Biography

Lauren Shute is an assistant professor in UNLV's School of Social Work, housed within the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs. Her background spans collegiate athletics, journalism, and clinical practice. Her research explores the connection between emotional dysregulation and athletic performance, and aims to elevate the well-being of elite athletes and the burgeoning intersection of sports and social work.

Shute’s scholarly work particularly centers on the bio-psychosocial and spiritual health of athletes, and promotes the scope of mental and behavioral health services offered within collegiate athletic departments and elite sports organizations. She developed one of the first sport social work courses offered nationally — giving aspiring social workers at UNLV and Louisiana State University (LSU) the tools to strengthen the health of athletes, as well as other individuals, groups, teams, and organizations in sports environments. She also leads a mixed-methods research project funded by the UNLV Sports Innovation Institute, examining the health and needs of female student-athletes.

A former Division I women’s college basketball player herself, Schute began her professional career as a writer for Sports Illustrated Kids and Sports Illustrated and as a reporter covering Southeastern Conference (SEC) football and basketball at Auburn University. Motivated to pursue a more direct helping role, Shute enrolled at Fordham University, where she developed the university’s first behavioral health field practicum within the athletic department and worked as a clinical team member for the National Football League (NFL) Player Care Foundation.

She was a graduate assistant for the LSU athletics department’s Sport Psychology & Counseling team. In this role, she provided clinical services to over 75 student-athletes across multiple sports. Shute also worked as a licensed social worker on the Crisis-Oriented Psychiatric Evaluation team at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, facilitating acute psychiatric assessments and care coordination.