May 15, 2013
Altoona residents Stephen G. and Nancy L. Sheetz have made a leadership gift commitment to Penn State Altoona to create a Trustee Scholarship and scholarship endowment in support of the Sheetz Fellows program. The commitment is the couple’s second to the campus during For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. Each year, in perpetuity, nearly 120 recipients of the Steve and Nancy Sheetz Trustee Scholarship will be awarded a minimum of $1,250 based on financial need. The second endowment, in support of the Sheetz Fellows program established by the couple in 2010, will generate funds enabling Penn State Altoona to provide $5,000 to each Sheetz Fellow in his or her senior year.
May 14, 2013
In honor of Lloyd Huck, the Huck Fellowships have been awarded to exceptional young scientist-scholars. This year marks the inaugural awarding of the J. Lloyd Huck Fellowship to four promising young students—Megan Kepler, Lucilla Pizzo Suarez, Sam Jones and Zhi Chai—who will arrive at University Park in the fall of 2013. Named in honor of Lloyd Huck, Penn State alumnus and philanthropist, the fellowship is made possible by his generous commitment to Penn State and the life sciences through the endowment and formation of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
May 09, 2013
Architectural engineering students hoping to study abroad may get some help realizing their dream, thanks to a gift by a Penn State engineering couple in Florida. A new scholarship, the Beabout the World Study Abroad Scholarship in Architectural Engineering, will provide recognition and financial assistance to undergraduate architectural engineering students studying at the University Park campus who are passionate about exploring and engaging with their world.
May 09, 2013
Two anonymous donors have made a $2.2 million gift to the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Department of Geosciences to create a faculty chair. The couple is remembering Penn State through a bequest that will leave a lasting legacy and support the department’s work in geochemistry. Both of these individuals hold doctorates and have an intimate understanding of the need for faculty support.
May 07, 2013
The Penn State Board of Trustees on May 3 approved the naming of a recently renovated facility at Penn State DuBois as the Alan R. Fairman House, in honor of a gift from the Fairman Family Foundation, which largely funded the restoration of the building.
May 03, 2013
David Hall, dean of Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), said he feels indebted to Penn State for the opportunities it has provided him, and would like to show that appreciation by easing the financial burdens of future IST students. To solidify that commitment, he recently finalized the documentation for an estate gift of $50,000 for the David L. Hall Scholarship in IST.
May 02, 2013
A Penn State faculty member with more than 30 years of professional journalism experience and a half decade in the classroom has been selected to fill a first-of-its-kind position in the College of Communications. John Dillon has been named the inaugural Norman Eberly Professor of Practice in Journalism. The position was created through the University’s ongoing Faculty Endowment Challenge to provide support for an outstanding professionally-oriented faculty member in the Department of Journalism. A major gift by Joseph Eberly and his wife, Shirley, endowed the position in the name of Norman Eberly, who graduated from Dickinson College in 1924 and then worked as a newspaper journalist for 20-some years—first as an undergraduate—before joining the Penn State staff as a writer-editor in the College of Agricultural Sciences. He helped publicize agricultural extension and outreach efforts across the state of Pennsylvania and also worked closely with student writers.
May 02, 2013
Penn State Abington associate professor of marketing Shruti Gupta has been named the recipient of the Ogontz ’65 Career Development Professorship (CDP) to support her research into the consumer behavior of the 4 billion people worldwide who earn about $2 per day. The CPD was endowed by Sallie Mae Chief Executive Officer Al Lord and his wife, Suzanne. It was first awarded in 2003 and provides support for a faculty member’s research over a two-year period. It is designed to advance the career of tenured or tenure-track faculty member at the Abington campus.
April 29, 2013
Penn State Fayette’s fifth annual Blues and White Gala scholarship fundraiser is scheduled for May 11 at Horizon Point in Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pa. The theme of this year’s gala is “Blues and White Gala: Tropical Style.” Lori Omatick, director of development at the Fayette campus and gala chair, commented that, “The planning committee, comprised of volunteers from the campus and greater community, has been working hard to make this year’s fifth anniversary event extra special. Guests can look forward to being ‘carried away’ with the sights, sounds and taste of a tropical paradise in the beautiful indoor/outdoor setting of Horizon Point.”
April 29, 2013
Three Penn State College of Medicine doctoral students, Fengyang “Dylan” Lei, Theresa D. Carr, and Wint Nandar, were among 13 recipients of the 2013 Penn State Graduate School Alumni Association Dissertation Award across the University. This award provides recognition and funding to outstanding doctoral students. The award “recognizes outstanding achievement in scholarship and professional accomplishment.” Each winning student received a $5,000 award and was recognized at the Graduate School Alumni Society’s Spring Social and Recognition Program. Money for these awards was made possible by a gift from the Penn State Alumni Association.
April 23, 2013
Members of the Penn State community celebrated the official groundbreaking for the first student-funded recreational building project today (April 23) on the University Park campus. Student and administrative leaders gathered at the Intramural (IM) Building to mark the occasion.
April 22, 2013
Penn State DuBois students who have received scholarships to help fund their education had the chance to personally thank many of the people who make those scholarships possible on Friday, April 12, at the campus’ annual Scholarship Luncheon, held at the DuBois Country Club. Each year, donors and scholars alike are invited to the event to get to know one another over lunch. Donors get to see, first hand, the kind of impact they’ve had in the lives of students, and the students have the chance to explain how critical the scholarships have been in their educational pursuits.
April 22, 2013
A new scholarship program at Penn State New Kensington is the antithesis of the traditional awarding of scholarships. Instead of earning a scholarship to help pay for tuition after enrolling at the campus; recipients will receive a scholarship to help pay down debt after graduation from the campus.
April 22, 2013
The biggest accomplishment of his tenure as president of the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society, according to Shawn Manderson, ’03 IST, has been the establishment of the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society Trustee Matching Endowed Scholarship in November 2011. Nearly $15,000 has been raised to date. “The best thing about this scholarship,” Manderson said, “is once we reach our goal of $50,000, it turns into a $100,000 gift for the campus. That’s a great feeling to have, knowing you are leaving that sort of legacy behind, but it’s a humbling one as well.”
April 18, 2013
Representatives of the Volvo Group spoke to a crowd of approximately 150 Penn State students and faculty on Thursday, April 11 during a visit celebrating the Academic Preferred Talent Partnership agreement recently signed between Volvo Group and Penn State. The presentation focused on the Volvo Group’s global operations, corporate culture and research initiatives, as well as areas of collaboration with Penn State. The event also served as an employment networking opportunity for the attending students.
April 18, 2013
The 17th annual Sporting Clays Charity Event, held on April 6 at the Hummelstown Field & Stream, raised $74,171 for Children’s Miracle Network at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. The event is organized each year by Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s facilities department and friends of the Medical Center.
April 18, 2013
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State has named State College couple Dotty and Paul Rigby, financial supporters and members of the fine arts center, recipients of its 2013 Distinguished Service Award. The Rigbys will be honored at an invitation-only dinner April 22 at The Atherton Hotel in downtown State College, Pa.
April 09, 2013
Mike and Tracy Lazar of DuBois have generously pledged support to students at Penn State DuBois through the Preston Stewart Freemer Special Needs Trust. The trust is named for Tracy’s son, and will contribute a total of as much as $75,000, through a gift of life insurance, to scholarship funds for students at Penn State DuBois who have a financial need.
April 09, 2013
A commemorative bench has been purchased in memory of Howard Sachs, former professor of biology, educator, administrator, scientist and friend of Penn State Harrisburg. Sachs served the campus from 1987 to 2011. He died in 2011.
April 08, 2013
Donald W. Hamer, a 1968 Penn State alumnus, and his wife, Marie Bednar, recently created an endowed professorship in Penn State’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Their commitment of $1 million will establish the Hamer Professorship in Materials Science and Engineering. Hamer is the chairman and founder of State of the Art Inc., in State College, Pa., a leading supplier of film resistive components to the biomedical, communications, aerospace and defense industries.
April 08, 2013
The Volvo Group recently signed an Academic Preferred Talent Partnership agreement with Penn State. The three-year program provides Penn State students with co-op, internship and mentoring opportunities and offers talent recruitment benefits to Volvo Group. Representatives from Volvo will tour the University Park campus Wednesday and Thursday and will meet with leaders from the Graduate School and the College of Engineering to continue discussions about the partnership. A public event to be held Thursday, April 11, from noon to 2:00 p.m. in Heritage Hall at the HUB-Robeson Center will feature related presentations by Lena Lind, senior vice president, talent management, and Hans Persson, vice president, technology and innovation.
April 04, 2013
Penn State Professors Elizabeth J. Susman and Gerald I. Susman have created two new endowments to support graduate students in the College of Health and Human Development and the Smeal College of Business, their respective colleges. The Gerald I. Susman Enhancement Fund in the Department of Management and Organization in the Smeal College of Business and the Elizabeth J. Susman Enhancement Fund in Biobehavioral Health in the College of Health and Human Development will provide annual support for graduate students in the academic departments where the Susmans have spent their distinguished academic careers.
March 22, 2013
Roger Williams, associate vice president of alumni relations and executive director of the
Penn State Alumni Association, has been honored with the 2013 Award for Administrative Excellence.
March 21, 2013
Ryan Patrick, a senior in mechanical engineering, was recently named the overall chairperson for the 2014 Penn State Intrafraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON).
March 18, 2013
Six months after receiving its
fiscal year-end report, Penn State trustees received word that the University’s endowment and similar funds total increased by $98 million through the last six months of calendar year 2012, exceeding its June 30 record level of $1.86 billion.
March 18, 2013
Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved the construction of a Children’s Garden, the latest addition of The Arboretum at Penn State, during their meeting today (March 15) in Hershey, Pa. Created as an interactive site in which children can explore the natural world, the garden was part of the 2002 master plan for the Arboretum, which opened in 2009.
March 13, 2013
A distinguished researcher in the field of food microbiology has created the first endowed professorship in Penn State’s Department of Food Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Dr. Larry Beuchat ’65 Agr created the Dr. Larry Beuchat Professorship in Food Microbiology with a gift of $1 million to recognize the Penn State faculty who inspired him and to encourage a new generation of researchers.
March 12, 2013
Originally published on Monday, December 17, 2012 While a Schreyer Scholar, Carey DeMoss applied for and received a travel grant to support her study abroad in France. According to Carey’s mother, that experience “changed her life.” “The Honors College saw the potential in her and gave her something to help achieve it,” Lynne DeMoss says. “Seeing the potential in a person and making it be the tipping point that they’re able to do something they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do makes all the difference. Studying abroad totally changed Carey’s life. She studied. She spent the weekends traveling around Europe. She backpacked with friends. Getting the scholarship made her feel that someone recognized all this work she had done—and it made her work a little harder so that she wouldn’t disappoint people.”
With their new pledge of support, the DeMosses hope that even more Schreyer Scholars will find traveling abroad for study or research to be within reach. “I think Carey would say ‘Don’t pass up chances. Make it happen,’” Ron DeMoss says. “That was her philosophy. It’s absolutely terrific to be able to create this in her memory.”
March 11, 2013
Donations from many individuals, along with a variety of fundraising efforts, made the Pat Boland Memorial Internship Award a reality. “Getting the fund endowed is great news, and our efforts will continue. The more money we raise, the more students who will get much needed aid,” said Tony Ricciardi of 93.7 The Bus (WBUS-FM), a 2001 graduate of the College of Communications who helped organize some of the fundraising efforts this past year.
March 11, 2013
A gift in kind presented to Penn State Altoona by Delta Health Technologies, LLC, will enable the campus’s nursing students to utilize electronic medical records software designed to document clinical services in a home health environment. Valued at nearly $300,000, Delta’s gift involves 200 licenses for the medical software package entitled ClinicalVirtuoso™.
March 11, 2013
The Nittany Lion Club will host its annual Blue-White Event at the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the Blue-White Game presented by AAA on April 20. The breakfast features special guests coach Bill O’Brien and the 2013 football senior class. Tickets for the event, which is open to the public, are $20. To purchase tickets to the Nittany Lion Club Blue-White Event, call 814-865-5555, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
March 11, 2013
Penn State Brandywine’s fifth annual “A Night with the Pride” event on Feb. 22 raised nearly $4,300 to support student athletics and Global Programs.
March 11, 2013
Gene and Roz Chaiken have made the dreams of a Penn State education come true for more than 150 Liberal Arts students through a Trustee Scholarship they created five years ago. But with the growing financial challenges facing students and their families, the Chaikens are determined to help even more Penn State students by establishing one of the first Trustee Scholarships to earn a 10 percent annual match from the University with a gift of $2 million.
March 11, 2013
Penn State DuBois announces that Swift, Kennedy and Company has generously pledged $100,000 to the campus that will support students and programs. Through a planned gift of life insurance, the company will provide that support in two different ways. With $50,000, the Swift, Kennedy and Company Endowed Scholarship at Penn State DuBois will be established. The additional $50,000 will benefit the Anita D. McDonald Endowment for the Support of Children and Youth.
March 11, 2013
Penn State’s 2013 Senior Class has voted to commission a sculpture as the Senior Class Gift and launched a national competition to find an artist for the project. The sculpture, to be adjacent to the east side of the Intramural Building, will represent the University’s iconic theme “We Are.” The words of the Penn State Alma Mater in the original handwriting of Fred Lewis Pattee is to be incorporated into the piece.
March 08, 2013
James J. and Coral V. Bryja recently committed $334,000 to establish the Joseph Kreutzberger Early Career Professorship in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. With matching funds from the Penn State Faculty Endowment Challenge, the total endowment is worth $500,000.
March 05, 2013
Penn State graduates who have not yet made a gift to the University in 2012-13 can now double the impact of their support through “Start It Now: The Million-Dollar Challenge.” For every dollar committed by these alumni between March 1 and June 30, 2013, a dollar will be directed to a scholarship for students with financial need, up to a total of $1 million. The University-wide fundraising effort is fueled by a bequest from the late John Bill Freeman ’63.
February 28, 2013
A $1 million gift from Tom Lucas, an industrial engineering alumnus, and his wife, Nicki, will create the Lucas Professorship in Industrial Engineering. “This generous endowment from Tom and Nicki gives us the opportunity to attract a pre-eminent faculty member to our department,” said Paul Griffin, Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Department Head Chair. “Adding a faculty member of this caliber will not only leverage the existing strengths of the department, but it will also provide resources for current and prospective graduate students.”
February 27, 2013
With the encouragement of Sheetz Fellows program founder Stephen G. Sheetz to measure future success based on personal standards, beliefs, and desires, six Penn State Altoona students celebrated their formal induction into the program of advanced instruction and activities that promote an enhanced awareness and understanding of business theory and practice. The second class of Sheetz Fellows was inducted during a special ceremony in the Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence on February 16. All six inductees share an academic focus on management and marketing. Five of the six are also pursuing a course of study in entrepreneurship.
February 25, 2013
The Mid-Atlantic Alliance of Cooperatives has established two endowed scholarships to benefit students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “Education is the foundation for strong agriculture and strong cooperatives,” said Gary Heckman, president of the alliance. “The Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Cooperatives believes that to positively influence agriculture in the future, we have to invest in education of our youth, and we are pleased to do so through these scholarships.”
February 18, 2013
A new scholarship in the College of Engineering honors the founder of a Pittsburgh engineering firm. Civil & Environmental Consultants (CEC) Inc., established the endowment for James M. Roberts, a Penn State alumnus and the firm’s chairman emeritus.
The Dr. James M. Roberts Scholarship in Civil and Environmental Engineering is designed to offer recognition and financial assistance to outstanding juniors and seniors studying civil engineering at Penn State, with a preference for students who are on active duty for the military or are returning veterans.
February 18, 2013
Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) surpassed the $100 million mark in total funds raised to support pediatric cancer; a goal since its inception in 1977. This year, THON has raised $12,374,034.46 for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
February 18, 2013
The 46-hour Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) once again has set a new record, raising $12,374,034.46 for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, surpassing last year’s record total, $10,686,924.83 million.
February 15, 2013
The 2013 Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), benefitting Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, begins Friday, February 15. THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, and each year more than 15,000 students at Penn State campuses across Pennsylvania volunteer their time to raise money and awareness for the purpose of conquering pediatric cancer. Since 1979, THON has donated more than $89 million to
The Four Diamonds Fund at
Penn State Hershey’s Children’s Hospital to help patients and families dealing with childhood cancer through superior care, comprehensive support and innovative research.
February 15, 2013
From a 46-hour webcast to regular updates of photographs and stories online, students from the College of Communications plan complete coverage of the annual Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON). THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world and engages more than 15,000 Penn State student volunteers. The yearlong effort raises funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer and culminates in a 46-hour, no sitting and no sleeping marathon each February.
THON 2013—from 6 p.m. Friday, February 15, through 4 p.m. Sunday, February 17, at the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus—also includes a special event at 6:45 p.m. February 16 when organizers plan a global line dance, encouraging viewers from around the world to participate in a special THON line dance at the same time as those dancing at the BJC.
February 15, 2013
Two Penn State Greater Allegheny students will dance in the University’s annual dance marathon, THON, from February 15 to 17, at the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park. The dancers will attempt to stay on their feet for 46 hours. Dancers are Julia Qualiotto, a junior business management major, and Andrew Pricener, a sophomore business management major.
February 15, 2013
The two dancers were chosen for York based on a variety of criteria, including spirit points they earned since last September by doing a variety of activities to raise money for THON and the battle against pediatric cancer. THON is the largest student-run philanthropy and weekend dance marathon is the culmination of a yearlong fundraising effort.
February 15, 2013
Two Penn State Beaver students will dance in the University’s annual dance marathon, THON, from February 15 to 17, at the Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State University Park. Dancers are Nicole Nuske, a freshman education major from Ambridge, and Danielle Roethlein, a junior engineering major from Georgetown studying at University Park this semester. In addition, other campus students will accompany the women to provide support and boost morale.
February 15, 2013
GE Transportation will match up to $20,000 of what students at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, raise for THON, the country’s longest running dance marathon. The money will be used to treat children with pediatric cancer.
February 13, 2013
A program that has raised $100 million in scholarship endowments will now offer Penn State supporters an even greater incentive to help students in need. Starting March 1, the
Trustee Matching Scholarship Program will offer a 10 percent annual match for new endowed gifts, doubling the additional funds available for students.
“The campaign’s top priority is keeping a Penn State degree within reach for students and families from every economic background,” said President Rodney A. Erickson. “The Trustee Matching Scholarship Program has been our most effective tool in engaging the University’s alumni and friends as partners in meeting the urgent need for scholarship support. Now that we have reached the program’s original goal of $100 million in scholarship endowments, we’re aiming higher, for a total of $120 million, and we believe that the increased match will convey to our supporters just how much Penn State values their commitment to our students.”
February 13, 2013
CONSOL Energy recently presented a gift of $25,000 to Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. The gift is part of CONSOL Energy’s “Financial Aid to Education” initiative, which supports the campus’ mining technology associate degree program.
February 13, 2013
Penn State’s Dance Marathon (THON) will be held February 15-17 at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State’s University Park campus. On January 16, THON volunteers unveiled the official 30-second video and tutorial for a new event this year, “Dance With Us,” to help dancers worldwide get on their feet and experience the spirit, energy and atmosphere of THON Weekend while supporting the fight against pediatric cancer.
“Dance With Us” is the first global coordinated line dance for charity and a fun and interactive call to action to increase awareness of and support the effort to fight pediatric cancer. At 6:45 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, February 16, individuals from around the world will be able to participate in the line dance and join dancers at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center via live stream on the
Facebook page.
February 13, 2013
If you ask Will Martin what he’s up to right now, chances are he’s sorting out last-minute details for
THON weekend. For example, he may be investigating who will provide security at the dance marathon, how frequently the bathrooms will be cleaned or which donors plan to visit. Then again, he could be meeting with President Erickson to give the latest updates on preparations for THON weekend, attending a meeting of the advisory board of the Four Diamonds Fund or talking with reporters about his hopes for this year’s fundraising effort. As overall chairperson for the world’s largest student-run philanthropy, Martin has had these types of tasks and more to deal with this past year.
February 12, 2013
For Sinisa Dovat, THON and the Four Diamonds Fund are not only sources of funding for his novel research into leukemia, but also were inspirations to come to Penn State Hershey. “I was happy at my former institution,” Dovat, associate professor of pediatrics, said. “Then I saw a video of THON and saw the energy of these kids. I never saw anything like it and was stunned. It really got me. I knew I wanted to be a part of this place, where there’s an upward trend.”
February 12, 2013
The Hope Express is a 135-mile run created to bridge the gap between the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital and the dancers at the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), a year-round fundraising event benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund. This year’s Hope Express and Extreme teams depart from Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital on Thursday, February 14.
February 11, 2013
Audiences nationwide will get a behind-the-scenes look at the largest student-run philanthropy in the world when a documentary on Penn State’s IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, better known as THON, debuts on the Big Ten Network this month. “
Why We Dance: The Story of THON,” from Penn State Public Broadcasting (PSPB), will air at 10 p.m. February 12, just days before THON 2013 officially kicks off.
February 11, 2013
Move over Kim and Kourtney, Snookie and Jwow, and Honey Boo Boo and Mama June. A new group of “reality” stars is about to debut—Penn State New Kensington’s THON dancers. Aric Fellers, Leigh Hastings, Courtney Rockwell, and Bill Staniszewski were selected as this year’s Penn State New Kensington representatives for the annual Penn State Interfraternity Council/ Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately known as THON. As opposed to Pete Rose’s scripted reality, THON is real reality. A live webcast will be available at
http://webcast.thon.psu.edu/.
February 01, 2013
Penn State College of Medicine has received a $1 million gift from The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation in Harrisburg—the largest single contribution the college has ever received for an endowed scholarship. By supporting deserving students, the Stabler Foundation hopes the impact of its gift will multiply as recipients are encouraged to give back to support future generations of medical trainees at the College of Medicine.
With this recent gift, the Stabler Foundation has contributed more than $6.5 million to advance Penn State Hershey’s core missions of education, research, patient care, and community outreach. The foundation’s last major commitment supported the construction of the new Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.
February 01, 2013
A father, his two sons who are Penn State graduates and his daughter have established a scholarship fund in their wife and mother’s memory. The Vijaya L. Balaji Memorial Scholarship in the College of Communications is open to all students at the University Park campus who have a demonstrated financial need and whose cultural, ethnic and/or national background would contribute to the diversity of the student body. First preference will be given to students who are the first generation in their families to attend a college or university.
The fund was created by Kodumudi Balaji, Murali Balaji (2009 doctorate in mass communications), Arvind Balaji (2010 bachelor’s in journalism) and Lakshmi Balaji in honor of Vijaya, who strongly believed in making the most of educational opportunities. She was married just before her 21st birthday and came to the United States from India, where such opportunities were not as readily available.
January 28, 2013
When talking with Ken Herko, his passion for Penn State, its students—past and present—is evident. The experiences he had at Penn State, both inside and outside of the classroom, have impacted his life tremendously. In turn, he has committed time and resources to impact the experiences of current and future Penn State science students. After serving six years on the Alumni Board, Ken Herko’s term expired; however, he wanted to be sure that the Science LionPride students were taken care of after his departure. Since he had a significant role in establishing the group, Herko knew the challenges the group faced, including the difficulty of finding a regular space to meet, a place to call “home”. Herko knew he had found the perfect opportunity to help the group when he learned of the establishment of the Student Academic Achievement Center; he pledged $50,000 to dedicate a room to the Science LionPride. Herko’s gift allows a room to be allocated to the group for their use and to share with other students within the college.
January 25, 2013
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Penn State a grant of $1,250,000 to establish a new full-time senior conservator position in the University Libraries. Based in the Department of Digitization and Preservation, the conservator will help to care for the Libraries’ extensive collections at all Penn State locations. A permanent endowment for the position will be established with $1 million of the grant, and the Libraries will raise an additional $1.25 million in matching support over three years. The remainder of the grant will support the position during the challenge period. The Libraries will launch a national search for the senior conservator in the spring.
January 25, 2013
William Brune, distinguished professor of meteorology and his wife, Mary Jane, recently committed $50,000 to establish the Brune Fund for Weather and Climate Risk Forecasting and Communication. As head of the Department of Meteorology at Penn State for 14 years, Brune has witnessed the explosion of weather and climate information, the application of this information to decision-making and the need for meteorologists who can speak the language of business.
January 25, 2013
The new Penn State ice hockey team received rave reviews from Penn Staters over the holiday break as more than 20,000 fans attended the inaugural Three Rivers Classic, Dec. 28 and 29, in Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center. And Penn State New Kensington played an active role in igniting the local alumni base. Patrick and Mardelle Kopnicky, co-chairs of the campus’ For the Future campaign, organized alumni socials for both days of the tournament. The socials were co-sponsored by the Penn State Alumni Association and the Nittany Lion Club.
January 24, 2013
An industrial engineering alumnus and his wife have made a $2.5 million gift to the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering for a faculty chair focused on energy and energy policy research. Paul Griffin, the Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Department Head Chair, said the gift will fund new energy courses for industrial engineering students, including lab equipment for smart energy modeling; provide matching monies to explore and develop an annual workshop in energy policy for companies, academics and government agencies; and support student work in energy and energy policy research.
January 22, 2013
The sixth annual People’s Pay for Play on 105.7 The X raised a record-breaking $120,835 for Children’s Miracle Network and the Child Life program at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.
January 22, 2013
The annual luncheon brings together donors with incoming scholarship recipients and their families.
January 18, 2013
In 1968, Dr. Elliot Vesell, Penn State College of Medicine’s first chair of the Department of Pharmacology, discovered that a person’s genetic makeup influences how a drug commonly used to thin blood is metabolized by the body. Today, in the same halls where Vesell made his discovery, Penn State Hershey Institute for Personalized Medicine opened the doors to its new space, which will help scientists make the next important finds for improving health using genetic and biologic data and rapidly evolving computational techniques.
January 10, 2013
Late last year, Penn State signed a strategic partnership agreement with Siemens Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of the integrated technology company Siemens AG, which operates in 190 countries. This alliance—the first of its kind between Siemens and an American university—will benefit Penn State, its students and Siemens through research collaborations, an enhanced recruiting relationship, and engagement across a wide range of University programs.
January 07, 2013
Penn State has received the largest commitment in the ten-year history of the Trustee Matching Scholarship Program from Jeff and Kellie Hepper, who are establishing a $5 million endowment for students with financial need. In recognition of their gift, the Fitness Center at Rec Hall will be named in honor of Jeff’s parents, Clifford and Jean Hepper, who were Penn State graduates and longtime supporters.
January 04, 2013
The tragic death of the young son of two members of the Penn State community on New Year’s Eve is launching a scholarship to benefit a member of the Penn State soccer team that will honor the boy’s memory and the sport he loved.
The Penn State community learned of the sudden passing of 8-year-old John William McKenzie Brady, known affectionately as Mack, earlier this week. Mack, the son of Schreyer Honors College Dean Christian M. M. Brady and his wife, Elizabeth, a lecturer in the College of the Liberal Arts’ Department of Communication Arts & Sciences, died unexpectedly Monday, December 31, at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center as a result of a blood infection that spread rapidly.
December 20, 2012
A ceremony designed to recognize the success of students participating in the Penn State Altoona Trading Club unexpectedly evolved into a philanthropic celebration when Carroll P. and Diane S. Osgood, of Hollidaysburg, Pa., presented a gift to the college to sustain their original funding of the club’s activities.
December 17, 2012
Pragmatic EA (Enterprise Architecture), a company based in the United Kingdom that provides the Pragmatic EA Framework (PEAF), at no cost, to end-user organizations and government bodies all over the world, has donated PEAF materials valued at $1,181,250 to the Center for Enterprise Architecture (EA) at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST). The donation is intended to support the center’s ongoing efforts in pursuing its educational and research objectives.
December 17, 2012
It’s a story about love. Love of family, love of Penn State, love of philanthropy. To honor the memory of Millie Krapf Fails (Penn State Class of 1960), Diane and Dallas Krapf recently made a legacy donation to purchase a grand piano for Penn State Great Valley’s arts and community events program.
December 17, 2012
Joan Impagliazzo never thought she would make it through her first semester of college, let alone graduate. As an adult student attending college for the first time at age 50, she was terrified, sitting in the back corner of classes trying to go unnoticed. But graduate she did in 1992 from Penn State Brandywine (known then as Penn State Delaware County) with a bachelor’s degree in general arts and sciences. She was so proud of her achievement and the happiness it brought her that she started the Joan Impagliazzo Adult Student Scholarship, in order to share her enthusiasm for learning with others like her.
December 13, 2012
As the end of the year approaches, please keep in mind a few
deadlines and tips to ensure your gift to Penn State is processed and applied to the 2012 tax year.
December 07, 2012
Penn State has lost an alumnus whose leadership and philanthropy have helped the University to become a pioneer in the life sciences. J. Lloyd Huck, the retired chairman of the board of pharmaceutical firm Merck & Company and a former chairman of Penn State’s Board of Trustees, died in State College this week at the age of 90. With his wife and fellow Class of 1943 member Dorothy Foehr Huck, he established endowments in fields ranging from molecular biology to nutrition, leading to the creation of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
November 30, 2012
Fans of Penn State football have a new opportunity to honor the 2012 Nittany Lions, thanks to the generosity of Philip and Rosalind Sky, longtime friends of the University. The Skys have committed $50,000 to create The STAR Football Scholarship Honoring Coach O’Brien and the 2012 Football Team, and they are encouraging other fans to enhance its impact by making their own gifts to the new endowment.
“We’re creating this scholarship especially to recognize the loyal seniors playing in the 2012 season,” explained Roz Sky. “It’s been such a difficult year for our team,” she said, “but the players have shown great resiliency and enormous spirit in working to overcome the challenges. We want to honor their dedication and commitment to Penn State.”
November 28, 2012
Seven students at Penn State will receive the Dietz and Watson Campus Spirit Scholarship Award this year, and two of them are from Penn State DuBois. Hillary Yarger of Brisbin, and Tony Schneider, of Brockport, have been picked to receive the award, which will help to fund their education, as well as help them support causes they care about.
Schneider, an eight-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, said, “This is a great honor. Awarding a scholarship such as the Dietz and Watson scholarship speaks volumes about the company and employee commitment to giving back to the community while promoting the educational goals of college students. It’s a humbling feeling to be awarded a scholarship of this magnitude, and it speaks to their generosity by making a charitable donation on my behalf to the Veterans Endowed Scholarship fund.”
Yarger has been recognized by Dietz and Watson for her tireless service to others. She has served as president of the Service Above Self Club, and participated in multiple spring break service trips to volunteer in communities around the country. She also helps to organize blood drives and food drives.
November 28, 2012
Through the philanthropic support of family, friends and colleagues, a
Trustee Scholarship has been endowed at Penn State Altoona in memory of John F. Carothers, a former Penn State Altoona student and adjunct instructor. The Trustee Scholarship will benefit students at the campus majoring in accounting.
November 28, 2012
Two Penn State Harrisburg students: senior mechanical engineering technology major David Lane, of Candor, N.Y., and senior mechanical engineering major Christopher Topper, of York; have received $1,500 scholarships from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) Susquehanna Section.
November 27, 2012
Earlier this year, the U.S. Golf Association, the golf turfgrass industry, and the Penn State turfgrass program lost a friend and colleague, Stanley Zontek. To honor his contributions to the golf-turf industry and his love for the University, Pennsylvania Turfgrass Research Inc. and Penn State have named a new endowment the Stanley J. Zontek Turfgrass Endowment. Several years ago, a dedicated group of volunteer turf professionals formed a trust, Pennsylvania Turfgrass Research Inc., and launched a campaign to raise funds for turfgrass research in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. This campaign culminated in 2011 with the creation of a $300,000 endowment at Penn State. Following the death of Zontek on August 28, the board of the research trust and Penn State faculty asked the University to name the new endowment the Stanley J. Zontek Turfgrass Endowment.
November 21, 2012
Despite the crush of papers and exams as the end of the semester approaches, Penn State Abington THON members remain focused. With a boost from nearly $4,500 collected during the third and final canning weekend, they are more than halfway to their $50,000 fund-raising goal for the 2013 IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.
November 21, 2012
The annual Penn State Great Valley Tailgate Benefit raised more than $4,000 for the school’s Alumni Achievement Scholarship Fund, the Penn State Hershey Center for Protection of Children, and The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.
November 19, 2012
A member of the Smeal College of Business Board of Visitors has announced a $5 million addition to an existing campaign commitment and has challenged other volunteer leaders, alumni, and friends to consider new gifts as well. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, hopes this new commitment will encourage other alumni and friends of Smeal to reaffirm their support of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students and make a second gift to the college during the final two years of this University-wide fundraising effort. Two of the college’s long-time advocates responded immediately with new commitments of their own, adding $100,000 each to scholarships they had previously endowed.
November 16, 2012
Penn State’s 36th annual Renaissance Fund dinner raised more than $255,000 to endow scholarships in honor of community leaders and philanthropists, Ed and Charlene Friedman, this year’s Renaissance Fund Honorees. Over 400 guests attended the November 15 dinner at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. The annual event raises money for
Renaissance Fund scholarships, which are awarded to academically talented Penn State students who have great financial need. The dinners honor community leaders, and contributions are used to endow scholarships in their names.
November 16, 2012
Thanks to a generous philanthropic gift from L. James Smauch ’36 Sci, a multi-year project has begun to restore the Old Main lobby, conserve the frescoes and preserve this treasured piece of American art history.
November 16, 2012
Penn State alumni Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman and Richard F. Hoffman, of Tucson, Arizona, want young people to have the same educational opportunities that helped them become successful. That was their core motivation in creating a new scholarship in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. The couple’s $50,000 commitment will endow the Hoffman DeGrandi Family Scholarship, which will assist undergraduate students who have financial need. In establishing the scholarship in memory of their parents, DeGrandi-Hoffman and Hoffman said they wanted to ensure that the value of education emphasized in both of their families lives on and that other dedicated and deserving students can have the same opportunities to succeed in life that their parents gave to them.
November 16, 2012
One year ago, Penn State’s Senior Class Gift Committee announced that the class of 2012 had chosen to improve and enhance the area surrounding the Nittany Lion Shrine on the University Park campus as its gift to the University. After months of planning and collaboration with students, the Office of Physical Plant presented its specific design to the Board of Trustees on Friday (November 16). Itself a gift of the class of 1940, the Lion Shrine is already the most recognized and photographed location on the University Park campus. In fact, it is the second most photographed site in Pennsylvania, bested only by the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
November 15, 2012
Today, Penn State celebrates its second annual
Penn State Day of Philanthropy, intended to raise awareness of private giving’s impact on the University and its students. Through a range of activities and events on the University Park campus and other Penn State campuses, volunteers and staff members will honor past gifts and seek further support from alumni and friends.
November 14, 2012
On Saturday, October 13, 2012, about 250 donors, volunteers, faculty, and staff gathered for the inaugural Celebrating Faculty Endowments dinner to showcase the many ways endowed faculty positions elevate the student experience at Penn State. During the evening, Penn State faculty representatives and keynote speaker Dr. David Ho of the Rockefeller University highlighted how philanthropy is crucial in expanding their roles as student mentors and leading researchers.
This article was originally published on Friday, October 19, 2012.
November 14, 2012
Penn State New Kensington, in conjunction with other Penn State campuses, is participating in a University-wide philanthropy initiative on Thursday, November 15. The second Penn State Day of Philanthropy is intended to raise awareness of private giving’s impact on the University and its students.
November 14, 2012
The best way to teach business students to be prudent with investments is to give them some money to spend. “When you’re working with a mock portfolio and you mess up, there’s no damage done,” said Vincent Intrieri, a 1984 graduate of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. “But when it’s real money, with real consequences, you focus. You can’t explain it away, saying, ‘Oh, well. My model didn’t work so well.’” Intrieri, senior managing director of Icahn Capital Management, put up $100,000 to test the real-money premise. His gift launched Penn State Behrend’s first student-managed investment fund, which is being run by juniors and seniors in Hunter Holzhauer’s portfolio management and analysis class. Students bought the first of approximately 50 stocks in late October.
November 14, 2012
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center celebrated a new era of comprehensive patient- and family-centered care with the dedication of the new, freestanding Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. Philanthropic gifts of more than $75 million helped make the new building a reality.
November 07, 2012
An Early Career Professorship in Comparative Literature has been established in honor of Caroline Eckhardt. Penn State faculty, friends and corporate supporters have made commitments totaling $334,000 to establish an Early Career Professorship in Comparative Literature in honor of Caroline Eckhardt, the longtime head of the department and professor of comparative literature and English. Faculty colleagues, administrators and alumni also contributed an additional $30,000 to create a fund to support various programs and initiatives for the study of comparative literature, also in honor of Eckhardt.
November 07, 2012
Penn State alumni Anthony J. and Marta M. Buzzelli have committed $300,000 to enhance leadership development in the Smeal College of Business through the Anthony Buzzelli Endowment for Leadership. The endowment will provide sustainable annual funding for the college’s Sapphire Leadership Symposium and other programs that nurture leadership qualities in business students.
October 30, 2012
Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO at General Electric (GE), presented a check for $400,000 to Penn State President Rodney Erickson during a visit to the University Park campus on Friday, October 26. The funds will support scholarships in three Penn State colleges and sponsored research in the College of Engineering. Immelt’s visit highlights his company’s ongoing partnership with Penn State. “Penn State is a big part of GE’s future,” Immelt said. “The school’s alumni have filled our ranks with great leaders. Their students give us a bright and competitive future. We see this relationship moving forward in a big way.”
October 26, 2012
On Wednesday, October 17, Penn State Wilkes-Barre honored 80 students who were awarded scholarships for the 2012-2013 school year at the annual Scholarship Dinner held at Appletree Terrace. This year, Penn State Wilkes-Barre awarded 260 students approximately $530,000 in scholarships. In addition to students, approximately 35 scholarship donors also attended the dinner. Students were given the opportunity to mingle with their donors during dinner and be able to personally thank them.
October 25, 2012
Penn State’s Senior Class Gift Committee announced yesterday (October 24) that the class of 2013 has chosen to create a “We Are” sculpture on campus as its gift to the University. The sculpture will consist of large, three-dimensional letters, spelling the iconic “We Are,” with the words of the Penn State Alma Mater inscribed across them in the original handwriting of Fred Lewis Pattee.
October 25, 2012
Penn State alumnus David Nevins has made the largest private gift to support scholarships for minority students in the history of the Smeal College of Business. Nevins’ $1.1 million commitment will create the Nevins Trustee Scholarship and the Nevins Diversity Scholarship Fund with the goal of promoting the diversity of the Smeal College student body. “There are many thousands of parents in our country who desperately want to help their children achieve a better life, but financial circumstances make this impossible,” Nevins said. “The Smeal College of Business is an incredible school that has provided the foundation for many students from every race, religion, and creed to achieve their dreams. I would like to help more minority students achieve the success I have attained, success that started with my education and experiences at Penn State.”
October 25, 2012
Penn State alumni Arnold and Bette Hoffman have made a leadership commitment of $2 million to endow the directorship of the Child Study Center in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts. The couple announced the gift at an October 12 University event honoring endowed faculty. The Child Study Center is one of the college’s most important and far-reaching initiatives. Its faculty and graduate students promote children’s development and well-being through the dynamic integration of research, undergraduate and graduate training, and engaged community outreach. Housed in one of the country’s leading psychology departments, the Child Study Center is a Center of Excellence in Penn State’s Children, Youth, and Families Consortium.
October 23, 2012
Students at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will have unprecedented access to world-class animation and modeling software thanks to a gift, valued at $21.7 million, from Autodesk, a leading global developer of 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. This is the first time Autodesk has provided full access to its top products through a grant of software to a college or university. The gift—the largest ever at Penn State Behrend—will give students access to three key software packages: Education Master Suite, which includes advanced 3D CAD and engineering analysis tools; Simulation Moldflow, a fast, accurate and flexible design tool for plastic injection molding; and Entertainment Creation Suite, which was used to animate the last 17 films that won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
October 23, 2012
A dedicated teacher and scholar, Gerhard Friedrich Strasser, professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at Penn State, has made a $1 million commitment in his estate to support graduate students in comparative literature and Germanic and Slavic languages and literatures. The gift is one of the largest ever made by a current or emeritus faculty member in the College of the Liberal Arts and designates the proceeds from the future sale of real estate for support of graduate education in the departments of Comparative Literatures, and Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures.
October 22, 2012
On November 15, Penn State will celebrate its second annual
Penn State Day of Philanthropy, intended to raise awareness of private giving’s impact on the University and its students. Through a range of activities and events on the University Park campus and other Penn State campuses, volunteers and staff members will honor past gifts and seek further support from alumni and friends.
October 09, 2012
A Penn State alumni couple is honoring great teachers they have known by making a leadership gift to the colleges of the Liberal Arts and Education with a commitment of $2 million from their estate. Through their gift, Kevin and Susan O’Leary will support an early career professor in history, graduate students in language and literacy education, and innovative teaching awards in both colleges. “Our Penn State professor inspired us to pursue fulfilling careers in business and education, and in return, we want to uplift future generations of innovative teachers at the University,” Kevin and Susan said. “We are personally aware of the many challenges facing teachers today, and we want to help them pursue even greater success in teaching students at Penn State and beyond.”
October 09, 2012
Penn State Worthington Scranton honored its scholarship donors and recognized students who received those scholarships on October 4 at a special evening reception at St. Mary’s Center, Scranton. The annual reception is a Penn State Worthington Scranton tradition, which allows donors the opportunity to personally award their scholarship to the recipient(s) and meet the students and their families.
October 04, 2012
Two leading Penn State volunteers and supporters have made their second major commitment to the University’s current fundraising initiative, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. Peter G. Tombros, who chairs the campaign, and Ann Tombros, a member of the fundraising committees for the University Libraries and the Palmer Museum of Art, have announced a gift of $5 million toward For the Future’s vision of Penn State as the most student-centered public research university in the country. This follows an earlier commitment made by the Tombroses of $10 million in 2008.
October 03, 2012
A $1 million scholarship endowment to benefit Penn State Hazleton students has been made possible by the John E. Morgan Foundation. The John E. Morgan Foundation Trustee Scholarship will be created, which will help qualified students with financial need to attend the Hazleton campus. The Morgan Foundation made a $1 million gift to The Pennsylvania State University Philanthropic Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which then directed the funds to Penn State Hazleton. It is the largest gift that the Hazleton campus has received during Penn State’s current fundraising effort, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students.
October 03, 2012
The John E. Morgan Auditorium at Penn State Schuylkill will be getting a $250,000 facelift, thanks to the John E. Morgan Foundation. A series of renovations and technical upgrades will enhance the much-used facility that serves the Schuylkill student body and nearby communities. The Morgan Foundation made a $250,000 gift to The Pennsylvania State University Philanthropic Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which then directed the funds to Penn State Schuylkill.
September 27, 2012
Penn State has named Chevron its Corporate Partner of the Year. University President Rodney Erickson presented the award at a recent dinner to recognize the company’s wide-ranging philanthropy to the University. Chevron, the second-largest integrated oil company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world, considers Penn State to be a strategic school—one that is critical to the company in terms of recruiting and research. To date, the company’s investment in Penn State has totaled more than $19 million in philanthropy and research support combined, with roughly half of that amount representing philanthropic investment.
September 27, 2012
Penn Staters will have the opportunity to show their pride and help give back to the University during a social media fan challenge being held this fall. From October 1 to 14, 2012, Penn State students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends can participate in the Penn State Forever Fan Challenge by liking Penn State Forever on Facebook (
www.Facebook.com/PennStForever) and following Penn State Forever on Twitter (
www.Twitter.com/PennStForever). For each new like or follow added during the challenge, Penn State alumnus Tom Sharbaugh will donate $1 to the
Microfinance Match Loan Fund at Penn State. Therefore, each individual participating in the challenge can help contribute $2 to Penn State students in need and declare their support of fellow Penn Staters on social media. Sharbaugh will donate up to $10,000.
September 25, 2012
More than 300 Penn State alumni and friends gathered at University Park on Friday, September 14, and Saturday, September 15, to renew their energy and efforts on behalf of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. Through the summit’s workshops, seminars, and panel discussions, the volunteers prepared for a final push toward the campaign’s goal of $2 billion in new support by 2014. More than $1.6 billion has already been raised, putting For the Future ahead of pace with just over three-quarters of its timeline elapsed.
September 20, 2012
The totals are in for the Jordan Andrulonis Memorial Golf Tournament, and the event raised $34,000 to help Penn State DuBois students fund their education. Specifically, the money raised at the tournament benefits the Jordan Andrulonis Trustee Scholarship at Penn State DuBois.
September 19, 2012
Penn State’s endowment and similar funds increased by $24 million in fiscal year 2012, and the total market value reached a record high of $1.86 billion as of June 30, 2012, according to a report to the Board of Trustees today (September 14). The University’s endowment stood at $1.77 billion as of June 30, 2012. Similar funds, consisting of deferred gift assets such as charitable remainder trusts and gift annuities, stood at $90 million, for a total of $1.86 billion, according to David E. Branigan, executive director of the University’s Office of Investment Management.
September 11, 2012
Penn State Brandywine has received a generous donation from W.W. Smith Charitable Trust of $48,000 for student scholarships. This funding will be awarded to full-time undergraduate students who reside in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties and who have a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
September 11, 2012
Joseph Edmiston became the director of development at Penn State Greater Allegheny effective June 1. Edmiston came to Greater Allegheny from his position as advancement director at Madonna High School in Weirton, W.V.
September 11, 2012
On Thursday, September 6, more than 125 students, faculty, staff, donors, alumni, campus advisory board members, legislators, and University administrators gathered in the main room of Penn State Beaver’s Wellness Center for the dedication of the new facility. Financial support for the addition and renovations was provided by a number of sources, including donor gifts from Beaver campus alumnus Carl Bartuch; Beaver Advisory Board member Nicholas Unis, D.M.D., and his wife, Nadine; and Jennifer Unis Sullivan, D.M.D., J.D. Other funding sources were the Beaver campus Student Facility Fee, the University Facilities Resources Committee, the Office of the Vice President of Commonwealth Campuses, the Student Related Projects Fund, the Office of Physical Plant, and Penn State Beaver.
August 30, 2012
Penn State alumna Cathy Rein has made a leadership gift with a commitment of $1 million from her estate to the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network in the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State. Her gift will support the network in providing guidance for liberal arts majors on exploring meaningful careers related to their degrees and securing their first job in a challenging marketplace. With initial college funding from Dean Susan Welch, the network has developed comprehensive services that address the unique needs of liberal arts students grappling with questions about future career paths suitable for their degrees and interests.
August 30, 2012
Brian W. and Kristine E. Laubscher have established a $50,000 trustee scholarship in the College of Education to provide financial assistance for undergraduate students pursuing degrees in childhood and early adolescent education. This scholarship was created in memory of Brian’s mother, Barbara Golden Laubscher, an elementary school teacher who believed strongly in the importance of quality education.
August 27, 2012
State College business and community leaders Ed and Charlene Friedman have been named Penn State’s 2012 Renaissance Fund honorees. They will be recognized in November at the 36th annual Renaissance Fund dinner, according to John Walizer, president of the fund’s board of directors.
Each year, the Renaissance Fund honors an individual or couple who, through a lifetime of service, has contributed greatly to the Penn State and State College communities. In its selection process, the fund’s board of directors seeks to recognize individuals who have deep roots in the Centre Region, close relationships with civic and University leaders, and a commitment to philanthropy.
August 20, 2012
Penn State’s Senior Class Gift Committee invites the public to celebrate the opening of the Penn State Veterans Plaza, the gift of the class of 2011. The dedication will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 14, on the patio of Old Main on the University Park campus.
August 20, 2012
For the first time ever, audiences will get a behind-the-scenes look at the largest student-run philanthropy in the world benefitting the Four Diamonds Fund when Penn State Public Broadcasting presents the documentary “Why We Dance: The Story of THON” at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, on WPSU-TV. That same night, the documentary will air on public television stations across Pennsylvania and online.
August 06, 2012
Penn State Harrisburg has received a leadership gift commitment of $1 million from Russell E. Horn Sr., a 1933 Penn State graduate in Engineering, to support the construction of a Student Enrichment Center on the Harrisburg campus. The new facility will centralize and enhance a variety of crucial student services.
“This remarkable gift will go far toward helping Penn State Harrisburg meet the needs of our rapidly growing student population,” said Chancellor Mukund Kulkarni. “The Student Enrichment Center will create a one-stop resource center that lets students more easily access the services that enhance all aspects of their learning. We’re extremely grateful for Mr. Horn’s generosity in making the first gift toward this major effort.”
August 03, 2012
The Center for Enterprise Architecture (EA) at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has received a donation valued at $300,000 from NetApp, a company that creates storage systems and software that help customers around the world store, manage, protect and retain their data. The donation includes a suite of storage systems and software that will support a new EA research laboratory that is being built at the College of IST.
July 31, 2012
The Institute for CyberScience at Penn State has received a gift-in-kind of 50 graphics processing units (GPUs) from Hewlett-Packard Company to support its interdisciplinary research in the science of computing. These GPUs, valued at $100,000, will assist the institute’s computer modeling collaborations spanning many departments and programs.
July 20, 2012
The Center for Enterprise Architecture (EA) at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has received a donation valued at $6.7 million from Tonex, a company that provides training and consulting services to a wide variety of industries.
July 17, 2012
Nearly 60 years after Lloyd and Dottie Hucks’ first donation to their alma mater, Penn State’s Board of Trustees honored the couple’s longtime service and philanthropy to Penn State through the newly renamed J. Lloyd and Dorothy Foehr Huck Life Sciences Building.
July 12, 2012
In an afternoon press conference, Penn State issued an initial statement on the Freeh Report.
July 09, 2012
The Penn State Division of Development and Alumni Relations has released its fundraising results for fiscal year 2011-12.
July 05, 2012
Penn State and the Eberly College of Science have lost a leading advocate and supporter with the passing of Verne M. Willaman, a class of 1951 graduate and retired chairman and president of Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation.
June 27, 2012
The Elizabeth Lee Black and Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation Trustee Scholarship will assist students with financial need, reinforcing the campus’ ongoing efforts to support a diverse student population.
June 22, 2012
The fourth annual Blues and White Gala scholarship fundraising event hosted by Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus May 12 raised nearly $40,000 for student scholarships. This brings the total of Blues and White scholarship funds to $138,000 over the four years the gala has been held.
June 22, 2012
The public is invited to participate in the Penn State Beaver Alumni Society’s 12th annual golf outing, Monday, September 10, at Seven Oaks Country Club in Brighton Township. Registration will begin at 9 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. The day will conclude with a dinner, auction and awards presentation beginning at 5 p.m.
June 15, 2012
The second annual Chocolate Tour to support cancer research through Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29. Registration begins at 6 a.m. and continues through 10 a.m. For information on specific races, go to
http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/melanoma/home/fundraising.
June 15, 2012
Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital received $3,298,578 in private philanthropic support from the Children’s Miracle Network in 2011-12. The total, a culmination of the yearlong fundraising campaign, was announced during the 28th annual Children’s Miracle Network Telethon.
June 11, 2012
Nancy S. Devorris, of Altoona, has received the Penn State Honorary Alumni Award, which recognizes outstanding individuals who, though not graduates of Penn State, greatly enhance the University through their commitment and service.
June 11, 2012
Penn State Altoona has received a $50,000 commitment from Keller Engineers, of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, to support the college’s Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) program, a groundbreaking academic initiative designed to prepare students for placement and career advancement within the rail industry.
June 08, 2012
As I share my monthly website updates on the Board’s progress, I am hopeful that our ongoing dialogue with you—Penn State’s dedicated and proud alumni—will help us to deepen and strengthen the work that continues to make Penn State a national leader.
June 07, 2012
Joseph D. Defilippi was formally recognized as a 2012 honorary alumnus by the Penn State Alumni Association at a black-tie dinner June 2 on the University Park campus. There, Penn State President Rodney Erickson presented Defilippi with a bronze medallion. The award is given to those who, while not graduates of Penn State, make important contributions to the university.
June 01, 2012
Two new librarians will help keep the University Libraries a leader in the evolving information world, thanks to a commitment from Librarian Emeritus and alumna Sally W. Kalin and her husband, State College attorney Richard L. Kalin.
June 01, 2012
Thanks to landmark gifts in support of the University Libraries and the Palmer Museum of Art, campaign commitments from present and former Penn State employees during For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students now total more than $43 million. That figure now exceeds the entire sum raised from faculty and staff during the Grand Destiny campaign, which concluded in 2003, and beyond the $43 million target that the For the Future campaign aimed to reach by 2014. The goal-breaking commitment came from Librarian Emeritus and alumna Sally W. Kalin and her husband, State College attorney Richard L. Kalin.
May 25, 2012
The York Revolution and the Lancaster Barnstormers baseball teams will face-off at Sovereign Bank Stadium, York, Pa., Friday, June 22, and local Penn State fans will gather to enjoy a picnic, watch the game, and raise money for Penn State York’s Pay It Forward Scholarship. Fans, friends, family, alumni, and others are invited to join the group, beginning with a two-hour buffet catered by Maewyn’s Irish Pub and Restaurant at 5:45 p.m., with the game to follow at 6:30 p.m. Ticket includes the buffet, baseball game, and a T-shirt, all for $25 for adults and $13 for youth (4-10-years-old). Half of the ticket price goes to the Pay It Forward Scholarship Fund.
May 24, 2012
Penn State alumni William and Jeri Simon have established the Simon Family Trustee Scholarship in the Penn State Smeal College of Business. With gift-matching funds from the H.J. Heinz foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports charitable giving by all H.J. Heinz Co. employees, the endowment will be valued at $50,000, and its impact will be doubled with support from the University’s Trustee Matching Scholarship Program. William Simon is vice president, R&D operations, at H.J. Heinz Co. in Pittsburgh. He has been with Heinz since earning his M.B.A. from Smeal in 1994. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Smeal, where he graduated in 1989. Jeri Simon is a 1990 graduate of Smeal with a bachelor’s degree in management. She is a history teacher at the Ellis School, an independent girls’ school in Pittsburgh.
May 24, 2012
Educational opportunities have been expanded for students with disabilities at Penn State Harrisburg. An anonymous Penn State Harrisburg graduate has joined with the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation to create the campus’ first scholarship for students with disabilities. The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation Endowed Trustee Scholarship at Penn State Harrisburg will assist students with financial need and will mean greater access to higher education for undergraduates.
May 24, 2012
The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State has awarded 11 grants and named 15 communication researchers and teachers from around the nation as recipients for 2012-13. The Page Center was created in 2004 through a leadership gift by Lawrence G. Foster, a distinguished Penn State alumnus and retired corporate vice president for public relations at Johnson & Johnson. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also supports the center through a major grant awarded in 2006 to establish and endow a research and education program in ethical leadership—including support for the legacy scholar program. The Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust, a private philanthropy of Johnson’s heirs, also has made a significant contribution to support the center’s work in ethics in public communication and the role of public relations in advancing corporate responsibility.
May 17, 2012
The Bernard Osher Foundation awards a second $1 million gift to support the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State.
May 17, 2012
Penn State Altoona celebrated the induction of its inaugural class of Sheetz Fellows during a ceremony on February 25, 2012. The Sheetz Fellows Program was established as part of the historic $3 million gift presented to Penn State Altoona by Steve and Nancy Sheetz in 2009. Sheetz Fellows aspire to levels of achievement, values, and integrity associated with the Sheetz name and Penn State’s reputation.
May 15, 2012
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. has become the first National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) fraternity or sorority to endow fully a scholarship at Penn State. The Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Delta Theta Alumni Association Scholarship, endowed with a $50,000 gift, will be awarded to students who are members in good standing of the Delta Theta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
May 15, 2012
Penn State New Kensington students and faculty were honored the evening of April 27 at the campus’ “Celebration of Excellence” event. The academic and student life awards ceremony recognizes achievement in academic and co-curricular activities. Supporters of the event included the Alle-Kiski Society of the Penn State Alumni Association and the New Kensington campus’ Student Government Association.
May 15, 2012
Penn State has received a significant grant from Chevron Technology Corporation to support student programs, research infrastructure, and scholarships/fellowships in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the Smeal College of Business, as well as program support for the Palmer Museum of Art and THON.
April 30, 2012
On April 27, Penn State President Rodney Erickson announced that nearly 280 alumni, friends, administrators, faculty, and staff have made commitments totaling over $3 million to honor Susan Welch, dean of the College of the Liberal Arts, for her twenty years of leadership in the college. More than 80 percent of the commitments are targeted to graduate education, one of the dean’s top fundraising priorities in the current University-wide fundraising effort, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students.
April 25, 2012
Terrence M. and Kim Pegula, who committed $88 million in 2010 to launch Penn State’s entry into NCAA Division I hockey and construction on a state-of-the-art arena, have raised their total support for the initiative to $102 million. The additional $14 million gift was announced by Terry Pegula at the April 20 groundbreaking for the Pegula Ice Arena. The Pegulas’ total commitment includes $13 million for endowed scholarships supporting Penn State men’s hockey players in addition to $89 million for the facility.
April 21, 2012
The Penn State Hockey community celebrated the official groundbreaking ceremony for Pegula Ice Arena on Friday (April 20), with coaches, fans and dignitaries gathering at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex to mark the occasion. “I’m proud to officially mark the construction of Pegula Ice Arena,” said Penn State President Rodney Erickson in his opening remarks. “This is truly a momentous day for Penn State, our student-athletes, the local community and ice hockey fans everywhere. Our goal is to make this arena, and the vast array of activities to be held in it, the national model by which all other programs are measured.” Terry and Kim Pegula made an $88 million gift September 2010 for construction of a new facility and elevation of the hockey programs to NCAA Division I level.
April 20, 2012
Understanding the elms’ importance and plight, generous donors have helped support costs associated with replacing and maintaining the elms on campus. The class of 1986 led the Elm Re-Leaf campaign, which provided funds to purchase new elms to replace those lost to Dutch elm disease. Also, the class of 1996 created an endowment as its Senior Class Gift to provide annual funds to maintain and replace the diseased elms. To prevent large-scale loss to diseases like this in the future, OPP has been using the endowment to plant new tree species along with disease-resistant elms on campus. Proceeds from the Penn State Elms Collection, which sells repurposed wood from the removed trees as furniture and frames, also contribute.
April 18, 2012
Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has received a $400,000 gift—the largest from a graduate in its 13-year history—from San Francisco CEO and IST alumnus David Rusenko. The gift will create the David Rusenko Scholarship for Entrepreneurship, which will help IST students to launch their own companies while they are still in school. “IST has done a tremendous job creating well-rounded technical graduates,” said Rusenko, a 2007 graduate and co-founder of San Francisco firm Weebly. “I’m excited to help encourage students to think seriously about creating and joining startups.”
April 17, 2012
Own a piece of Penn State history. University alumni, fans and friends have an opportunity to bid on a one-of-a-kind table to be crafted from the limited wood reclaimed from the historic Old Main Elm, taken down in March after it succumbed to Elm yellows disease. The eBay auction began at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, and is available directly at
http://goo.gl/DS05n online. Bidding is open until 3 p.m. Sunday, April 22.
April 16, 2012
Penn State alumni and benefactors Edward R. and Helen S. Hintz will be endowing a $50,000 Trustee Scholarship in the name of the class of 2012 after the Senior Class Gift Committee met a goal of obtaining at least 3,000 pledges to the class gift from seniors by April 15, 2012.
April 12, 2012
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center has surpassed the $200 million mark in its current $300 million fundraising initiative, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Launched in January 2007 as part of a university-wide $2 billion fundraising effort, the Medical Center and College of Medicine campaign provides support for advancing patient care, ensuring that the best and brightest students can afford a world-class medical education, recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, and funding novel research that leads to breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment.
April 05, 2012
“The loyalty of Penn State’s alumni and friends is legendary, and we are delighted that their generosity is being recognized with a top 25 ranking by the Council for Aid to Education,” said University President Rodney A. Erickson. “The record-breaking total raised in 2011 reflects our donors’ commitment to the vision and values of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. With their continued support, and with the continued efforts of our campaign volunteers, we will achieve the $2 billion goal of For the Future and affirm Penn State’s role as the most student-centered public research institution in the nation.”
April 04, 2012
Penn State alumnus Louis Gatto and his wife, Katherine Gatto, have committed $100,000 to establish the Gatto Trustee Scholarship in the Smeal College of Business. With support from the University’s Trustee Matching Scholarship Program, the gift’s impact will be doubled, effectively resulting in the equivalent of a $200,000 scholarship fund for undergraduates with financial need who are studying abroad.
March 23, 2012
Laura L. Rothkopf, widow of Michael H. Rothkopf, Smeal Chaired Professor of Supply Chain and Information Systems, has committed $334,000 to establish the Michael H. and Laura L. Rothkopf Early Career Professorship in Supply Chain Management in the Penn State Smeal College of Business. With matching funds from the Penn State Faculty Endowment Challenge, the total endowment is worth $500,000.
March 19, 2012
The official groundbreaking ceremony for Pegula Ice Arena, the new state-of-the-art, multi-purpose facility slated for completion in September 2013, will take place Friday, April 20, at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. The ceremony will fall on the Friday of Penn State Football’s annual Blue-White Weekend.
March 14, 2012
Penn State alumna Lizabeth Zlatkus has committed $50,000, which includes employer funds donated in her honor, to establish the Lizabeth Herbst Zlatkus Trustee Scholarship in the Penn State Smeal College of Business. With support from the University’s Trustee Matching Scholarship Program, the gift’s impact will be doubled, effectively resulting in the equivalent of a $100,000 scholarship fund for undergraduates with financial need. Zlatkus, a 1981 graduate of Smeal with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, is the retired executive vice president and chief risk officer of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
March 12, 2012
Alcoa Foundation recently announced that it is investing $70,000 in Penn State New Kensington to enhance undergraduate education in the sciences and to help create an environmentally friendly region.
March 12, 2012
The Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees has been asked by members of the Penn State community, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, to state clearly its reasons for the difficult decisions that were made unanimously on the evening of Nov. 9, 2011—to remove Graham Spanier as president of the University and Joe Paterno as head football coach for the remaining three games of the 2011 season. Our decisions were guided by our obligation as Trustees, always, to put the interests of the University first.
We share the grief of the entire Penn State family at the passing of Coach Paterno. We also continue to respect and appreciate Dr. Spanier’s and Coach Paterno’s lasting contributions to Penn State. We especially honor the great legacy of Coach Paterno in making his football program a model for his emphasis on academic as well as athletic performance and for his generous support of Penn State through the years.
We offer this report guided by one overriding commitment going forward—to remember the children who may have been victims of sexual abuse on or near the University Park campus over the last 10 or more years and to support their healing process as best we can.
March 06, 2012
Berks THON dancers Megan Sim, Lauren Fusco, Krista Feather, and Melissa Sauer raised $40,306.73 for THON through a variety of fundraising events and activities throughout the academic year, and culminating in the 46-hour dance marathon to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund, held from Friday, Feb. 17 to Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012 at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University Park.
March 05, 2012
Weeks after receiving his master’s degree in geosciences from Penn State, Hiroshi Hamasaki decided to thank Hiroshi Ohmoto, his adviser and professor of geochemistry, with a $100,000 gift to establish the Geosciences Research Fund in Honor of Hiroshi Ohmoto in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
March 05, 2012
Plans are under way for a new Career Services Center at Penn State Wilkes-Barre that will provide students with comprehensive career planning and job seeking services. A major matching gift from Wilkes-Barre alumnus Richard K. “Ric” Struthers and his wife, Sharon, has jump-started the campus’ fundraising effort to support the project.
March 02, 2012
Penn State York recently established the first Renaissance Fund at the campus thanks to a $30,000 gift from Susquehanna Bank to meet the minimum endowment requirement for the fund. This Renaissance Fund is dedicated to students who begin their Penn State journey at Penn State York. This fund will provide a Penn State York student with about $1,500 per year at current endowment spending rates. The scholarship can be renewed each year for up to eight semesters.
February 27, 2012
A freshman who lost her life on a fundraising trip for the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) is being celebrated with an endowment intended to help keep other students safe. The Courtney O’Bryan Memorial Fund was officially established on Saturday, Feb. 18, in a signing ceremony at the University’s Bryce Jordan Center, where the annual THON event was on its way to securing almost $10.7 million for the fight against pediatric cancer.
February 27, 2012
Penn State’s Eberly College of Science and the College of the Liberal Arts have announced an anonymous commitment from an alumnus. Valued at a total of $200,000, it will provide funds to support the information technology requirements of faculty in each college. The endowment, which will come from the donor’s estate, is intended to enhance greater teaching and research by dedicated faculty in fields ranging from physics and biology to humanities and social sciences.
February 23, 2012
Penn State Brandywine will host its annual Spring Soiree to bring together alumni, friends and community members for a night of dinner and dancing to raise money for student scholarships on Friday, March 23, at the Merion Cricket Club.
February 23, 2012
With VIP’s and celebrities, a red carpet, and a silent auction, the event raised $37,411 for THON and The Four Diamonds Fund. The event was co-chaired by PSULA members Erica Wernick and Gary Werkheiser.
February 20, 2012
The 46-hour Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) once again has set a new record, raising $10,686,924.83 for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, surpassing last year’s record $9.56 million. Funds raised by THON go to support the Four Diamonds Fund and its pediatric cancer patients, families and researchers at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital who are working to find better treatments and, ultimately, cures for forms of cancer that afflict children. First held in 1973, THON has partnered with Four Diamonds Fund since 1977 and in that time has raised more than $88 million FTK—“For The Kids.”
February 17, 2012
An effort to raise money for the Child Life Program at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital brought in $52,010. “These funds will allow us to purchase a range of age-appropriate and child-friendly tools—from books to dolls to iPads—to help staff teach pediatric patients and their families about what happens in the hospital and to put them at ease using distractions such as games and relaxation tools,” said Ashley Kane, manager of the Child Life Program at the Children’s Hospital.
February 15, 2012
When Elaine Tanella heads to campus, she knows that she is going to have a busy day; not because of a heavy course load, but because she runs the largest student-run philanthropy in the world: the Penn State Dance Marathon, commonly known as THON. A fifth-year bioengineering senior, she serves as the 2012 THON overall chairwoman, a year-long position which includes responsibilities such as outlining goals and new ideas for the upcoming dance marathon, as well as overseeing more than 15,000 volunteers who make THON happen.
February 15, 2012
For the past 14 years, Robert ‘Doc’ Mueller, associate professor of engineering at Penn State New Kensington, has helped his students earn engineering degrees; now he is helping them pay for the degrees. Mueller and his wife, Linda, recently established the Doc and Linda Mueller Trustee Scholarship at the campus. The $50,000 endowment is a need-based scholarship, and new and current students are eligible to receive the annual awards. First preference will be given to students in the four-year Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology (EMET) program.
February 15, 2012
Penn State sophomore Maddie Sherlock was a freshman in high school when her brother Carl, then 20 and a Penn State student, got sick. A trip to the emergency room of Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College turned into a helicopter trip to the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where ultimately he was diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor. “Why he got a pediatric tumor at the age of 20 no one knows, but it does happen and it did to our family,” said Susie Sherlock about her son’s diagnosis. She also said, “THON is a wonderful thing, and Four Diamonds is a wonderful thing. We feel very fortunate that the night they life-flighted Carl from Mount Nittany they sent him to Hershey.”
February 15, 2012
Penn State York students Kaitlyn Dunbar, 19, and Joe Weaver, 18, were chosen to represent Penn State York in the 40th Annual Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), “Brighten Every Journey,” set for February 17-19 at the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC). In addition to raising money, through THON, Penn State York is sponsoring the Hagens family. Ava Hagens, a 4-year-old from York, Pa., was diagnosed on July 24, 2009, with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Since that time she has undergone a variety of treatments and recently completed her chemotherapy and is in remission. This is her third trip to THON along with her parents Jessica and Greg.
February 08, 2012
Nearly 40 students have already begun preparation for a webcast of the two-day dance marathon, known as THON. The webcast will include live coverage as well as 10 three-minute “behind the scenes” features that will air during times of low activity. These features will explore topics such as THON’s history, involvement at Commonwealth Campuses, and profiles of different fundraising organizations.
February 07, 2012
This year, Penn State Schuylkill students have raised more than $22,000 for THON, the largest amount raised in campus history.
February 06, 2012
This year’s fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital and Lewistown Hospital.
February 06, 2012
The Uniontown Hospital Auxiliary recently contributed $10,000 to the Nursing Scholarship Program at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. The scholarship provides financial assistance to area students pursuing degrees in nursing at Penn State Fayette.
February 03, 2012
Penn State New Kensington was founded in 1958 after a study revealed a demand for higher education in the Alle-Kiski Valley. The Weber family of Lower Burrell personifies that study and validates the foresight of the University’s and local community leaders. As alumni and friends, the Webers are affiliated with the New Kensington campus on various levels.
January 30, 2012
C&G Savings Bank, based in Altoona, Pa., has presented a $25,000 gift to Penn State Altoona to create the bank’s first endowed student award at the campus.
January 23, 2012
Penn State Brandywine will host its fourth annual “A Night with the Pride” Beef ‘n’ Beverage event to bring together friends of Penn State and raise money for student scholarships at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, February 24, at the Ballrooms at Boothwyn.
January 23, 2012
Penn State named Toshiba/Westinghouse its “Corporate Partner of the Year” at a luncheon Thursday, January 19, at the Nittany Lion Inn. University President Rodney Erickson presented the award to Westinghouse in celebration of the company’s longstanding philanthropic commitment to the University. “The relationship between Toshiba/Westinghouse and Penn State is nothing less than a model for how corporations and universities can reap enormous mutual benefits from collaboration in research, educational initiatives and recruiting partnerships,” said Erickson.
January 23, 2012
Our hearts are among the thousands overflowing with sorrow at the death of Joe Paterno and with gratitude for all that he helped Penn State and Penn Staters to become during more than six decades of leadership at the University. We offer our condolences to the entire Penn State community and our deepest sympathy to Sue and the Paterno family. »
Please read on.
January 20, 2012
In recognition of their outstanding academic achievement, 125 Liberal Arts freshmen, sophomores, and juniors were inducted the evening of Jan. 9 into the Paterno Fellows Program, the signature honors and leadership program of the College of the Liberal Arts. They join 200 Fellows in a unique collaboration between Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts and the Schreyer Honors College. Jack Selzer, the Barry Director of the Paterno Fellows Program, said, “The program offers a pathway to excellence for those students who realize they want to make the very most of their Penn State education. By working hard and fulfilling the academic and leadership components, our students will be especially well prepared to succeed and contribute to their professions and their communities.”
January 20, 2012
As Penn State New Kensington continues the public phase of its fundraising campaign, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, it reached its second milestone, the $2 million mark, in December. The campaign is a University-wide effort to raise $2 billion by June 2014. New Kensington is responsible for $3 million of the total. “With two and a half years remaining in the campaign, we have raised 66 percent of our total,” said Donna Speer, New Kensington’s director of development. “We are on track to reach our goal.”
January 20, 2012
Former Penn State New Kensington student Suzette Schultz recently pledged $50,000 to create the Shaffer Family Trustee Matching Scholarship at the campus. Schultz’s gift establishes the 11th trustee matching scholarship at the campus. Through the matching scholarship program, developed in 2002 by the Penn State Board of Trustees, donors become partners with the University in supporting students. The annual spendable income on an endowed scholarship, which averages 5 percent, is matched by the University and allows donors to make the most of their philanthropic dollars.
January 19, 2012
Penn State’s College of Engineering and Intercollegiate Athletics have announced a future commitment, valued at $4.1 million, which will establish two endowments in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, and also will benefit student-athletes. An anonymous couple has made the commitment as part of their estate plans.
January 19, 2012
Alumni of the Sigma chapter of the Phi Sigma Delta fraternity have joined together to honor one of their own and help students in need through the creation of the group’s fourth scholarship endowment at the Penn State. The James F. Schwab/Phi Sigma Delta Sigma Educational Foundation Trustee Scholarship has been funded with support from the foundation as well as family members and friends of the late James F. Schwab, a 1968 Penn State graduate and the foundation’s treasurer and president-elect at the time of his death in 2009.
January 16, 2012
Penn State alumnus David Grow and his wife, Carolyn, have made a leadership gift with a commitment of $2 million from their estate to the Department of Economics in the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State. Their gift will endow the position of director of undergraduate studies, the first endowment of its kind at the University. Susan Welch, the Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts, said, “Thanks to David and Carolyn’s generosity, their gift will greatly enrich the educational experience of so many of our students in the future. We’re very grateful for their vision in seeding new teaching initiatives and innovative learning opportunities through extended internships, study abroad, and undergraduate research projects.”
January 13, 2012
Penn State Hazleton has moved closer to its “Sustaining a Tradition of Quality” objective with the receipt this week of a major land gift. Approximately 25 acres have been added to the northeastern portion of the campus near the existing athletic fields, including a parcel of property in the Conyngham Valley. The land gift was made by Blair Bates ‘69 of Allentown and Dr. William ’55 and Louise Engle Dove of Columbia, MD, along with Mrs. Dove’s siblings Susan Engle and John T. Engle. Also donating portions of the property are Peter McCorrson of Orcas Island, WA and the estate of John Hutton.
January 10, 2012
Westfield Insurance Foundation, an Ohio-based private foundation, has contributed $15,000 to a project developed by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences to help save farmers lives. The donation will help support the ROPS Retrofit Program for Pennsylvania Farmers, which provides rebate funds to install rollover protection structures, or ROPS, on tractors.
January 10, 2012
Thanks to two leadership gifts totaling $4 million, The Arboretum at Penn State will create and grow the Children’s Garden, an interactive place for children to learn and to explore the natural world. A gift from Edward R. and Helen S. Hintz will fund the construction of the space, and a gift from Charles H. “Skip” Smith will create an endowment to maintain the garden and develop its educational programs. A previously announced gift from Marcia Day in 2008 will provide endowment support for children's education programs.
January 03, 2012
In December, Chancellor Gary Keefer and Diana Patterson, director of development, announced that the campus has raised $2 million for For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. The amount raised to date already exceeds the total raised by the end of the previous campaign. Beaver is now two-thirds of the way toward its $3 million goal for the campaign, which will close in 2014.
January 01, 2012
Formally the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, THON partners with The Four Diamonds Fund and the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. Since 1977, Penn State students have raised more than $78 million for the cause.
December 21, 2011
Miners Bank recently donated a stained-glass dome valued at $25,000 to Penn State Schuylkill. The dome, separated into nine sections with a corresponding metal frame, was removed from the ceiling of the Miners Bank Tremont Branch. The Tremont Branch was built in 1910 and the dome was part of its original construction. For several years, the dome—comprised of leaded stained glass and 9 feet in diameter—was covered and hidden from view.
December 19, 2011
The W.B. Kania & Associates Trustee Scholarship has been established at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus to provide financial assistance to students enrolled at the campus. The scholarship was made possible by a gift of $25,000 from W.B. Kania & Associates, matched by $25,000 from Joe Hardy, campus chairman of For the Future, The Campaign for Penn State Students. Annual scholarships will be awarded from the fund beginning with the fall of 2012 semester, with first preference given to students who are Fayette County residents.
December 16, 2011
An anonymous donor has made a $2.2 million estate commitment to Penn State Greater Allegheny. The bequest will institute a scholarship fund, two professorships and a chancellor’s excellence fund.
“This commitment is a tremendous gift to the campus,” said Curtiss E. Porter, chancellor of Penn State Greater Allegheny. “It is historic in its size and scope, as well as in the impact it will have on our students, faculty and community. Private philanthropy is a major driving force behind the growth and enhancement of our campus. Gifts from alumni and friends allow us to fulfill Penn State Greater Allegheny’s mission to care for the success of our students and communities.”
December 14, 2011
With $394 million raised from July 2010 through September 2011, Penn State’s current fundraising effort, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, ranks second among the capital campaigns of major North American universities, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Twenty institutions with recently completed or ongoing campaigns reported their progress over the past 15 months to the Chronicle.
“This ranking highlights the enduring loyalty of Penn State’s generous alumni and friends,” said Rod Kirsch, senior vice president for development and alumni relations. “The success of our campaign so far shows that our mission of providing a world-class education to students from every background really resonates with donors. We are extremely grateful for every gift that has gotten us to where we are in the campaign.”
December 14, 2011
Penn State’s College of Engineering has announced an anonymous commitment, valued at $10 million, for research collaborations that bridge engineering and other disciplines. The endowment, which will come from the donor’s estate, is intended to foster discovery in fields ranging from nanomedicine to sustainable energy.
December 14, 2011
The Quaker Chemical Foundation recently awarded Edward C. De Meter, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, a $25,000 gift for equipment, materials and supplies for machining process research.
December 14, 2011
Penn State alumnus Ronald Sloan and his wife Barbara have committed $50,000 to establish the Sloan Family Trustee Scholarship at the Penn State Smeal College of Business. With support from the University’s Trustee Matching Scholarship Program, the gift’s impact will be doubled, effectively resulting in the equivalent of a $100,000 scholarship.
December 12, 2011
The Penn State Beaver Alumni Society netted a profit of $21,500 from its 11th annual golf outing held in September at Seven Oaks Country Club in Brighton Township. The proceeds will provide additional funding for the principle of the Penn State Beaver Alumni Society Endowed Scholarship.
December 12, 2011
The Center for Enterprise Architecture (EA) at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) is the beneficiary of a gift-in-kind of software materials valued at more than $1 million. The materials are being donated by alfabet, a global provider of software for strategic information technology planning and business change management.
December 09, 2011
“We are opting to put our expertise and research power to work confronting the problem of abuse,” said Penn State President Rodney Erickson. “We want to be known as a University that is doing the right thing and we have committed ourselves to being the national leader on the prevention and treatment of child abuse, so that we will have a meaningful role in fighting this horrific crime.”
December 05, 2011
Penn State alumni Cynthia Ade and Jeffrey Perrone have established the Cynthia Ade and Jeffrey Perrone Trustee Scholarship in the Penn State Smeal College of Business. With gift-matching funds from the Deloitte Foundation, a not-for-profit organization affiliated with Perrone’s employer, Deloitte, the endowment will be valued at $125,000, and its impact will also be doubled with support from the University’s Trustee Matching Scholarship Program. The scholarship will be awarded annually to support students with financial need who represent minority populations.
December 01, 2011
Penn State New Kensington recently unveiled the newest addition to its expanding athletics facilities—an outdoor artificial practice green. “During down time between classes or before practice, the players can work on their short games,” said Bill Woodard, men’s and women’s golf coach and alumni and public relations specialist at the campus. “Great benefits are derived from just putting for fifteen minutes.” The construction of the practice facility was funded by a $5,000 gift from the Honkus-Zollinger Charitable Foundation.
November 30, 2011
Penn State Harrisburg engineering students planning careers in the electric utility industry will have an edge on the competition when they graduate, thanks to nearly $200,000 in gifts of software, equipment, and financial support from PPL Corporation and leading electric utility suppliers. The PPL Electric Utilities Power Laboratory on campus offers students hands-on training with the same equipment utility companies use to control and protect the nation’s power systems.
November 23, 2011
Patrick and Mardelle Kopnicky, benefactors of an endowed scholarship at Penn State New Kensington, were the keynote speakers on October 25 at the campus’ annual Scholarship Reception, an event that brings together scholarship recipients and donors. The reception gives students who receive New Kensington campus scholarships a chance to meet their benefactors face to face. Campus scholarships are awarded to eligible students on the basis of academic promise, leadership qualities, community service and financial need. This year, new and returning students at the New Kensington campus earned a total of $160,000 in scholarship money. Thirty-nine scholarships were awarded to 100 students with an average award of $1,600 per student.
November 23, 2011
Penn State Beaver recently held its annual fall dinner to honor campus scholarship donors and recipients. More than 170 guests attended the event which was hosted by Chancellor Gary Keefer. The evening’s other speakers and presenters were John Feraco, president of the Penn State Beaver Advisory Board and manufacturing team leader for NOVA Chemicals Inc.; Julie Leeper, a senior communications major; Diana L. Patterson, director of development, and Daniel J. Pinchot, director of enrollment.
November 23, 2011
On Saturday, November 5, nearly 250 alumni, friends, faculty, staff and student volunteers gathered to raise money for the Penn State Greater Allegheny Scholarship Fund at the campus’ eighth annual All That’s Jazz Scholarship Benefit. By the end of the evening, the campus raised $101,293, which brings the overall total raised since 2004 to more than $475,000.
November 23, 2011
The Rocco and Nancy Ortenzio Foundation, based in Mechanicsburg, Pa., has committed $3 million to establish The Rocco Ortenzio Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine. The endowed position will enable the institution to recruit a nationally recognized leader for its newest department as it addresses the growing need throughout Pennsylvania for physical medicine and rehabilitation. “We are deeply concerned about increasing the accessibility of quality physical medicine and rehabilitative care in central Pennsylvania,” said Rocco Ortenzio, trustee of The Rocco and Nancy Ortenzio Foundation. “As members of this community, our family is proud to partner with Penn State Hershey Medical Center to build on the institution’s proven ability to provide outstanding care and treatment and develop a nationally recognized department of physical medicine and rehabilitation.”
November 22, 2011
This fall, Penn State’s Society of Distinguished Alumni edged closer to its goal of funding a $1 million scholarship endowment by adding nearly $57,000 to its Trustee Scholarship in the Schreyer Honors College. Led by the Society of Distinguished Alumni’s Executive Board, $56,900 was raised in the 2011 annual appeal made to Society members.
November 14, 2011
A grand opening for the new Office for Adult Student and Veteran Services (OASV) Resource Center at Penn State DuBois was held on November 10. In a surprise announcement at the ceremony, Director of Continuing Education John Piccolo said that the center would now be known as the Anita and Bob McDonald Adult Student and Veterans Resource Center. “We want to acknowledge the fact that room 208 was originally funded through a generous donation by Bob and Dr. Anita McDonald,” said Piccolo, referring to a gift the McDonalds made while the DEF Building was under construction. Thanks to a grant from the Stackpole Hall Foundation of St. Marys, Pa., the new center has been furnished and equipped with computers and resources specific to the needs of adults and veteran students.
November 14, 2011
This past week has tested the character and resilience of the Penn State community in ways we never could have imagined. Many of you shared my shock and surprise as the reports unfolded. Yet, after this past weekend, I just want to take a moment to tell all of you how proud I am. Our students and athletes, in particular, demonstrated the best of what it means to be a Penn Stater....
Please read on.
November 11, 2011
This message, from University President Rodney Erickson, was sent November 11, to faculty, staff, and students at Penn State. Please read on.
November 11, 2011
The Board of Trustees today (Nov. 11) announced that Trustee Ken Frazier will serve as chair of the special investigation committee they announced on Nov. 8. Education Secretary and Trustee Ron Tomalis will serve as the vice chair. The committee will undertake a full and complete investigation of the circumstances that gave rise to the grand jury report. The committee will be commissioned to determine what failures occurred, who is responsible and what measures are necessary to ensure that this never happens again.
November 10, 2011
This is one of the saddest weeks in the history of Penn State. It has been difficult to comprehend the horrific nature of the allegations that were revealed in the Attorney General’s presentment last week. As a member of the Penn State community for 34 years, as a parent, and as a grandfather, I find the charges as they have been described to be devastating, and my heart goes out to those who have been victimized and their families. This is a terrible tragedy for everyone involved, and it will take some time to bring a measure of understanding and resolution to the community....
Please read on.
November 09, 2011
The Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees and Graham Spanier have decided that, effective immediately, Dr. Spanier is no longer president of the University. Additionally, the board determined that it is in the best interest of the University for Joe Paterno to no longer serve as head football coach, effective immediately.
The board has named Dr. Rodney A. Erickson, executive vice president and provost, as the interim president of the University. Tom Bradley, assistant coach, has been named interim head football coach.
November 09, 2011
All of us who have dedicated ourselves to the goals and vision of
For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students share in the emotions that have swept across the University, the Commonwealth, and the nation this week in the wake of the profoundly disturbing charges made against former and current Penn State employees. We have supported this institution because we believe that our campuses should be safe, supportive environments where young people grow and thrive, and our first concern must be the well-being of the children and families who have placed their trust in our community....
Please read on.
November 09, 2011
In academic settings, Penn State Altoona students participating in the Sheetz Fellows Program will develop their leadership skills while concentrating on traditional areas of business. On October 26, 2011, however, the first group of candidates selected for admission into the program flashed their social and communication skills during a dinner hosted by Steve and Nancy Sheetz, the visionaries for this special academic initiative.
November 09, 2011
As part of its title sponsorship of the inaugural Penn State Altoona Business Case Competition, The Hite Company, based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, presented awards to the top two teams during the closing reception and program on November 5, 2011.
November 08, 2011
Penn State President Graham Spanier announced the postponement of the 35th annual Renaissance Fund dinner, originally scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 9. Spanier asked for the postponement of the dinner, which was to honor him and his wife, professor of English Sandra Spanier, until spring.
November 08, 2011
The Board of Trustees of The Pennsylvania State University is outraged by the horrifying details contained in the Grand Jury Report. As parents, alumni and members of the Penn State Community, our hearts go out to all of those impacted by these terrible events, especially the tragedies involving children and their families. We cannot begin to express the combination of sorrow and anger that we feel about the allegations surrounding Jerry Sandusky. We hear those of you who feel betrayed and we want to assure all of you that the Board will take swift, decisive action....
Please read on.
November 01, 2011
On November 15, Penn State will celebrate the inaugural Penn State Day of Philanthropy, intended to raise awareness of private giving’s impact on the University and its students. Through a range of activities and events on the University Park campus, volunteers and staff members will honor past gifts and seek further support from alumni and friends.
October 31, 2011
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Survivors Benefit Fund (SBF) has established an undergraduate award for crime, law, and justice majors in Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts in memory of Michael Weston, a DEA special agent and Marine officer who was killed on a joint counter-narcotics mission in Afghanistan.
October 31, 2011
Gay and Bill Krause, whose $6.5 million gift is supporting the soon-to-open Krause Innovation Studio, were on hand Oct. 28 for a special ribbon-cutting ceremony in Chambers Building. The ribbon cutting signaled the establishment of the College of Education’s most advanced teaching and learning resource. The gift is the largest in the history of the College of Education. The Krause Innovation Studio will be a haven for faculty who want to take advantage of powerful tools such as digital video, Web 2.0 tools, and mobile and ubiquitous computing to support their classes.
October 27, 2011
The Office of Undergraduate Education has received funding from the Lt. Michael P. Murphy USN Memorial Foundation to create the Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Award. The scholarship will be awarded to full-time, high-achieving undergraduate students in their second or third year of studies with demonstrated financial need.
October 26, 2011
Penn State’s Senior Class Gift Committee announced today that the class of 2012 has chosen to improve and enhance the area surrounding the Nittany Lion Shrine as its gift to the University. Seniors also will have the opportunity to make a greater impact with their pledges: if members of the class of 2012 make at least 3,000 pledges by April 15 of next year, alumni couple and benefactors Ed and Helen Hintz will endow a Trustee Scholarship in the class’ name.
October 26, 2011
The Penn State Fayette Alumni Society recently made a gift of $7,500 to Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus for the society’s campus scholarship fund.
October 25, 2011
Eighty-four percent of students at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, receive some form of financial aid. Thirty percent receive Pell Grants—money earmarked by the federal government for the neediest student population. On Saturday, October 22, the college community gathered to recognize students who have received private Penn State Behrend scholarships and to thank the benefactors for their support.
October 21, 2011
On Thursday, October 13th, Penn State Wilkes-Barre held a reception to honor scholarship recipients and donors. This year, Penn State Wilkes-Barre awarded 265 students approximately $730,000 in scholarships. Students were given the opportunity to mingle with donors and personally thank them.
October 21, 2011
Wisdom was shared, perspectives exchanged, and dreams expounded upon as Penn State Altoona donors who created scholarships and awards, and the students who are benefiting from them, gathered for the annual Student and Benefactor Dinner at the Heritage Discovery Center in downtown Altoona on October 18, 2011.
October 20, 2011
Penn State has recognized William A. Jaffe, a 1960 alumnus and a leader of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, as its 2011 Fundraising Volunteer of the Year. The award, which was officially presented to Jaffe on October 14, honors the leadership of alumni and friends in securing philanthropic support for the University.
October 20, 2011
Penn State has received a significant grant from ArcelorMittal USA to support student development, recruitment, and diversity in engineering and materials. The grant was awarded through the company’s Campus Partnership Program (CPP), which provides funding to key U.S. colleges and universities to support special programs and projects particularly in the areas of engineering and technology. This is the third consecutive year that the University and ArcelorMittal have partnered to educate and train the next generation of the workforce.
October 18, 2011
Penn State New Kensington’s Chancellor’s Gala, which is a part of the University-wide fundraising effort, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, brought in more than $10,000, a new record for the three-year-old event. The total represented a 25 percent increase from a year ago.
October 17, 2011
Penn State Altoona celebrated one of the largest gifts ever designated for support of its Intercollegiate Athletics program with the dedication of the Reliance Bank Scoreboards in the Adler Athletic Complex gymnasium.
October 17, 2011
Penn State alumni and longtime benefactors J. David and Patricia Maloney Rogers have expanded their commitment to the Smeal College of Business with a $1 million challenge gift to fuel fundraising for the Rogers Family Trading Room in the Business Building. The Rogers Trading Room Challenge will match gifts made to the Trading Room Endowment dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million, with the goal of adding $2 million to the fund.
October 14, 2011
This year, Penn State Worthington Scranton awarded 160 scholarships to students enrolled at the campus. Their accomplishments, and the generosity of the donors who provide funding for those scholarships, were celebrated at the campus’ annual scholarship reception October 4, at St. Mary’s Center. More than 430 people attended.
October 07, 2011
Flexible and printed electronics, and chemical linguistic analysis, are targeted to receive $1.25 million in research grants from the Dow Chemical Co. Penn State was one of only 11 universities nationwide to receive this funding to strengthen research in scientific fields of strategic importance to Dow and the chemical industry.
October 06, 2011
Of the $9,594,880.17 the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) raised during its 2010-2011 fiscal year, more than 96.5 percent was donated to The Four Diamonds Fund, according to its Summary of Fundraising Activities, released Oct. 4. The summary report presents THON’s sources of income and expenses incurred. According to the American Institute of Philanthropy, the most highly efficient philanthropies donate 75 percent of their revenue directly to their beneficiary.
October 05, 2011
Hugh G. McRandal Jr. made an estate gift in September to establish the Hugh G. McRandal Jr. Honors Award. The endowment will fund scholarships for Penn State New Kensington students who excel in the Honors program.
October 05, 2011
The THON committee at Penn State New Kensington is sponsoring a series of events in October and November. Lauren Richards, THON chair for the campus, has set a campus goal of $60,000, the most ambitious in New Kensington’s history.
October 03, 2011
Penn State alumni and benefactors Edward R. and Helen S. Hintz have pledged to endow a $50,000 Trustee Scholarship in the name of the class of 2012 if the Senior Class Gift Committee meets a goal of obtaining at least 3,000 pledges to the class gift from seniors by April 15, 2012.
September 28, 2011
Hyundai Hope on Wheels and Hershey-Area Hyundai Dealers recently awarded Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital with a $100,000 Hope Grant to support research using immunotherapy to enhance survival and improve outcomes of stem cell transplants.
September 27, 2011
The Penn State Lehigh Valley THON team will kick off its fundraising for kids with cancer with a special event at 12:15 p.m. on October 6 at the campus in Center Valley. The event will include a basketball tournament as well as the chance for students to “Pie Your Presidents” for a donation.
September 27, 2011
Penn State Greater Allegheny donors may designate their gift to one or more of these activities: the eighth annual All That’s Jazz Scholarship fundraiser; For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students; the Sam Zabec Trustee Matching Scholarship; Greater Allegheny’s international study programs; and the Absence Literary Magazine.
September 27, 2011
Creating the Gaige Building has been a top priority for Penn State Berks and the University, and institutional funds have been directed toward the $25.6 million construction project. It would not have been possible to break ground on the facility, however, without a $3 million estate gift from Reading native and Penn State alumnus Harold Pfreimer, for whom the engineering wing will be named.
September 23, 2011
The Arboretum’s newest feature, the Joel N. Myers Sundial, was dedicated Thursday, September 22, 2011. The sculpture is one of many gifts Myers has given to the University over the years.
September 23, 2011
All proceeds benefit the campus’ Advisory Board Trustee Scholarship, which is a part of the University-wide fundraising effort, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students.
September 22, 2011
Penn State Wilkes-Barre has received one of the largest scholarship gifts in its history from two of the University’s most generous supporters, Rick and Sue Barry. The $1 million commitment from the San Rafael, Calif., couple to establish the Rick and Sue Barry Trustee Scholarship will leverage matching funds from Penn State and help more than 30 students with financial need each year.
September 22, 2011
Penn State has received a $500,000 grant from the BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania to support the National Energy Leadership Corps (NELC). Led by David Riley, executive director of Penn State's Center for Sustainability, this interdisciplinary program supports workforce development as well as the research, teaching and service mission of the University.
September 20, 2011
A new 2011 Volt will be donated by Chevrolet to the Center for Sustainability at an event to be held at 3:15 p.m. on Sept. 22, at Foundry Park located behind Hammond Building on Penn State’s University Park campus.
September 19, 2011
John Dietz, who has served as director of development for Penn State’s College of Engineering since 2005, has been appointed as an associate vice president for development at the University. Beginning September 19, 2011, Dietz will oversee central development programs, including annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, development communications, donor relations, gift planning, leadership gifts, and research and prospect development.
September 19, 2011
A $1.75 million gift from United Technologies Corp. (UTC) will help build the most advanced turbine testing facility in the United States. Officials from UTC’s Pratt & Whitney division will present a $500,000 check to Penn State President Graham Spanier on Sept. 23 as the second installment of the promised $1.75 million for the facility.
September 14, 2011
The Alle-Kiski Society of the Penn State Alumni Association awarded $3,000 in scholarships recently to five Penn State New Kensington students. The society’s scholarship, currently endowed at $51,000, is funded through the proceeds of the annual alumni golf tournament.
September 14, 2011
For those who cannot make the third annual Chancellor’s Gala at Hill Crest Country Club on Friday, Sept. 30, a special auction feature, “Buy it Now,” allows Penn Staters and friends from around the world to purchase items prior to the auction at a pre-determined price. All proceeds benefit the campus’ Advisory Board Trustee Scholarship, which is a part of the University-wide fundraising effort, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students.
September 13, 2011
Penn State Altoona received a $200,000 gift commitment from Penn State alumnus George F. Gardner and his wife, Elizabeth, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to support the college’s Political Science program. The commitment will fund curricular innovation, expand the breadth of educational programming and provide financial assistance for students who seek opportunities beyond the traditional classroom experience.
September 09, 2011
Those who missed the live broadcast of Penn State President Graham Spanier’s State of the University Address can view an archived copy of the address at
http://president.psu.edu/sou/articles/sou2011.html online. To view the full text of the address, visit
http://live.psu.edu/story/54944 online. Spanier will discuss his recent State of the University Address on the upcoming edition of “To the Best of My Knowledge.” The live call-in program will air at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14, on WPSU-TV and WPSU-FM. It also airs on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN).
September 09, 2011
Penn State’s endowment and similar funds increased by a record $392 million in fiscal year 2011, and the total market value reached an all-time high of $1.83 billion as of June 30, 2011, according to a report to the Board of Trustees today (Sept. 9) by David E. Branigan, executive director of the University’s Office of Investment Management.
September 09, 2011
The full text of Penn State President Graham Spanier’s State of the University Address, delivered Sept. 9, 2011, before the University’s Board of Trustees.
August 31, 2011
Penn State’s College of Education has received the single largest gift toward scholarships in its history from John Gilmartin, a 1965 graduate of the University. The Boston, Mass., resident has committed an additional outright gift of $1 million to the John Gilmartin Trustee Scholarship, which he created in 2003. In total, the John Gilmartin Trustee Scholarship is expected to assist more than 40 students, including many future teachers, every year.
August 30, 2011
Timothy Arcaro, a campus alumnus and professor of law at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, recently established a fund to support Human Development and Family Studies program initiatives at Penn State Worthington Scranton.
August 25, 2011
Dotty and Paul Rigby, longtime supporters of the arts in State College, have created a $150,000 charitable gift annuity that will provide equal support for the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State and Music at Penn’s Woods. The Dotty and Paul Rigby Classical Music Endowment will support classical music programming at the Center for the Performing Arts, and the Dotty and Paul Rigby Program Endowment will fund Music at Penn’s Woods programs in Penn State’s School of Music.
August 24, 2011
The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication housed in the College of Communications at Penn State has awarded 10 grants worth $55,600 for research on ethics in the practice of public relations. The Page Center is a research unit of the College of Communications created in 2004 through a leadership gift by Lawrence G. Foster, a distinguished Penn State alumnus and retired corporate vice president for public relations at Johnson & Johnson. The Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust, a private philanthropy of Johnson’s heirs, has also made a significant contribution to support the center’s work in ethics in public communications and the role of public relations in advancing corporate responsibility. Additionally, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supports the Center through a major grant it awarded in 2006 to establish and endow a research and education program in ethical leadership, including support for the Legacy Scholar program.
August 24, 2011
Alpha Natural Resources of Waynesburg, Pa., pledged $65,000 over the course of five years to support a scholarship fund for incoming high school seniors who are pursuing an associate degree in mining technology at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
August 23, 2011
Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute is offering the 2011 Chocolate Tour at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, on Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s East Health Campus on Hope Drive in Hershey, Pa. Money raised will support cancer research at the Medical Center and its Cancer Institute.
August 22, 2011
A recent gift from The Hite Company will help fund Penn State Altoona’s first Business Case Competition.
August 22, 2011
Each year, Penn State Law welcomes as visiting assistant professors a small group of scholars of exceptional accomplishment and promise as Dale F. Shughart Jr. Scholars. A 1974 graduate and strong supporter of The Dickinson School of Law, Dale F. Shughart Jr. played an instrumental role in both contributions to fund the development of new facilities and to a number of funds that support law school operations.
August 19, 2011
With a ceremony and ribbon cutting, the Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence and Rossman Park were officially dedicated Thursday, Aug. 18. A $3 million gift from Steve and Nancy Sheetz helped purchase and renovate the former Meyer Jonasson building in downtown Altoona, now the Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence, as well as Rossman Park.
August 15, 2011
The official dedication of the Kraybill Advising Center took place Thursday, July 28, 2011, in the Smith Building. A $50,000 unrestricted gift commitment from alumnus Christopher Gable, of Altoona, was given to honor the life and memory of former Penn State Altoona administrator Dr. Wilbur K. Kraybill.
August 11, 2011
Gifts from alumni and friends have pushed For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students past another important milestone: 1,000 newly endowed funds that will provide permanent resources for the University have been created since the campaign’s start on Jan. 1, 2007. The most successful fundraising effort in Penn State’s history has hit this mark as it enters its final three years, aiming toward a goal of $2 billion raised by June 30, 2014. Currently, the campaign stands at $1.38 billion in new gifts and pledges after 4.5 years.
August 10, 2011
Members of the Swenson family, friends, representatives from Harley-Davidson, and the Nittany Lion mascot, in a sidecar, will ride to the unveiling of the new engineering center at the campus, which opens for classes later this month. The reception for this invitation-only event starts at 7 p.m. with a dedication and plaque unveiling at 8 p.m. “We are fortunate to have friends who are committed to improving the quality of education for our students,” said Lisa Ann Plowfield, chancellor of Penn State York. “Their support has allowed Penn State York to build a state-of-the-art engineering facility.”
August 08, 2011
Penn State alumnus Richard “Rick” Barry and his wife, Sue, have made a leadership gift to the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State to endow the position of director of the Paterno Liberal Arts Undergraduate Fellows Program, the college’s honors and leadership initiative. Named for the University’s longtime head football coach, Joe Paterno, and his wife, Sue, the Paterno Fellows Program is a landmark collaboration between the College of the Liberal Arts and the Schreyer Honors College, offering “an education for leadership” to students who accept the “Paterno challenge.”
August 03, 2011
GIANT Food Stores raised a record $2.3 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® during its recent Our Kids golf outing and paper balloon campaign. The money will support five Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, including Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.
July 29, 2011
Through a gift-in-kind to Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, the Pinnacle Business Group Inc. and its subsidiary, the Enterprise Architecture Center of Excellence (EACOE), an enterprise architecture (EA) service provider and certification body, is contributing software and content to support research and educational initiatives in the college’s Center for Enterprise Architecture. The commitment is valued at $3.2 million.
July 29, 2011
The 2011 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State was a record-breaking event in the Lady Lions’ fight against breast cancer as the Penn State women’s basketball team donated $197,210.34 to five breast cancer charities, including Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute.
July 26, 2011
Larry and Kathryn Smith, longtime friends of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and its students, have endowed the Larry V. and Kathryn A. Smith Family Trustee Scholarship to support Erie County students enrolled at Penn State Behrend. The Smiths previously donated the funding to build the Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel in collaboration with Larry Smith’s parents, the late Floyd and Juanita Smith, whose gift built the Floyd and Juanita Smith Carillon and corresponding bell tower. The Smith Chapel and Carillon offer Penn State Behrend students a multi-faith worship space and opportunities for spiritual growth and enrichment—a need first identified by the college’s student body in the mid-1980s.
July 20, 2011
Kevin L. Rakszawski, a third-year student at Penn State College of Medicine, is this year’s recipient of the $1,500 Scott A. Gunder Presidential Scholarship from the Dauphin County Medical Society (DCMS).
July 15, 2011
A key effort in support of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students is the Alumni Association’s outreach to affiliate groups to increase their student scholarship endowment book values. In the past 18 months, the groups’ book values have increased nearly 22 percent, rising from $5 million to $6.1 million.
July 15, 2011
During a single landmark year, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students has raised $353 million in new commitments, a record-breaking annual figure that tops the amount secured during the entirety of the University’s first fundraising initiative, The Campaign for Penn State. The past fiscal year also has brought the campaign’s overall commitments past the final results of the Grand Destiny campaign that concluded in 2003. The news came today (July 15) in a presentation by the For the Future chair, Peter G. Tombros, to the Penn State Board of Trustees.
July 13, 2011
PALS denotes people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS. This year's event, held in April, raised $10678 for Penn State College of Medicine and the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s ALS Clinic to support basic science, translational and clinical research.
July 13, 2011
Penn State College of Medicine announced that it will receive additional funding through Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that enables researchers worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges.
July 11, 2011
Penn State President Graham Spanier and Professor of English Sandra Spanier have been named Penn State’s 2011 Renaissance Fund honorees. They will be recognized in November at the 35th annual Renaissance Fund dinner, according to John Walizer, president of the fund’s board of directors. Each year, the Renaissance Fund honors an individual or couple who, through a lifetime of service, has contributed greatly to the Penn State and State College communities. In its selection process, the fund's board of directors seeks to recognize individuals who have deep roots in the Centre Region, close relationships with civic and University leaders, and a commitment to philanthropy.
July 05, 2011
Students of Penn State Shenango were honored at the campus' 2011 Honors Convocation and Recognition Banquet for their outstanding academic and student life achievements and services. The recipients of this year's Eric and Josephine Walker Award, Dennis W. Bartholomew Outstanding Adult Student Award, and Ann Wansack Award were included in the ceremony.
June 28, 2011
The organization contributes annually to benefit students seeking a degree in nursing at the campus with proceeds from the group’s Festival of Trees fundraising event.
June 27, 2011
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State a $470,000 grant to support classical music presenting. The grant, the largest the center has received in its 26-year history, will fund a three-year classical music program beginning in the 2011-12 season.
June 24, 2011
A first-of-its-kind gift to the College of Communications at Penn State has created the Norman Eberly Professor of Practice in Journalism.
June 23, 2011
The gift is part of Consol’s “Financial Aid to Education” initiative, which supports the campus’ Mining Technology Associate Degree Program.
June 14, 2011
Penn State alumni Victor and Dena Hammel of Wyomissing, Pa., have committed $100,000 to create the Dena and Victor Hammel Trustee Scholarship at Penn State Berks to both assist students with financial need and honor the campus' retiring chancellor, Susan Phillips Speece. This scholarship is one of the many ways the couple is creating educational opportunities for children and students who are facing financial challenges in their local community and across the globe, Speece said.
June 07, 2011
Through the largest gift in kind in the history of Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, Armstrong Process Group (APG), a leading enterprise architecture service provider, is contributing software and content to support research and educational initiatives in the college’s Center for Enterprise Architecture. The commitment is valued at $9 million dollars, to be utilized over several years, and it will help to shape the partnerships formed by the college and the center with businesses and organizations.
June 07, 2011
Thanks to SIGMA Plastic Services, Inc., the School of Engineering at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, has received state-of-the-art SIGMASOFT® 3D Polymer System Simulation software, a gift valued at $3.7 million.
June 01, 2011
Known for their commitment to the community and their employees, Joseph and Isabel Prischak have pledged $2 million to create two new scholarships at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. Joseph Prischak announced the gift May 28, at a Conneaut Valley High School alumni reunion. With the addition of the Prischak Family Trustee Scholarship and the Joseph and Isabel Prischak Trustee Scholarship, Penn State Behrend has a total of 35 trustee scholarships.
May 24, 2011
There are more than 15,000 Penn State undergraduate students who qualify as adult learners. Like their traditional counterparts, many need help paying for college, but they have fewer financial aid options. With college enrollment of adult learners projected to increase 28 percent through 2019, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the need for financial aid for this student population will continue to grow. A $1 million gift to Penn State from the Bernard Osher Foundation is designed to help by creating a scholarship endowment specifically for adult learners.
May 18, 2011
Alumni and friends who want a simple, cost-effective way to maximize the impact and tax benefits of their philanthropy now have a new option at Penn State. The University recently launched the Pennsylvania State University Charitable Gift Fund, a donor-advised fund (DAF) that allows Penn State supporters to invest their charitable dollars and direct contributions to both the University and other nonprofit organizations.
May 09, 2011
Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates will donate a portion of proceeds from ticket sales to Penn State’s Dance Marathon during “Penn State Night benefiting THON” on Friday, June 3, at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.
May 06, 2011
Amidst a sea of smiling faces and cocktail dresses, friends of Penn State Brandywine came together at the campus’ Spring Soiree at the Merion Cricket Club in April to help make education affordable for current and future students. Together the group raised nearly $30,000 to benefit the Penn State Brandywine Student Scholarship Fund.
April 27, 2011
This month kicks off the faculty and staff portion of Penn State’s University-wide fundraising initiative, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. The For the Future campaign is directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America. The University is engaging Penn State’s alumni and friends as partners in achieving the campaign’s goals and encourages faculty and staff to join their efforts.
April 25, 2011
Penn State Altoona received a $300,000 estate commitment from Penn State alumna and Altoona resident Barbara J. Smith to support the college’s new Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) program, a groundbreaking academic initiative designed to prepare students for placement and career advancement within the railroad industry.
April 25, 2011
Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus launched the public phase of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa during the third annual Blues and White Gala scholarship fundraiser. The announcement was made by Francis Achampong, chancellor of Penn State Fayette, and Joseph A. Hardy III, volunteer chair of the campus campaign committee. Hardy issued a surprise challenge, stating that he would match campaign contributions and commitments received by June 30, 2011, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to a total of $250,000. He said, “I hope that this challenge will give the campaign a spark and spur excitement among our community.”
April 18, 2011
Penn State DuBois students who received scholarships this year had the opportunity to meet with and thank the people who help to make their education possible at the annual Scholarship Luncheon. The recent event, held at the DuBois Country Club, brought together the donors who have established or given to scholarship funds, with the students who benefit from them.
April 18, 2011
Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, raised $40,000 for student scholarships at their annual Blues and White Gala. This brings the total of Blues and White scholarship funds to $100,000 over the three years the gala has been held.
April 15, 2011
Members of the Penn State Smeal College of Business Board of Visitors have created a scholarship to recognize the service of James B. Thomas, the John and Becky Surma dean of Smeal, who has announced his resignation from the deanship and return to the Smeal faculty pending the appointment of his successor. The Smeal College Board of Visitors Trustee Scholarship in Honor of Dean James B. Thomas will support business students with financial need. So far, Board of Visitors members have contributed $70,000 toward the endowment, created through the University’s Trustee Matching Scholarship Program.
April 15, 2011
Penn State alumni Joan and David Amble have committed $1 million to create the Joan and David Amble Endowment for Leadership, Honor, and Integrity in the Penn State Smeal College of Business. The couple also is establishing the Joan and David Amble Trustee Scholarship for Smeal students with a gift of $100,000. Both graduated in 1975 with degrees in accounting.
April 15, 2011
Intercollegiate Athletics announced Friday (April 15) a leadership gift from John N. and Karen M. Davis to the Penn State Ice Campaign. The family’s gift will endow a full position scholarship for a goaltender as well as the naming gift for the men’s hockey head coach’s office. The office will be named the “Joseph M. Battista Head Coach’s Office” in honor of former Icer head coach and current Associate Athletic Director for Ice Hockey Operations Joe Battista.
April 15, 2011
LORD Corp. and the Thomas Lord Charitable Trust have committed a $500,000 gift to name the Donald M. Alstadt Advanced Chemistry Lab in the Otto Behrend Science Building at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The naming honors the late chairman emeritus of LORD Corp. Last fall, Penn State Behrend completed a $6.1 million project to create new, modern chemistry labs and support space to enhance the facility’s learning and research environment.
April 11, 2011
Several Penn State academic units will benefit as the result of a gift from the future estate of Penn State alumni Frank J. and Janet Glasgow Dudek. The couple has committed approximately $2.5 million to create endowments in support of scholarships and fellowships, graduate and faculty research, and laboratory enhancements in the College of Agricultural Sciences, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the Eberly College of Science, and the Institutes of Energy and the Environment.
April 11, 2011
A standing room crowd in excess of 300 attended the formal dedication of Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field on Friday (April 8) afternoon. Penn State President Graham Spanier, Director of Athletics Tim Curley, Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Garban, head coach Robin Petrini and lead benefactors Lee and Bill Beard were on hand and spoke prior to anointing the state-of-the-art $10.2 million softball-specific facility. “It’s great to see this wonderful turnout,” Curley said. “This facility is long overdue. This is a special day for Intercollegiate Athletics, especially for the softball program. This is a dream come true for so many people.”
March 25, 2011
The Alumni Society Board of Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts has surpassed its $1 million goal in support of the University’s For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. The overall gift includes annual gifts from all of the members since 2007 and major gifts from current and past board members and supports the needs of undergraduates, graduate students, or faculty. “Our members are thrilled that the board met and exceeded its goal of a collective $1 million to support innovative teaching, research, and service in the college,” said Beverly Sobel-Redler, president of the board.
March 23, 2011
In April 2010, Penn State Altoona Advisory Board member Carol Logan made a gift to the college in response to a request for philanthropic support of Ivyside Pride’s pending international concert tour, the first by a campus performance group. Specifically, Logan’s gift was designated to fund the passport fee of a student who could not afford to pay it. Within months, that donation helped to change a life in dramatic fashion. Logan’s generosity enabled Richie Smith to realize a dream.
March 21, 2011
In recognition of strong innovative leadership in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts and the Rock Ethics Institute (REI), Doug and Julie Rock of The Woodlands, Texas, have made two gifts totaling $10 million in honor of the current dean of the College, Susan Welch, and the current and founding REI director, Nancy Tuana. The first $5 million gift will create an endowed dean’s chair in the College and a second $5 million gift supports an endowed directorship in the Institute, which was created by the Rocks with an earlier $5 million gift a decade ago.
March 15, 2011
Two Penn State supporters are challenging other alumni and friends to join them in an innovative approach to helping students in need. Through the Microfinance Match Fund, Tom Sharbaugh, a Class of 1973 graduate, and his wife, Kristin Hayes, will provide a two-to-one match, up to a total of $100,000 in matching support, for any gifts to the fund. The fund will be used to make small, low-interest loans to undergraduates facing extraordinary and unexpected challenges in earning their degrees.
March 10, 2011
March 09, 2011
At a press conference Wednesday morning (March 9), Penn State President Graham Spanier said he will do everything in his power to fight the massive, unprecedented cuts in funding for public universities proposed in Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget unveiled on Tuesday. The governor has proposed a 52.4 percent reduction in Penn State’s appropriation, which represents a decrease of $182 million. “This is devastating news that could fundamentally change Penn State and our sister institutions in the state and have major negative impacts for the citizens of Pennsylvania and their families,” Spanier said. “Penn State’s appropriation is mostly used to offset the cost of education for Pennsylvania residents, and the direct impact of these cuts would be to undermine the support of in-state tuition for Pennsylvania resident-students. It will undoubtedly push the cost of a Penn State education out of reach for many Pennsylvania families who are already at the maximum level for loans and grants.”
February 20, 2011
Once again this year, the 46-hour Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon exceeded all expectations and raised a record $9,563,016.09 for the Four Diamonds Fund, topping last year’s record $7.8 million. Photos are available online. Visit
Penn State Live and
the THON 2011 photo gallery to view photos of this year’s activities.
February 16, 2011
The Penn State Ice Campaign took another significant step forward recently as Paul and Nancy Silvis, of State College, Pa., pledged $1 million to the project. The main lobby of the Pegula Ice Arena will be named after the Paul and Nancy Silvis family. The couple will also co-chair the Penn State Ice Campaign Committee, which will help to raise an additional $10 million to complement the $88 million contribution from Terry and Kim Pegula last fall.
February 01, 2011
In honor of longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and his wife, Sue, and to commemorate the coach’s 400th win, Nike, Inc. has made a gift of $400,000 to the University Libraries. The Paternos are longstanding supporters who have championed fundraising efforts for the Libraries since the 1980s. “Joe and I have always said that you can't have a great university without a great library,” said Sue Paterno. “We are delighted that Nike, Inc. has acknowledged this milestone in Joe’s career by supporting an institution so important to us.”
January 28, 2011
Penn State Altoona has received a gift commitment from Altoona residents Stephen G. and Nancy L. Sheetz to honor the lives of their longtime friends and fellow Penn State volunteers and supporters William J. and Judith D. Rossman. At the request of the donors, the University will recognize the commitment to Penn State Altoona’s entrepreneurial studies program with the naming of Rossman Park, the focal point of an area adjacent to the Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence along Eleventh Avenue in downtown Altoona.
January 23, 2011
In a statement released today (Jan. 23), Penn State Board of Trustees President Steve Garban announced the death and mourned the loss of William A. Schreyer, chairman emeritus of Merrill Lynch & Co Inc., and one of the University’s most prominent alumni and supporters. Schreyer, a class of 1948 graduate who served as president of Penn State’s Board of Trustees and as chair of its first major fundraising campaign, died in Princeton, N.J., on Jan. 22. Schreyer’s legacy includes the nationally recognized honors college at Penn State that bears his name.
January 12, 2011
A husband-and-wife alumni team has accepted appointments as co-chairs of Penn State New Kensington’s efforts in the University’s current fundraising initiative, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. Beginning this month, Patrick and Mardelle Kopnicky, residents of Natrona Heights, Pa., will lead the campus committee charged with securing $3 million in new support for the campus by June 2014.
December 06, 2010
Projects pioneered by Penn State’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally (LGBTA) Student Resource Center were recently awarded a new grant of $12,000 from the New York-based Calamus Foundation. The funds will further the center’s partnership with the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals and expand the services it offers to student affairs staff members at institutions across the country.
December 03, 2010
Centra Bank has made a $50,000 gift to benefit students at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. The gift provides scholarships to undergraduate students who are Fayette County residents enrolled at the campus. Since it was established in 2008, 17 students have received scholarships through the Centra Bank Trustee Scholarship.
November 23, 2010
Bethlehem, Pa., residents Tom and Karen Flad have made a $4 million estate commitment to support future talented and ambitious students in the College of the Liberal Arts and in Intercollegiate Athletics at Penn State. Of the overall total, $2 million will go to the Italian language and literature program and $1 million to a director’s fund in the Paterno Liberal Arts Undergraduate Fellows Program, both in the college. Finally, $1 million will be divided equally between the football and rugby programs, in honor of Karen’s father, Charles Meyers, and their son, Stephen, respectively.
November 08, 2010
Penn State named The Dow Chemical Co. its “Corporate Partner of the Year” on Friday, Nov. 5, at the University’s Board of Trustees meeting at the Nittany Lion Inn. Penn State President Graham Spanier presented the award to Dow in celebration of the company’s longstanding philanthropic commitment to the University. “Dow Chemical’s exemplary support of Penn State has touched an enormous variety of programs and initiatives at the University and I look forward to growing this mutually beneficial relationship,” said Spanier.
November 05, 2010
Penn State’s 34th annual Renaissance Fund dinner has raised the record amount of more than $300,000 to endow scholarships in honor of business and civic leader Lance T. Shaner, this year’s Renaissance Fund Honoree. Nearly 450 guests attended the Nov. 4 dinner at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus.
November 05, 2010
At the midway point of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, gifts from alumni and friends totaled almost $1.17 billion—more than half of the University-wide fundraising initiative’s $2 billion goal. The announcement came today during a report to Penn State’s Board of Trustees by Rodney P. Kirsch, senior vice president for development and alumni and relations.
September 28, 2010
Penn State has recognized John J. Curley, an honorary alumnus and volunteer chair of the College of Communications campaign committee, as its 2010 Fundraising Volunteer of the Year. The award, which was officially presented to Curley on Sept. 24, honors the leadership of alumni and friends in securing philanthropic support for the University.
September 22, 2010
A recent Wall Street Journal survey of leading corporate recruiters names Penn State as the leading institution for graduates best prepared to succeed in their firms. This report demonstrates how broad investment in Penn State yields dividends for our corporate partners.
September 17, 2010
Penn State President Graham Spanier announced to the Board of Trustees today (Sept. 17) the largest private gift in the University’s history — $88 million from Terrence M. and Kim Pegula to fund a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose arena and help to establish an NCAA Division I men’s hockey program.
The gift paves the way for the creation of a Division I women’s ice hockey program and enhanced figure skating opportunities.
“The Pegulas’ unparalleled generosity will make it possible for Penn State to serve our region and our student-athletes in exciting new ways,” said Spanier. “This arena will be an invaluable year-round asset for members of the University community as well as for children, youth and families throughout central Pennsylvania, and it will be an engine for economic growth and development. The Pegulas’ support also will help us build a program that extends our rich tradition of preparing student-athletes for success in competition and in life.”
September 17, 2010
President Graham B. Spanier’s State of the University video was shown at the University’s Board of Trustees meeting today (Sept. 17). The video, which replaces the speech Spanier has given in previous years, also will be broadcast on WPSU as part of the “To the Best of My Knowledge” program, and has been made available online.
September 13, 2010
Paul R. Shellenberger, professor emeritus of dairy science, and his wife, Joan M. Shellenberger, have committed $25,000 to Penn State to create an award honoring outstanding undergraduate education instructors in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
August 26, 2010
State College business and civic leader Lance Shaner has been named Penn State’s 2010 Renaissance Fund honoree, and will be recognized in November at the 34th annual Renaissance Fund dinner, according to John Walizer, president of the fund's board of directors. Each year, the Renaissance Fund honors an individual or couple who, through a lifetime of service, has contributed greatly to the Penn State and State College communities. In its selection process, the fund’s board of directors seeks to recognize individuals who have deep roots in the Centre Region, close relationships with civic and University leaders, and a commitment to philanthropy. This year’s program will be held Thursday, Nov. 4, at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus.
August 02, 2010
A first generation college student alumni couple is endowing a scholarship in the College of Education to support undergraduate students. The Terry and Carolyn Piper Scholarship in Education will support secondary education majors with superior academic records or those who manifest promise of outstanding academic success.
August 02, 2010
A Pittsburgh area couple has pledged to create a new scholarship in the College of Education. The Bill and Bunny Vitori Scholarship in Science and Math Education will recognize and support outstanding undergraduates majoring in secondary education with a science- or math- related option.
July 23, 2010
A $1 million commitment from the estate of Cathleen McFarlane-Ross, longtime friend of Penn State, will establish two endowments to benefit students and faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. McFarlane-Ross’s gift honors her late husband, industrialist Norris “Mac” McFarlane, who graduated from Penn State in 1934 with a bachelor of science degree in metallurgy.
July 21, 2010
Edward Mattil, a Penn State alumnus and former administrator in the University’s Department of Art Education, has made provisions in his estate to provide $175,000 to create the Edward and Betty Mattil Scholarship in Education and the Edward and Betty Mattil Scholarship in the College of Arts and Architecture.
July 15, 2010
Patricia Lee and her sister, Mary, played women’s basketball at Penn State in the early 1970’s, both graduating from the College of Education. Patty is establishing a scholarship in memory of Mary, who died in 2006.
July 09, 2010
For the first time in its history, Penn State has received more than $200 million in cash gifts from alumni and friends in a single fiscal year, and a record number of donors committed their support to the University during the same period. The announcement came Friday (July 9) in an annual report to the Board of Trustees by Peter Tombros, volunteer chair of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students.
June 30, 2010
Gifts from Penn State’s alumni and friends took the University to the top of a Chronicle of Higher Education survey of institutional fundraising campaigns in the first quarter of 2010. With a total of $78.6 million in commitments between January and March, Penn State’s results passed those of the other 42 colleges and universities who reported on progress of campaigns with goals of $100 million or more.
June 07, 2010
Penn State has received a $250,000 gift to endow a graduate fellowship in entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. At the request of the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, the endowment will be named the Lorenzo L. Langstroth Graduate Fellowship in Entomology, in honor of the 19th century apiarist widely considered to be the “father of American beekeeping.”
June 04, 2010
Penn State has named Altoona residents Stephen G. and Nancy L. Sheetz its 2010 Philanthropists of the Year in recognition of their exceptional commitment to the University as donors and volunteers. Penn State established the award in 2002 to recognize outstanding generosity and philanthropic leadership that benefits the University community. Penn State alumnus Steve Sheetz is chairman of the board of Altoona-based Sheetz Inc.
May 19, 2010
Following up on its seven-year pledge of $2.1 million to support student scholarships across the University, the Penn State Alumni Association allocated the third installment of $300,000 to four campuses, one virtual campus and one college.
May 18, 2010
An alumna who has had abundant personal interaction with students in Penn State's College of Communications and believes in their commitment and talent has created an annual award to recognize them for their academic excellence.
May 13, 2010
A new endowment established by Harold and Inge Marcus of Olympia, Wash., will support interdisciplinary research by faculty and students in Penn State’s College of Engineering. Valued at $10 million, the Marcus Family Endowment for Engineering Research is intended to foster research spanning engineering, science and medicine.
May 11, 2010
Penn State undergraduate Mandie Schofield is completing her first year as a Schreyer Honors College student and is one of 11 Schreyer Scholars this year who received a Trustee Scholarship established by the University’s Society of Distinguished Alumni. The Society of Distinguished Alumni (SDA) wants to make sure that financial support is available to help many more students like Schofield. To that end, its executive committee has decided to boost the society’s scholarship endowment for Schreyer Honors College students to $1 million.
May 10, 2010
Penn State alumna Tracy Winfree McCourtney and her husband, Ted, have made a $1 million gift to the University to endow a professorship in American history. The McCourtneys are creating the George Winfree Professorship in American History in memory of Tracy’s great-grandfather, who served in a Virginia regiment of the Confederate Army and who took part in Pickett’s Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg.
May 07, 2010
Penn State softball officially marked a new era on Friday, May 7, as members of the team and coaching staff, donors, Penn State President Graham Spanier and others gathered to celebrate the construction of the new Nittany Lion Softball Park with a groundbreaking ceremony. The stadium, which will feature seating for 1,084 spectators, dugouts, bullpens and a clubhouse, is scheduled to be completed in spring of 2011.
April 28, 2010
John and Elizabeth “Becky” Surma have committed $5 million to endow the Elizabeth L. and John P. Surma Jr. Dean’s Chair in the Penn State Smeal College of Business. John Surma is chairman and chief executive officer of United States Steel Corp. and vice chairman of Penn State’s Board of Trustees. Both John and Becky Surma are Penn State alumni. The Smeal Dean’s Chair endowment will provide Dean James B. Thomas and future deans with funds to benefit students by creating new scholarships, fellowships, and other educational opportunities.
April 24, 2010
With more than $1 billion raised to date, Penn State has entered the public phase of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, with a goal that will make it the biggest fundraising effort in the University’s history. At a celebratory event on April 23, 2010, President Graham Spanier announced that Penn State will aim to secure $2 billion by 2014 to ensure that the University can continue to offer an outstanding education to students from every economic background while benefiting the public through research and service. “Penn State has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of individuals to sustain their families, advance their professions, and contribute to our country’s strength,” Spanier told more than 1,000 volunteers and donors gathered at the Bryce Jordan Center. “The For the Future campaign will ensure that we can continue to prepare our students for leadership in a world vastly different from any that previous generations have experienced.”
April 23, 2010
Penn State’s University Park campus today (April 23, 2010) rang with a sound that hadn’t been heard in more than 80 years: the pealing of the Old Main bell. Newly restored and set up for public display with a gift from the class of 2009, the bell was dedicated in a ceremony within sight of the Old Main bell tower, its original home. Students of the class of 2009 voted their senior year to have the 139-year-old, 1,200-pound bell removed, restored and put on permanent display on the mall between Old Main and Willard Building.
April 23, 2010
Boalsburg, Pa. resident Fred Strouse credits 4-H with making him a successful farmer, auctioneer and entrepreneur. He has established a $50,000 endowment for Centre County 4-H.
April 22, 2010
The Terry and Denise McMillen Trustee Scholarship has been established at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus to provide financial assistance to undergraduate students enrolled at the campus. Terry and Denise McMillen have made a $50,000 pledge in support of the scholarship.
April 20, 2010
Penn State’s College of Education has received a $2.4 million commitment from Paula Donson of Anchorage, Alaska – the largest gift ever made to the college – in support of graduate students in the Department of Education Policy Studies. “I wanted the money to go to those who will bring change, innovation and new ideas into education,” said Donson, who received her doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction from Penn State in 1982.
April 02, 2010
A $1 million gift from Walter and Anne Robb, of Schenectady, N.Y., will endow the directorship of the Engineering Leadership Development minor in Penn State's College of Engineering. The new endowment will be called the Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development, and the inaugural holder of the directorship will be Richard Schuhmann, an assistant professor who currently heads the minor. The minor is an interdisciplinary program designed for engineering students who wish to supplement their major field of study with knowledge of leadership concepts, principles, practices and techniques.
March 19, 2010
Penn State has achieved 100 percent participation by its Board of Trustees in the forthcoming University-wide capital campaign, Board Chair Steve Garban reported at a meeting of the Trustees today (March 19, 2010). Gift commitments from the 32-member board, and past and emeriti Trustees, total $91.3 million.
March 03, 2010
Penn State mechanical engineering alumnus Clyde Shuman and his wife, Nancy, of Allentown, have pledged $1 million to the University’s Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering to support students, faculty and programs.
March 02, 2010
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution congratulating the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Council Dance Marathon (THON) for its continued efforts to raise funds in support of the fight against pediatric cancer.
February 25, 2010
Daniel C. Mack, head of the Arts and Humanities Library at University Park, has been named the Tombros Librarian for Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies in the University Libraries. He is the first to be named to this endowed faculty position recently created by Ann and Peter G. Tombros.
February 22, 2010
THON 2010 overall chair Caitlin Zankowski screamed and jumped around the stage as the overall committee revealed the total raised in this year’s 46-hour, no-sitting, no-sleeping event. In spite of the continuing weak economy, this year’s total reached a new record high of more than $7.8 million, surpassing last year’s total by more than $347,000.
February 18, 2010
A joint gift of $2.5 million by Ann and Peter G. Tombros and Jeanette and John R. McWhirter will support the new Knowledge Commons in the Pattee Library, part of Penn State University Libraries, and represents the largest gift in the Libraries’ history. In addition to the gift for the Knowledge Commons given jointly with the McWhirters, Ann and Peter Tombros have pledged an additional $1.4 million to enhance the Libraries’ collections in the Classics and Greek literature.