DUNMORE, Pa. -- Nearly 60 years after Lloyd and Dottie Hucks' first donation to their alma mater, Penn State's Board of Trustees on July 13 honored the couple's longtime service and philanthropy to Penn State through the newly renamed J. Lloyd and Dorothy Foehr Huck Life Sciences Building. The honor recognizes the Hucks' nearly $44 million lifetime, multidisciplinary investment in innovative University research and education.
"The Hucks' philanthropy has grown into one of the most extraordinary legacies in the history of our institution, and their leadership both as donors and as volunteers has inspired their fellow Penn Staters to new levels of commitment," said Penn State President Rodney Erickson. "The naming of the Huck Life Sciences Building will create a visible reminder in the heart of the University Park campus that Penn State's achievements in the life sciences and many other fields would not be possible without these two remarkable alumni."
The Hucks met in 1940 during their first week as undergraduate students at The Pennsylvania State College, as it was known then. Following service in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Lloyd Huck completed his degree in organic chemistry in 1946 and began his civilian career as a junior chemist at Hoffmann-LaRoche. Hired by Merck & Co. in 1958 as director of marketing, he retired almost 30 years later after having served as the company's president and chief operating officer. He then served as chairman of the board and CEO of Nova Pharmaceutical Corp. until 1991.
Dottie Huck completed her degree in nutrition in 1943 during an accelerated degree program offered during the war. She worked as a dental assistant before dedicating herself to her family and to decades of volunteerism. Her service extends across the State College community and at Penn State, where she has been recognized as a top volunteer for the University Libraries and the College of Health and Human Development.
Lloyd Huck's Penn State service includes a term as president of the Penn State Alumni Association from 1975 to 1977, followed by membership on the Board of Trustees from 1977 through 1992. While on the board he served three consecutive years as vice chair and three years as chair, from 1998 through 1990, and was named an emeritus trustee in 1992. He also has volunteered as a fundraising chair for the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and for the University's Grand Destiny capital campaign.
The Hucks' philanthropy has greatly influenced Penn State's Eberly College of Science, the College of Health and Human Development, the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, the Smeal College of Business and the University Libraries. They have been leading supporters of the Life Sciences Building, Business Building and Henderson Building projects at University Park and the Biotech Institute and Cancer Institute at Penn State Hershey. Their early support of biotechnology came with their gift to the Wartik Building in the early 1980s, and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, centered in the Life Sciences Building, was named in their honor in 2002.
"Lloyd and Dottie Hucks' philanthropy has been visionary, allowing the University to become a pioneer in important emerging disciplines," said Erickson. "Their gifts will have an enduring impact at the University, and their legacy deserves an enduring physical presence."