BERKELEY – Just two years after the launch of Cal's Cameron Institute, a department-wide system that takes a holistic approach to student-athlete development to enhance each athlete's potential at Cal and prepare them for life after sport, the university – and the model itself – are already inspiring excitement and garnering plenty of attention. To that end, Cameron Institute Director Dr. Marissa Nichols was recently recognized by the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) with the Region V Professional Excellence Award for her groundbreaking work in the industry and dedication to improving the lives of student-athletes at Cal and beyond.

"We are very proud of Marissa and pleased that she received this honor - it is another indicator that she is a true leader in the field," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "Cal is proud to have her leading the Cameron Institute and helping our department produce exceptional student-athletes. We look forward to continuing our tradition of innovation and excellence with her leading our program."

Nichols, who was nominated by her mentor Dr. Lisa Rubin of Kansas State University, was officially presented with the award last week at the N4A National Convention in Las Vegas – the same city where she began her career journey in athletics as a softball student-athlete at UNLV.

"It was very meaningful to be honored where it all started for me," she said. "I stand on the shoulders of giants in our industry and so many wonderful mentors. I had a wonderful and transformative experience as a student-athlete at UNLV, with coaches that were very interested in developing us as people and holding us to the highest expectations. I felt very compelled to give back – how we develop human beings can actually impact their performances and put them on a launchpad for life."

As director of the Cameron Institute, which was officially announced in 2019 and launched in 2020, Nichols has worked tirelessly to build a team of experienced and innovative professionals in the field that will deliver an exceptional product to Cal's student-athletes. Despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted a pivot to all-virtual services at the time of launch that Nichols admitted was "more challenging" than the in-person sessions that the staff had visualized, she is nonetheless pleased and proud with the results.

"I feel so lucky to have such an incredible team of professionals, people who I love – they're doing such excellent work," she said. "Each one of them truly exudes this model that we're trying to create and standardize."

Earlier this year, Nichols also co-authored the Student-Athlete Development (SADV) Task Force's first-ever white paper (a colloquial term describing a report meant to educate and inform readers about a particular issue as well as the author's stance on said issue). The report examines the current state of student-athlete development across collegiate athletics and provides an in-depth explanation of each desired outcome, with respect to mitigating factors such as differing staff sizes, responsibilities and resources across various institutions.

"There's no real standardized blueprint for student-athlete development in college athletics as of yet, which is why the white paper was written," Nichols explained.  "We hope that it serves as a template and roadmap for each institution to implement best practices in measurable ways and standardize the field of student-athlete support."

You can read the 2022 SADV Task Force White Paper here for a comprehensive look at the proposed future of the mainstream student-athlete experience.