University Park, Pa. -- A $100,000 gift paid over five years from AT&T has created the first Trustee Scholarship in the College of Communications designated specifically for telecommunications students.
Along with being the first for students focusing in that field, the scholarship also represents a proactive collaboration between different units at the University. The funding was derived from a business agreement between AT&T and Information Technology Services (ITS) at Penn State.
“This is fabulous,” Dean Doug Anderson said. “It’s a wonderful example of the University’s student-centered approach, with people keeping students and their educations at the forefront of what we do on a daily basis.”
Jeffrey Kuhns, the University’s associate vice provost for information technology, who worked closely with AT&T officials on the business agreement, helped make the scholarship support a reality.
Matt Jackson, associate professor and head of the Department of Telecommunications, said, “Our students certainly appreciate the opportunity a telecommunications-specific Trustee Scholarship provides. Scholarships allow us to keep a Penn State education affordable and reward students. It’s an opportunity that will help many students each year.”
The Trustee Matching Scholarship Program at Penn State, created in 2002 by the University's Board of Trustees, aims to ensure that a Penn State education is accessible to qualified students, regardless of their financial means.
Under the program, the University matches approximately 5 percent of the principal of each gift annually and combines those funds with income from the endowment to effectively double the financial impact of the scholarship.
A $50,000 gift payable over five years or less is the minimum gift eligible for the program. Donors may designate their gift to any campus or college and may specify a major field of such as a first preference.