UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- 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.
"I'm very grateful for Ron and Barb's support of business education at Smeal," said James B. Thomas, the John and Becky Surma Dean of Smeal. "Their gift will put a college education within the reach of so many students who otherwise may not be financially able to attend college."
Ronald and Barbara established this scholarship because of their strong belief in the opportunities created through education and their commitment to Penn State.
"Barb and I have always encouraged younger people to pursue both formal and informal educational opportunities to enrich their lives and contribute to society," Ronald said. "Penn State provided both our son, Kevin, and I with a strong education and many lifetime learning experiences. We will always be grateful to Penn State for this positive impact as we transitioned from adolescents to adults.
"Furthermore, the recent tragic events surrounding Penn State give all of us connected with this world-class University a calling to demonstrate in our daily lives the true core values, behavior, compassion and commitment to the future of our great University, which we all love."
Ronald is a 1970 graduate of Smeal. He worked for United States Steel Corp. for 41 years in several diverse businesses and disciplines before retiring on June 30, 2010. The Sloans' son Kevin also is a Penn State alumnus, having graduated in 2004 from the College of Engineering.
The Trustee Matching Scholarship Program maximizes the impact of private giving while directing funds to students as quickly as possible, meeting the urgent need for scholarship support. In this groundbreaking philanthropic model, Penn State matches 5 percent of the total pledge or gift at the time a Trustee Scholarship is created, making funds available immediately for student awards. This University match, which is approximately equal to the endowment's annual spendable income, continues in perpetuity, doubling the support available for students with financial need.
The Sloan Family Trustee Scholarship will help the Smeal College of Business to reach its goals in For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. This University-wide effort 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 six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University's tradition of quality. The campaign's top priority is keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families. The For the Future campaign is the most ambitious effort of its kind in Penn State's history, with the goal of securing $2 billion by 2014.
For more information on the For the Future campaign, visit giveto.psu.edu.