The William B. Hemmer Environmental Health Scholarship

Dr. William B. Hemmer and his wife Helen established the William B. Hemmer Environmental Health Scholarship to honor a student at SUNY Brockport who successfully applies the principles of community action by working with concerned citizens in their campus or community to promote a more healthful environment.

Dr. Hemmer came to Brockport in 1970 after earning his doctoral degree from the State University of New York at Albany. A native of Old Forge, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a radio operator on planes ferried across the country and to bases in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Syracuse University with a degree in political science. He taught at Queensbury High School in Glen Falls and later worked for the New York State Department of Education at Albany. While working full-time in those positions, he earned his graduate degrees at Albany.

After his retirement in 1990, Dr. Hemmer organized and conducted retirement seminars for members of the faculty and professional staff union. In 1999, he was elected president of the union’s organization for Active Retirees in Western New York. Dr. Hemmer passed away in 2000.

To qualify for the William B. Hemmer Environmental Health Scholarship, students must be graduate or undergraduate students at Brockport who are in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 2.5, and who have successfully completed a course in environmental health through the Department of Public Health and Health Education. In addition, students must have a strong record of volunteer work with public or private organizations on campus or in the community, working to promote a more healthful environment.