NORFOLK, Va. – Thanks to a grant from the NCAA, the Norfolk State Athletics Department completed renovations to the academic lab in the Student-Athlete Academic Support area this summer before the start of the fall semester.
 
NSU received a single-year grant of $100,000 as part of the NCAA's Accelerating Academic Success Program (AASP). The athletics department was one of the NCAA's inaugural institutions to receive AASP grant funds when the program began in 2013. To date, the department has received close to a million dollars in grant funds used in support of academic support for student-athletes.
 
"We are excited about the new renovations of the athletics academic lab," said NSU Athletics Director Marty L. Miller. "These improvements will assist with strengthening the academic performance of the student-athletes and establish new benchmarks for academic success for the Department of Athletics. I want to thank the NCAA for financially supporting this endeavor."
 
Construction work this summer included upgrades to the computer lab and several offices within the Student-Athlete Academic Support area. Space was repurposed to allow for a larger computer lab while maximizing space for a pair of offices for the academic staff. The computer lab was expanded by an extra 200 square feet, bring the total size of the lab to a little more than 1,000 square feet.
 
A total of 28 new workstations were added to the computer lab, lined up against each of the walls. The workstations include all new computers, desks and chairs. New desks and chairs were also added in the middle of the lab for a study area or for students with laptops. The general aesthetics were also enhanced with new carpet and paint as well as a 51-foot long wall graphic highlighting both athletic and academic success.
 
Several words of wisdom from Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X were added to the walls along with athletics logos and four 4 feet x 4 feet picture frames in the hallway, again highlighting both athletics and academics at NSU. The academic department's motto of "Academically Strong. Athletically Superior." was lettered out on the main hallway wall, as was an acronym saying for the word "Spartan" in the main academic lab.
 
In addition to the physical work inside the academic area, a portion of the grant was used to pay for professional development travel for the compliance and academic support staff. Those professional development opportunities will ensure they are up-to-date with industry best practices that will be implemented at Norfolk State for its student-athletes.