Duke’s Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Franzoni Honored by NFF

IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that Duke's Dr. Linda Franzoni, along with 15 other Faculty Athletics Representatives (FARs) nationally, will be honored as part of the 2023 NFF Faculty Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments®.

These individuals will be honored for their significant contributions as faculty athletics representatives.

Dr. Franzoni is an associate dean of undergraduate education and a professor in the Thomas Lord department of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke's prestigious Pratt School of Engineering. This year marks her second year as Duke's FAR.

As part of the initiative, each school with a member on the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments® receives recognition for their faculty athletics representative, and a $5,000 donation per school (a total of $80,000 this year) from Fidelity is made to support the academic support services for student-athletes at the schools. Including this year's honorees, the salutes have recognized 184 FARs since the program's inception, and Fidelity has made a total of $920,000 in donations.

"Honoring the faculty athletics representatives from the schools with NFF National Scholar-Athletes sends a powerful message," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "There is no group more committed to the well-being of our student-athletes, and the NFF National Scholar-Athlete success stories provide a natural vehicle for emphasizing the important contributions of the faculty athletics representatives across the country."

Fidelity Investments, which also serves as the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, has taken on a leadership role with the Faculty Salutes as a natural extension of its ongoing support of the scholar-athlete ideal and commitment to higher education nationwide. Launched in 2011 as a partnership between Fidelity and the NFF, the Salutes expand the reach of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program, which provides $18,000 postgraduate scholarships to college football's top student-athletes.

"Faculty athletics representatives continue to play a critical role in the overall educational experience of our country's student-athletes," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are proud to join Fidelity Investments in continuing to highlight the contributions of the FARs in ensuring that our nation's student-athletes succeed on and off the field."

The NFF consulted with the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives (1A FAR) to design the initiative, and the organizations continue to collaborate on its implementation. In 2015, the 1A FAR presented Fidelity with its "Friend of FAR" Award for its efforts with the program, and the group honored the NFF with the same award in 2016.

"We are pleased to support the National Football Foundation and its programs, which celebrate outstanding football scholar-athletes and the hard work of faculty athletics representatives," said 1A FAR president Dr. Donald Bruce, Director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee and a professor in the Department of Economics who serves as the Volunteers' FAR. "The National Football Foundation has joined with Fidelity Investments not only to recognize the work of the FARs at an array of campuses each year, but to support academic services on campuses for student-athletes and to award significant postgraduate scholarships to outstanding football student-athletes.

"These programs emphasize that success as a student-athlete is about more than just athletic accomplishments on the field. Participating in college athletics provides the opportunity for a top-flight education at our nation's finest institutions of higher education and facilitates the development of unparalleled leadership skills."

The NFF will recognize 16 Faculty Athletics Representatives from the 16 schools with a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments, including (names of the scholar-athletes in parentheses along with position and GPA):

Benedict (SC), Dr. Melvin Miller (Loobert Denelus, DE, 3.96)
Duke, Dr. Linda Franzoni (DeWayne Carter, DT, 3.47)
Johns Hopkins (MD), Dr. William Smedick (Luke Schuermann, DE, 3.61)
Kansas State, Dr. Shawna Jordan (Cooper Beebe, OL, 3.84)
NC Central, Dr. Deborah Fortune (Davius Richard, QB, 3.59)
Penn State, Dr. Dennis Scanlon (Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, 3.45)
Holy Cross, Dr. Sarah Petty (Jacob Dobbs, LB, 3.76)
Army West Point, Col. (Ret.) Joseph Hanus (Leo Lowin, LB, 3.92)
Georgia, David Shipley (Ladd McConkey, WR, 3.85)
Maryland, Dr. Bradley Hatfield (Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, 3.61)
Michigan, Dr. Ketra Armstrong (Zak Zinter, OL, 3.53)
Notre Dame, Patricia Bellia (JD Bertrand, LB, 3.62)
Oregon, Joshua Gordon (Bo Nix, QB, 3.62)
Wabash (IN), Dr. Dan Rogers (Liam Thompson, QB, 3.87)
Wartburg (IA), Dr. Todd Reiher (Owen Grover, LB, 3.99)
West Virginia , Dr. Robert Gerbo (Zach Frazier, C, 3.88)

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Duke’s Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Franzoni Honored by NFF

Players Mentioned

DeWayne Carter

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Duke’s Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Franzoni Honored by NFF

Players Mentioned

DeWayne Carter

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