Jack Wolsky Art Scholarship

When Jack Wolsky retired from active teaching at SUNY Brockport, his colleagues in the Department of Art established a scholarship in his honor to recognize his inspirational role as a teacher and a painter. Mr. Wolsky served on the faculty for 26 years, from 1959 to 1985.

A native of Rochester, his mother often claimed he was born with a paint brush in his hand. Mr. Wolsky graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School, receiving a city-wide, full-tuition art scholarship to Rochester Institute of Technology, where he earned his associate’s degree. After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, he went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

While a student at Buffalo, he produced a closed-circuit televised art demonstration at Brockport and had a one-man exhibit at RIT. Robert Skelton, then chairperson of Brockport’s Department of Art, recalled his work and invited Mr. Wolsky to interview for a position at the college when there was a vacancy.

At Brockport, Mr. Wolsky was noted for influencing his students, but not encouraging them to copy his style. He received the Chancellor’s Award from the State University of New York in 1979 and State University of New York Research Fellowships in 1973, 1970, and 1968.

His work is in many private and public collections, including the Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY; Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY; and the New Britain (CT) Museum of American Art.

He served as a juror for the Monroe County-Greater Rochester International Airport Competition in 2011 and has served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Rochester Institute of Technology Alumni Association as well as with the New York State Department of Transportation Western Gateway Project.

When Mr. Wolsky retired from Brockport, he commented that he believed his best work was ahead of him. Mr. Wolsky and his wife Gladys have been married more than 60 years and have three children.

The Jack Wolsky Art Scholarship recognizes the achievements and potential of a current student enrolled in the Department of Art. Whenever possible, preference will go to a Monroe County resident. Financial need is not a requirement unless there are two candidates of equal caliber.