Merrill J. Melnick KSSPE Scholarship

Emeritus professor Merrill J. Melnick established this scholarship to recognize two outstanding undergraduate students in the Department of Kinesiology, Sports Studies and Physical Education at The College at Brockport who plan to pursue a graduate degree or advanced certification following their Brockport graduation.

Dr. Melnick earned his undergraduate degree at Hunter College, his master’s degree in education from Pennsylvania State University, and his PhD from the Ohio State University. He joined the faculty at Brockport after teaching three years at the University of Southern California and two years at the University of Utah.

His research specialties have included sociology of sport, social psychology of sport, sport group dynamics, and sport fandom. He is a past president of the Sport Sociology Academy, an associate research scientist for the Research Institute on Addictions at the University at Buffalo, co-recipient of a three-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the North American Society of Sociology of Sport in 2012.

Applicants for the Merrill J. Melnick KSSPE Scholarship must be completing their junior years with a GPA of 3.0 or higher when applying, have actively participated in KSSPE-acknowledged clubs as undergraduate students, and have expressed interest in pursuing a graduate degree or advanced certification in a program related to kinesiology, sports studies, or physical education after their graduation from Brockport. One award will be applied during the senior year for a woman student and one for the senior year for a man.