Vincent Pham, an Associate Professor of Civic Communication and Media at Willamette University, has served as a Faculty Athletics Representative for the Bearcats since the fall of 2020. He joined Brandi Row Lazzarini ('96), Department Chair and Associate Professor of Exercise and Health Science, who has been a Willamette Faculty Athletics Representative since 2018.

"Our faculty athletic reps play a critical role in supporting our student-athletes and we feel very fortunate to have Vincent as a Co-FAR," Willamette Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Rob Passage said. "Especially during times like these where we have had to adjust almost everything we do, being able to talk through those changes with our FARs is extremely helpful."

Willamette Athletics gains benefits from having Co-Faculty Athletics Representatives who bring various skills and experiences to the job. Pham and Row Lazzarini are able to combine their efforts to complete the various tasks assigned to Faculty Athletics Representatives throughout the country. FARs at Willamette work as liaisons between student-athletes, coaches, athletic administrators, Willamette administrators, and Northwest Conference leaders.

"I've always enjoyed chatting with student-athletes about their unique position in the college and their experiences being a student-athlete at a D3 small liberal arts college," Pham said. "I'm looking forward to getting to know them and interacting with students that I don't usually see in my classes but are a big part of the Willamette community. I'm excited to work with and share knowledge with FARs from other campuses and the NCAA to best meet the needs of Willamette's student-athletes."

Pham received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He later added a Master of Arts degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. His interests as a professor include critical/cultural studies, media studies, rhetoric, organizational communication, and ethnic studies. His research has focused on rhetoric of belonging and marginalization circulating through public culture. His areas of emphasis have been on Asian-American civic media rhetoric as well as issues involving race, racism, and relationality.

"I bring a strong equity lens towards issues of race and gender," Pham noted. "These are both couched in my experience as faculty of color as well as my academic background and in ethnic studies. So bringing this commitment and knowledge to bear on the issues affecting Willamette and student-athletes is interesting to me.

"One of the reasons I decided on being an FAR was the opportunity to work with Brandi," Pham said. "I'm impressed by her commitment to student-athletes and Willamette students in general. I am learning so much from working with her. She brings a wealth of experience from her time at Willamette as a student and now as a faculty member.

"In many ways, being a Co-FAR is being part of a team," Pham added. "Being a Co-FAR means that you also get to work with people such as Leslie Shevlin (Associated AD/SWA) and Rob Passage who do the work of making the student-athlete experience run on a daily basis. I believe by bringing together various perspectives and expertise from myself, Brandi, Leslie Shevlin, and Rob Passage allows Willamette to work through challenges in creative and thoughtful ways."