By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference SAAC Faculty Mentor Award for the 2024-25 academic year was presented to Dr. Stephen Parker of Saint Martin’s University.
 
Dr. Parker, a professor of physics and the faculty athletic representative for the Saints athletic department, has impacted numerous students at the university both within the scope of sports and within the classroom. He is currently in his 10th year in his position as FAR and has been a professor at SMU for 17 years.
 
From the SMU Nomination: Dr. Parker is actively engaged in athletics, especially volleyball, where he shows up to all of the home games and doesn’t just watch, he supports loud and proud with a standing ovation every match. He even follows away games by watching the live streams and tracking the stats. At the start of a new week, he often checks in with student-athletes in his class to see how games went over the weekend and how the rest of the season is looking. Not only does he support athletes on the field, the court and the course, he is in an incredibly passionate teacher who ensures we are able to accomplish our academic goals by providing opportunities outside of regular hours to help students understand concepts. Knowing that athletes are busy throughout the week with practices and games, he schedules Sunday night tutoring (typically the only day an athlete would be free) from 6-10 p.m., where he takes time out of his own weekend to help students with homework and other concepts. As a teacher he is energetic and excited to teach physics which makes his class super enjoyable to be in. He is patient and takes the time to explain things until we understand, while at the same time holds all his students to the same expectations and standards, which teaches us how to manage our time and use our resources to succeed in the classroom.
 
Presented annually by the GNAC SAAC, the Faculty Mentor Award honors faculty members at member institutions that demonstrate exemplary support to student-athletes both on and off the field of competition while representing the NCAA Division II core values of learning, passion, service, resourcefulness, sportsmanship and balance. Award recipients should have a strong commitment to preparing student-athletes to excel in their endeavors after their athletic careers have ended.
 
Past recipients of the GNAC SAAC Faculty Mentor Award include Laura Reid and Dr. Peter Ruben of Simon Fraser University, Amy Cooper of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kevin Bartlett of Seattle Pacific University, Emily Vela-Haynes of Western Oregon University, Dr. Scott Harris and Dr. Alex Shafer of Montana State University Billings, Bill Rapp of Northwest Nazarene, Dr. T.H. “Butch” Kamena of Western Washington University and Nick Zentner and Matthew Martinson of Central Washington University.