Summer Brown, a candidate for an M.S. degree in Sports Management and a Columbia HBCU Fellow, has been named one of the recipients of the 2024 Campbell Award.
Established by the Columbia University Trustees and the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) in 2016, the Campbell Award is presented annually to a graduating student at each school who exemplifies leadership and the Columbia spirit. The award is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, a distinguished alumnus of Columbia and cofounder of the CAA.
“Being so involved in the campus community has had a transformative impact on my time here,” Brown said. “It is through the collaboration with my peers and faculty that I have been so empowered to lead enthusiastically.”
In addition to being a Sports Management student, Brown serves as the intern for the Columbia HBCU Fellowship Program at the SPS Office of Student Support, where she works with recruitment and student engagement teams to provide academic and social support, help create communications materials, and assist in event planning. She’s also held a number of other roles at SPS, including social media chair at the SPS Black Sports Management Union and president of the Columbia SPS Black Students Guild.
Long before she came to Columbia, Brown had been involved with HBCUs and the sports industry. She studied broadcast journalism and political science at Howard University as an undergraduate. In 2022, Brown worked as a communications intern for the Oklahoma City Thunder as one of 59 fellows in the inaugural NBA HBCU Fellowship. That same year, she served as the Washington Wizards Campus Ambassador for Howard and interned for the Ford Motor Company and Malin PR, a public relations firm that has a variety of sports clients across different leagues.
“I want to be a catalyst for change within the sports industry for people who look like me, serving as a pillar of diversity and inclusion,” she said. “I have a personal mandate to uphold the creation of equitable opportunities in the world of sports that stretch beyond the court or the field. I hope to create more pathways into front offices for young Black professionals like myself, and I aspire to uplift others along the way. My mother used to tell me, growing up, 'Do the right thing, even when no one is watching.' The Campbell Award reassures me that I’m doing the right thing, and it is an incredible honor."
About the Program
The Columbia University M.S. in Sports Management provides students with a comprehensive curriculum and access to sports industry practitioners and influencers. Students acquire skills in areas such as entrepreneurship and innovation, global sports management, facility and event management, and sports law and ethics.
