R. Mark and Robert M. Fenton

Emeritus professor Richard J. Fenton, PhD, and Mrs. Joan Fenton, MS ’79, established a scholarship to honor their sons, Mark and Robert, initially to provide support to students who were studying a previously popular program, Arts for Children. When the academic program was disbanded, the scholarship was recalibrated to recognize and support student leaders on campus.

Dr. Fenton taught in Brockport’s School of Business and Management from 1968 to 2009. He joined the Brockport faculty after completing military service as a captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam Era. He was also instrumental in establishing the Alternate College, predecessor to today’s Delta College at Brockport. He is a member of the Brockport Foundation Board of Directors. Mrs. Fenton, a retired remedial reading teacher, earned an advanced certificate in education after completing her master’s degree. She serves on the Brockport Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Both Dr. and Mrs. Fenton believe that arts are critical to the education of the total person. Their sons began studying music in elementary school as have their four grandchildren.

Their son Mark, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses his biomechanical engineering education to promote healthy lifestyles and the building of walkable communities to support those lifestyles through books, lectures, workshops, and the PBS-TV series, “America Walks with Mark Fenton.” An adjunct faculty member at Tufts University, he does technical training and community planning as an independent consultant.

Robert Fenton, their other son, is a successful percussionist based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. He earned his degree from the University of North Texas and its prestigious Jazz Studies program. He fosters a love of music by working with individual students and student groups in the Dallas-Fort Worth area schools. He also manages, writes for, and plays drums with the Zack King Band throughout the U.S. as they perform with many legendary rock and country superstars.

Both Robert and Mark maintain a deep attachment to SUNY Brockport as imparted by their parents and supported by the campus community.