William C. and Annette L. Rock Scholarship in the Liberal Arts
Emeritus Distinguished Service Professor William C. and Annette L. Rock established a scholarship for students enrolled in the SUNY Brockport School of Arts and Sciences who plan to study abroad.
Dr. Rock joined the Brockport Educational Administration faculty in 1968. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history and his master’s in educational administration from SUNY Albany, and he earned his doctoral degree at Columbia. In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Dr. Rock served as president of the Faculty Senate in 1975, department chair, and president of UUP.
He dedicated his life to civil rights and providing access to education for minorities. In the 1960s, he oversaw planning for desegregating the Rochester City School District. In the 1970s, he worked under three presidential administrations to improve educational opportunities for under-served students through desegregation, migrant education, bi-lingual education, affirmative action for women and minorities, and improvement in school districts impacted by military installations. He provided input on the Emergency School Aid Act, the largest discretionary grant program in American education while serving as U.S. Deputy Associate Commissioner for Equal Education Opportunity under Elliot Richardson, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under the impeached former president, Richard M. Nixon.
Dr. Rock also served as a consultant to K-12 unions during contract negotiations. He was a member of the Brockport faculty from 1968 to 1995. He passed away in 2012.
Mrs. Rock was a registered nurse at Rochester General Hospital, and after her marriage and children, served as school nurse at the Fairbanks Road Elementary School in Churchville, NY. She passed away in 2013.
Qualified applicants for the William C. and Annette L. Rock Scholarship in Liberal Arts must be undergraduate students in good standing who are enrolled in the School of Arts and Sciences, who demonstrate academic excellence, and who are accepted to a study-abroad program.