By Brandi Wylie ’24

Craig Melvin ’01, NBC TODAY Show host and correspondent, was honored on campus on May 3 as Kappa Sigma’s 2023 national Man of the Year. The award is presented annually in recognition of extraordinary professional success and societal impact.

“I am so honored to be chosen as Kappa Sigma’s Man of the Year,” says Melvin, who is serving on the Wofford College Board of Trustees. “I have such fond memories from my days at the Alpha-Nu Chapter at Wofford College and am so proud to continue the Kappa Sigma legacy of excellence.”

Melvin is a 1998 initiate of the Alpha-Nu chapter of Kappa Sigma. He served as an undergraduate officer. His inspirational video about his membership in Kappa Sigma was a highlight of the organization’s 150th-anniversary celebration and 72nd Biennial Grand Conclave.

To further honor Melvin, Wofford’s Alpha-Nu Chapter has created a scholarship in his honor.

The brothers of Alpha-Nu unveiled the Craig D. Melvin Scholarship-Leadership Award at their 2024 Stephen Alonzo Jackson Weekend of Giving. The chapter raised $51,311.80 to fund the scholarship.

Dr. Dave Pittman ’94, professor of psychology, who serves as both advisor for the chapter’s association with the college as well as an alumni advisor for the fraternity, expressed his pride in Melvin.

“If you look down the list of people named Man of the Year, it’s CEOs, senators, very impressive people,” Pittman says. “He’s made a very good name for himself and has done so by reflecting the principles of the fraternity.” The endowed $50,000 Craig D. Melvin Scholarship-Leadership Award will provide one member of the Alpha-Nu Chapter annually with a $2,000 scholarship. The recipient will be chosen based on academics, leadership and service to the fraternity and the community. The scholarship will be awarded each year on Dec. 10, Kappa Sigma’s Founders Day.

Lawson Taliaferro ’25, a history major from Norfolk, Va., hopes the scholarship will make the recruitment process more affordable.

According to Taliaferro, the scholarship could encourage more students to consider the benefits of fraternity involvement. “Not only that, but we want to be able to reward those brothers who are doing great things. I want the award to go to brothers who truly display the values of an Alpha-Nu,” he says.