In his four years as athletics director, perhaps the most salient message that Dave Roach has constantly conveyed is that Fordham can have both academic and athletic excellence--that just because we're Fordham (with our high academic standards) doesn't mean that we should be mediocre athletically.  There are performance expectations and accountability, but Dave and his staff (top-notch at all levels) have established an environment supportive of athletic accomplishment, while doing it the right way--scrupulously adhering to NCAA regulations and doing the most possible within existing budgetary realities.
 
   "2.  Coaches:  A couple of decades ago, when my son was 9, he participated in the usual youth leagues in soccer, basketball, and baseball. Observing the various coaches in these leagues, at times I would say to myself, 'Gee, I'm glad that Michael doesn't have so-and-so as his coach,' not because they didn't know their Xs and Os but because of how they treated the kids and because of their lack of

perspective. At Fordham, it's been gratifying to see that we have coaches in whose hands parents can feel confident placing their daughters and sons.  Our coaches know their Xs and Os, but they also take the time to get to know their team members as developing young adults and recognize that, in the phrase 'student-athlete,' what comes both before and after the hyphen are important.  A coach is probably the most important adult in a student-athlete's campus life, and our student-athletes appreciate both the athletic rigor and the caring, familial attitude evinced by our coaches.  Our coaches are appropriately demanding, and the result in the past several years have been teams that are competitive in all sports.  In several sports, our teams have experienced consistent success over a number of seasons, resulting in our coaches being able to recruit nationally and internationally and to establish recognized and respected programs.  Time goes by, and my son is now 29 and coaching a girls' middle-school basketball team in Baltimore.  If he can create the same atmosphere on and off the court that our coaches do here, he will be justifiably considered a success as a coach.
 
  "3.  Athletic Academic Advising Office: As the saying goes, 'It takes a village.'  A big part of the athletics village at Fordham is our Athletic Academic Advising Office.  Frank Taylor and his dedicated staff do the things--both large and small--necessary to facilitate our student-athletes' success in the classroom and in their preparation for life after Fordham.  Help with course scheduling, tutoring, and providing study space and resources are only some of the areas in which our academic advisors provide invaluable assistance in juggling the myriad challenges faced by a Division I student-athlete.
   
  "4.  Atlantic 10 and Patriot League Offices:  Fordham is fortunate to belong to two athletic conferences--the Athletic 10 Conference and the Patriot League (the latter for football)--which value both athletics and academics.  Not surprisingly, compliance infractions, academic scandals, and other misdeeds garner national media attention.  We can easily fail to appreciate Division I schools and conferences that strive to maintain clean programs while still setting the bar high for athletic performance.  It all starts at the top, and the administrators and staff of the A-10 and the Patriot League set the tone for the high standards that exist at the college constituting both leagues.  Numerous illustrations of this could be cited, but, to mention just one, each year the A-10 awards a postgraduate scholarship to one outstanding student-athlete from each member school to both recognize her/his accomplishments and to facilitate her/his subsequent graduate studies.
 
   "5.  Lastly, and most importantly, our student-athletes:  As fans, we see only the results of our student-athletes' dedication and effort.  What we don't see, and what has impressed me the most in my three years as Fordham's FAR, is the degree of self-discipline required to be successful both in the classroom and as an athlete.  Getting up at or before the crack of dawn for a practice session, studying on the

bus en route to an away game, attending a Student-Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) meeting at 9 o'clock at night--you really have to have your act together.  Being a Division I student-athlete is akin to having a full-time job (think practices, travel time, and competitions) in addition to being a full-time student.  To make it happen, one has to be extremely well-organized--to be able to plan ahead and to implement one's plans within the context of the numerous demands that one faces.  These are competencies that not only serve our student-athletes well during their years at Fordham but also serve to prepared them well for their post-Fordham lives.  It is a testament to our student-athletes' commitment and skills--as well as to the support system around them--that, year after year, their average grade point average (GPA) is equal to or even exceeds that of the general Fordham student body.  Additionally, many of our student athletes, as individuals and collectively as teams, are named Academic All-Americans each year.  Also, the distribution of majors for our student-athletes is comparable to that of our overall undergraduate student population.  One of the highlights each year for our Athletic Department is not actually an athletic event but the annual Breakfast for Champions gathering in early February, in which we celebrate the academic accomplishments of those student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.  Routinely, approximately three-fifths of our 500 or so student-athletes earn this accolade each year--quite an accomplishment!
 
     "My three years as Fordham's FAR have gone by quickly.  There are team wins (and, naturally, losses) and individual performances that one remembers.  But, most meaningfully, there are the people--solid, "menschy" human beings and skilled professionals and student-athletes--who make up the Fordham athletic community.  I consider myself fortunate indeed to have come to know them.  We can be proud of the present and can look forward with optimism to the future of Fordham athletics."
 
Dr. Patricio Meneses, an associate professor of biology, will assume the role of Fordham's Faculty Athletic Representative in 2017.