Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management Launches McCormack Scholars Program

The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management has announced the launch of the McCormack Scholars program. The inaugural McCormack Scholars are Kim Davis, senior executive vice president of the National Hockey League (NHL); and Jennifer Todd, senior vice president of the Boston Celtics.

The McCormack Scholars program was established to honor and engage accomplished sports industry leaders and innovators. Each year, McCormack Scholars will be invited for a structured day on campus to share and capture their professional story for the McCormack Archive, meet with faculty to spotlight and discuss research relevant to the scholars’ interests, and give a keynote lecture to students and faculty on leadership, or any other topic for which the scholar feels a passion.

Nicole Melton, Ph.D., department chair and professor; Will Norton, director of graduate programs; and Jeffrey Pollack, professor of practice, conceived the program. It is administered by Norton and Pollack as part of their popular graduate course “ProSem,” which is a dynamic professional development seminar conducted for McCormack master’s degree students and dual-degree MBA students.

“The goal of the McCormack Scholars program is to bring the best and brightest industry practitioners, students, faculty, and staff together to share their stories and inspire one another,” said Pollack, who is the McCormack Department’s inaugural professor of practice. “Kim Davis and Jennifer Todd are preeminent leaders in our industry and appropriately set a high bar for this exciting new program. Our intention is that, over time, participation in the McCormack Scholars program will be a coveted opportunity.”

Industry leaders invited to participate in the McCormack Scholars program will have a proven track record of accomplishment, including but not limited to at least 10 years of impactful senior leadership, demonstrated innovation and creativity in their work, game-changing entrepreneurial achievement, and passion for advancing the sports industry. Scholars must also demonstrate a commitment to equity, social responsibility, and sustainability. 

“The McCormack Scholars program is not an alumni engagement program, per se,” said Melton. “While we welcome our far-reaching and distinguished alumni to campus as guest speakers, executives-in-residence, and student mentors, this program is intended to welcome a broader group of industry leaders and is not limited to our alumni.”

“McCormack’s #1 globally ranked graduate program has long prided itself on building bridges between Amherst and the sport industry’s front lines, fostering a culture that allows students to keep up and adapt with real-time changes impacting our industry,” said Norton. “McCormack Scholars will further accentuate the industry relations value students receive in our program, and provide them with a platform from which to learn and grow.”

Todd will visit campus Oct. 29, and Davis will visit Nov. 12.

About Jennifer Todd

Todd is senior vice president for the Boston Celtics, driving overall strategy and execution for the team’s diverse corporate partnership portfolio, as well as managing Jr. Celtics, its youth basketball offering. She joined the Celtics from The Tournament (TBT / TST), where she served as co-founder and executive vice president of the groundbreaking $1 million winner-take-all tournament. She has alternated between entrepreneurial and established ventures throughout her career, also spending time at Super Soccer Stars, Octagon, and at various boutique and established management consulting firms.

A lifelong athlete, Todd was the plaintiff in a precedent-setting Title IX case as a college gymnast, an experience she credits with helping her to understand that access and opportunity in sports and otherwise are not a given. She has served as an advocate for the underrepresented since. Todd holds an undergraduate degree from Brown University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

About Kim Davis

Davis is the NHL's senior executive vice president for social impact, growth initiatives, and legislative affairs, and president of the NHL Foundation. In her capacity as a senior executive, she reports to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and focuses on attracting, developing, and retaining fans—with a specific focus on multi-cultural audiences—through culture, youth participation, and social impact initiatives. As NHL Foundation president, she leads strategic funding and philanthropic investments aimed at community development, health and wellness, and promoting diversity and inclusion within the sport across North America.

She has been recognized as #1 on Sportsnet’s list of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Sports, as well as being honored by Sports Illustrated in “The Unrelenting” Most Powerful Women in Sports and “100 Influential Black Women in Sports.”