In a report published last week, the American Association of University Professors called upon university and college faculty to take a more active role in the governance of university athletics.
The report, conducted in October, recommends that university faculty senates create committees charged with the oversight of academic standards within athletic programs.
"Several years ago there were recurring concerns about athletics and academics," said Carol Simpson Stern, professor of performance studies at Northwestern University and former chair of the AAUP. "Serious concerns about whether athletes were getting an education were being raised."
The statement, entitled "The Faculty Role in the Reform of Intercollegiate Athletics," recommended that all universities have faculty monitor admissions and academic profiles of athletes and compare them to the rest of the student body.
"A balancing act of interests exists across universities," Stern said. "Customarily, coaches speak directly to presidents -- we saw faculty as a leverage point."
The report also goes on to encourage universities to refrain from signing equipment contracts that prevent them from making comments about the company in question.
A recent flurry of faculty senate reports from Big Ten schools expressed regret over the largely commercial nature of intercollegiate athletics.
"A faculty senate committee may be a good way to go in some institutions," Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said. "However, one size does not fit all; it is the president or chancellor that sets the course for the institution."
The Board of Visitors maintains a student affairs and athletics committee that performs many of the functions suggested by the AAUP statement.
"The University already has a committee that does what the AAUP wants faculty to do -- we are alive to the issues," Faculty Senate Chairman Michael J. Smith said. "The senate names a faculty member to the joint athletic committee."
Despite Littlepage's sentiment, talk of increased faculty participation in the preservation of academic standards persists at the University.
"A number of faculty have indicated [interest in] a more active role of faculty in a continuing assessment of athletics at U.Va.," Smith said. "However, we don't think a new committee is the way to go"
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