CCU’s Daou named 2022 Sun Belt Conference Faculty Member of the Year
The annual award recognizes a faculty member from each Sun Belt institution who has a passion for teaching, engaging, and inspiring students, while also separating themselves from their peers outside of the classroom by regularly supporting and displaying enthusiasm for student-athletes and the athletics department.
Ten Sun Belt Conference institutions nominated a Faculty Member of the Year finalist for the 2021-22 academic year. The conference’s Faculty Athletics Representatives, Student-Athlete Academic Directors, and members of the Sun Belt Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) voted to select the overall recipient. The conference initiated the Sun Belt Faculty Member of the Year Award in 2019.
“We are proud to recognize these dedicated educators who play an important role in impacting the lives of our student-athletes. These faculty members help improve the trajectory of our student-athletes,” Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill said. “Congratulations to Dr. Daou and to each of the finalists. We look forward to celebrating them during our fall conference meetings.”
As an assistant professor in the kinesiology department in CCU’s Conway Medical Center College of Health and Human Performance, Daou was named a “Distinguished Professor” for seven consecutive years. He has published 11 peer-reviewed journal articles in the areas of human movement and sports psychology.
“Assisting athletes was my goal since I decided to study psychology,” Daou said. “Being a part of the student-athletes’ lives while teaching strategies to manage their psychological skills and mental health brought a sense of fulfillment to my life.
“The combination of my teaching style, research mentorship, advisement skills, and my volunteer work as a mental coach for the women’s soccer and softball programs provided me the opportunity to earn CCU’s SAAC Faculty of the Year honor. Working with student-athletes allows me to fulfill my passion to keep developing mentally healthier, more assertive, and psychologically skillful individuals.”
“The first class I took with Marcos was a 9:25 a.m. class,” said Coastal Carolina women’s soccer player Rose Behrmann. “Just as Marcos lit up our team’s practice, he did the same in the classroom. There was never a boring class or a class where he was not passionate or ready to teach. He lights up every room he walks into because each individual knows he is the person who will always be rooting for you and is your No. 1 fan.”
Daou earned a Ph.D. in kinesiology from Auburn University.
Daou reflected, “Being at practices and games, in addition to developing group dynamics and individual meetings in my office, has made me become a better professor, researcher, and a mental coach professional.”