Dr. Magdi El Shahawy

Director of SAAS, Dr. Magdi El Shahawy has been at SAAS since August 2000. During Dr. El Shahawy's tenure as Director of SAAS there has been a steady growth in the number of student-athletes with 3.0 or higher semester GPAs culminating with a high of 291 after the Fall 2006 semester. Since 2000 there have been new programs added to the SAAS staff including the implementation of the Directed Studies program, the restructuring of the tutorial program, an enhanced Life Skills program that includes the introduction of the Power Program, the Take Charge Workshops, a new career seminar class for freshman, and an active Student-Athlete Advisory Council that has become more involved in community service. Other new initiatives include the Point System, an improved database system for monitoring student-athletes academic progress, eligibility requirements, attendance, advisement, and scheduling tutorial sessions. Since 2000 the SAAS staff has grown from 10 to 15 full-time professionals.

Dr. El Shahawy graduated from Florida State University, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree and Ph.D.. He began his career working at Florida State University as the Advisor for the Football Program and the Eligibility Coordinator for their Athletic Department, where he worked for 7 years. Prior to joining USC's staff, Dr. El Shahawy worked at Michigan State University as the Associate Director of the Student Athlete Support Services Unit. Born in Queens, New York and raised in Sarasota, Florida, Dr. El Shahawy was a former varsity letterman on Florida State University's football team from 1986-1989.