TOWSON, Md. - A couple of decades ago, when she was running around field hockey and lacrosse fields at William and Mary living down the dorm hall from comedian and soccer player Jon Stewart, Dr. Gail Gasparich could likely have put to good use someone like herself.

Namely, Gasparich could have used the support and wisdom of a member of the faculty to advise and sponsor her as she balanced the roles of student and athlete.

That's probably why Gasparich is today that very advocate and mentor as a member of a group of Towson professors and instructors who help ensure that the two sides of the expression “student-athlete” work in harmony.

It's a sizable task, but not as significant a chore as the student-athletes themselves face, Gasparich said.

“They're really working the equivalent of somebody doing work-study on campus,” said Gasparich, who is the assistant dean of the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics.

“Twenty hours a week, they're doing athletically-related stuff, representing the university and preparing for competition," she added. "That's a major load for a student and they also do a full class load.”

Gasparich and the group of instructors -- the “Faculty Fellows" -- take an active role in aiding in the academic development of Towson athletes, either as volunteers or by nomination from other faculty.

The fellows are embedded with each varsity team, in some cases as many as two to three per team, and work with the student-athletes to help them negotiate their way through their sport and the classroom.

Gasparich, who has taught biology at Towson for 16 years, said the program was launched a few years ago through an idea formed by former women's lacrosse Coach Missy Doherty, who was introduced to the concept when she was an assistant at Princeton.

“We were trying to come up with strategies to bridge the gap between the academic and athletic sides of campus,” said Gasparich, who is also Towson's NCAA faculty athletic representative.

“We thought that might be a good way to integrate the faculty because they know the students, but they don't know that they're student-athletes and we wanted to give them an idea of what their world was like,” she added.

One of those instructors who crossed the bridge is Finn Christensen, an economics professor who became a fellow with the swim team.

Christensen, who was a varsity swimmer at Bradley, didn't need much help making the move, but took his involvement a step further, becoming an assistant coach, serving as “another pair of eyes on deck.”

Christensen, who still swims competitively himself, says he talks with recruits and provides support to the student-athletes, helping them strike a proper balance between the pool and their classes.

“At a place like Towson, where we emphasize both academics and athletics, and especially when the athletes are in season, it's incredibly demanding on them,” said Christensen. "And that's why I'm so glad we have such a strong support system in the athletic department.”

If anything, Gasparich said she feels the Faculty Fellows are, in some cases, under utilized by the student-athletes. She wishes that they would draw more upon the support the professors can lend them.

The student-athletes might learn that their Faculty Fellows are not only helping their classroom advancement, but are also doing a little public relations for them, reminding their instructors that good athletes can also be good students.

“One of the things that employers like is that they (student-athletes) are excellent time managers,” said Gasparich. “They've learned how to do that very well. You don't put off things. You don't watch Oprah in the afternoon. You don't have time for that.”

Just as long as they squeeze in a little time for “The Daily Show” at 11 p.m.