Interdisciplinary Arts for Children Program
Emerita Professor of Music Susan E. Edmunds established the Endowment for the Interdisciplinary Arts for Children Program at SUNY Brockport to provide support for students involved in the program and to raise awareness of the value of the programs to the greater community.
A graduate of the University of Washington, Miss Edmunds taught vocal music at the junior/senior high levels in public schools for nine years. After she joined the Department of Music at Brockport in 1963, she created a new course, Music and the Child, designed for students who intended to work with children in a variety of settings, such as classrooms, camps, and hospitals. She observed that music taught in public schools tended to be performance oriented, and most teachers were not aware that music could provide the potential for positive learning across academic lines. She also noted that music can contribute to a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive growth.
In 1973, Miss Edmunds joined faculty members from the art, dance, and theatre department to form the Interdisciplinary Arts for Children major at the college. In addition to teaching, she played cello with the College/Community Symphony Orchestra and served as chair of the Department of Music for six years.
Miss Edmunds retired in 1983, and she continues to call Brockport her home. She volunteered in several village organizations and was able to provide funding for several cultural and historic preservation activities in the Village of Brockport.
Applicants for the Susan E. Edmunds Endowment for the Interdisciplinary Arts for Children Program must be in their junior or senior years when the scholarship is applied and must be matriculated in the Interdisciplinary Arts for Children Program. Applicants must submit an essay describing their service-learning opportunity and how it will impact the students as well as the broader community, and meet all other scholarship requirements and deadlines.
This scholarship may be shared by two students if they are working together on an eligible project.