October 7, 2019
Rubin co-authors book on student athlete development
Frustrated by the lack of resources for her courses concerning student-athlete development, a College of Education faculty member took matters in her own hands and collaborated with colleagues to co-author a book that was recently released.
Lisa Rubin, assistant professor of student services in intercollegiate athletics, co-authored "Implementing Student-Athlete Programming: A Guide of Supporting College Athletes" with Kristina M. Navarro, senior associate athletic director for leadership development and strategic partnerships at Rutgers University, and Geoff Mamerow, assistant director of learning outcomes at Pennsylvania State University.
Rubin said the book offers model programs in the three NCAA divisions and includes a chapter on the assessment of student-athlete development. Other chapters include "Return to Learn" — concussion protocols when student-athletes return to class; programs such as K-State's Second Wind for athletes who return to complete their degrees after their pro careers; diversity and inclusion efforts; and different student-athlete development approaches for non-Power 5 institutions.
"It's exciting," Rubin said. "So many universities have ordered the book and tweeted about it. Writing the book has been a great experience, and it feels good producing a resource that was so needed."
Student-athlete development is a growing field and the opportunities are nearly exponential for K-State graduate students, where career possibilities are expanding in student-athlete support services. Rubin's research interests include ethics in intercollegiate athletics, advising and developing student-athletes, the changing environment of college athletics, NCAA reform and women in intercollegiate athletic administration.
In 2018, Rubin's research proposal concerning athletes and financial literacy was one of five grants fully funded by the NCAA out of 84 grant applications. That same year, she was a recipient of the Big 12 Faculty Fellowship in collaboration with the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation at the University of Texas at Austin. This summer, Rubin was selected as the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals, or N4A, Region IV recipient of the professional excellence award.