Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Athletics Receives National Recognition by N4A
6/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Academics
June 14, 2016
The Florida Atlantic University Department of Athletics was honored by The National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A) at the 2016 N4A Convention, held June 9-11 in Dallas, Texas.
The N4A Model Practices Award is an award given annually to a N4A-affiliated university or college that displays best practices in their programming for student-athletes. In 2016, two awards were presented in this category -- one in the area of academics and one in the area of student-athlete development. FAU was honored for its academic support services.
The football team's G.P.A. has risen from a 2.502 G.P.A. in the spring of 2013 to a 2.957 G.P.A. this spring. Along with the academic improvement, the FAU athletics department has developed a comprehensive life skills program, featuring career services and a speakers program, as well as a concerted effort to provide community service to the Boca Raton area.
"This honor was done through the hard work and commitment of our student-athletes, coaches and academic support staff," said Pat Chun, FAU's vice president and director of athletics. "A culture of academic achievement has been created and stewarded. We take great pride in being honored."
Marlon Dechausay, the Owls' associate director of athletics and director of the Student Athlete Center for Academic Excellence, was honored along with Aaron Stang and Eric Zeaman, who serve as academic counselors, and Jacqueline C. Perez the department's learning specialist. The group, which primarily focuses their attention with the sport of football, received the N4A Model Practices Award.
"It's always an honor to win awards but this one is a little more special because it's voted on by our peers," said Dechausay. "Even though we received the award for what we are doing with football, our entire department can take pride in this and the work that is being done across all sports, which is reflected in our end of the year departmental G.P.A. being above a 3.00 for the first time in program history."
N4A, which has been in existence since 1975, is a diverse educational service and a professional non-profit organization. Membership of N4A includes academic support and student services personnel who are committed to enhancing opportunities for academic, athletics and personal success for student-athletes. For more information on N4A, visit www.nfoura.org.
