R, Mark and Robert M. Fenton Scholarship in Arts for Children

Emeritus professor Richard J. Fenton, PhD, and Mrs. Joan Fenton, MS ’79, endowed the R. Mark and Robert M. Fenton Scholarship in Arts for Children to honor their sons, Mark and Robert, by recognizing an outstanding Arts for Children student at SUNY Brockport.

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.

Qualified applicants for the R. Mark and Robert M. Fenton Arts for Children Scholarship are students majoring in Interdisciplinary Arts for Children, who plan to pursue a career in the field of education at any level. Applicants must discuss their professional goals in a written essay of not more than two pages submitted with the application. Eligible students will be entering their junior or senior year as a full-time student in the semester after being selected, and must have one full academic year of study remaining at Brockport. They must also have a minimum GPA of 3.25.

Preference will be given to Delta College students who are also enrolled in the Arts for Children program. Preference also will go to a current junior student who will enter their senior year with two consecutive semesters of study remaining. If no such student applies, then sophomore students entering their junior years will be considered.

Financial need will not be considered unless two or more applicants are equally qualified for this award. In that case, the award will go to the student who demonstrates the greatest need according to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).