Get Involved: Adopt-a-Team

Faculty Members - click here to Adopt-a-Team

Student-Athletes - click here to invite a professor to Adopt-a-Team

During the fall of 2007, the Stevens Institute of Technology Department of Athletics launched its Adopt-a-Team Program, which is designed to further bridge the gap between academics and athletics. Under this new initiative, the Department is looking to create a mutually-beneficial relationship between the Stevens faculty and varsity athletic teams. Through this program, faculty members will have the ability to become increasingly involved in a particular sport and serve in a mentor role to the student-athletes.

The main purpose of the Adopt-a-Team program is to give students on each team a faculty member who can come to better understand the challenges of being a serious student and athlete. Consequently, the faculty mentor will be able to help these students balance their roles as effectively as possible. Furthermore, the program aims to create an increased understanding amongst the faculty of the particular challenges that student-athletes face. In addition, it will show the students that the college supports their commitment to the Institute’s overall academic mission.

The Adopt-a-Team program has come to fruition through the collective efforts of Michael Bruno, who is the Dean of the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science, as well as Director of Athletics Russell Rogers and Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information Brian Granata. On October 23, Bruno, Rogers and Granata held a brief information session for faculty members who have shown interest in participating in the effort. There was a second open-session on October 30.

“Many of our faculty are already aware of the very high-quality students that our student-athlete programs attract,” Bruno said. “We are seeking to expand that awareness while also increasing the essential two-way communication between our faculty and our student-athletes. In particular, we would like to encourage our faculty who have an interest in a specific sport or activity to become more personally involved with those students by serving as a mentor and as a fan.”

Rogers echoed those sentiments when he said, “Stevens Athletics has always valued its relationship with the administration and faculty at the Institute. We have received tremendous support throughout the years. With this program, we look to build off that strong foundation and create an even better support system that will benefit all parties involved.”

At the present time, the program is designed to allow for some flexibility with regards to the exact role that faculty members serve with their teams. Ideally, when a faculty member is formally assigned to a sport, the individual will meet with the head coach to discuss ideas or ways that they can best serve the team. Over time, the faculty member is expected to establish an ongoing professional relationship with the coaching staff and students that allows for open communication. The Department of Athletics would also like the faculty mentor to meet with the student-athletes to discuss how to balance participation on a team with strong academic performance. In many cases, the faculty member will have valuable information in terms of ways to develop good relationships with professors, effective means to participate in class and ways to seek help academically.

The varsity teams are expected to reciprocate the faculty’s involvement by incorporating them into the daily routines of the team. This can take many forms, but the coaching staff should keep the mentor apprised of the team’s practice and game schedules. Furthermore, the coaches will provide team apparel to the faculty member and find other creative ways to involve them with the student-athletes – which could include traveling to away events, attending team dinners, speaking at team meetings, participating in practice sessions, etc.

A number of Stevens faculty members have shown interest in participating in the Adopt-a-Team program. Already, Research Assistant Professor Jon Miller of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering has been assigned to men’s basketball. Miller was a two-sport athlete at Stevens and graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering.

Any faculty member that is interested in joining the program should email brian.granata@stevens.edu or call (201) 216-5078. In addition, any varsity team that would like to invite a faculty member to participate should contact Brian Granata as well.

2007-08 Faculty Mentors
Men's Soccer - TBA
Women's Soccer - Bill Kazmierczak
Men's Volleyball - Ed Whittaker
Women's Volleyball - Sophia Hassiotis & David Vaccari
Men's Basketball - Jon Miller
Women's Basketball - Bernie Skown
Men's Lacrosse - Lex McCusker
Women's Lacrosse - Vikki Hazelwood
Men's Tennis - Tom Herrington
Women's Tennis - Lou Laucirica
Men's Swimming - Arthur Ritter & Robert Harari
Women's Swimming - John Keating
Men's Fencing - Rainer Martini 
Women's Fencing - Rainer Martini
Baseball - Hank Dobbelaar & Michael Bruno
Equestrian - TBA
Wrestling - John Farr
Field Hockey - Leslie Brunell
Men's Cross Country - Peter Dominick
Women's Cross Country - Ronald Besser
Men's Track & Field - Brian Sauser & Rustam Stolkin
Women's Track & Field - TBA
Men's Golf - Marty Valerio