University Park, Pa. -- Pursuing a longtime quest to foster academic collaboration in the education of architects and landscape architects, a Penn State alumnus has committed $20 million to encourage even more cross-disciplinary learning opportunities for students in the two programs.
H. Campbell "Cal" Stuckeman, of Pittsburgh, graduated from the University in 1937 with a bachelor's degree in architecture. His gift will create endowments to support three broad purposes:
-- Create chairs and professorships for faculty and visiting professionals who have a strong combination of design expertise, record of collaborating with other disciplines, and a passion for teaching;
-- Create new or enhance existing interdisciplinary and international teaching and research initiatives;
-- Strengthen the Stuckeman Endowment for Design Computing so that the architecture and landscape architecture curricula remain leaders among their peer institutions.
Penn State President Graham B. Spanier will recommend to the Board of Trustees that the H. Campbell and Eleanor R. Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture be named for the donor and his late wife.
"Cal Stuckeman's latest gift is the culmination of a visionary philanthropic plan he and Eleanor set in motion many years ago to make architecture and landscape architecture the top-ranked programs of their kind in the nation," said Spanier. "We are deeply grateful for that vision, and pleased that Cal has taken his place among the University's most generous benefactors."
The Stuckemans' philanthropy to Penn State began with a modest donation to the annual fund in 1953. They now rank among the five most generous donors to the University. They provided the lead gift to support construction of what is today the Stuckeman Family Building, opened in 2004, which created the finest teaching spaces in the nation for the architecture and landscape architecture departments, and brought them in physical proximity to the other academic components of the College of Arts and Architecture. The Stuckemans also provided major funding for a center that integrates design computing with the traditional design studio, while providing state-of-the-art hardware and software for architecture and landscape architecture students.
"My family has been associated with Penn State for over 100 years," Cal Stuckeman noted. "I am very proud of this past association. This gift represents my profound interest in ensuring the future success of the design professions at Penn State and making them the very best in the country."
Barbara O. Korner, dean of the College of Arts and Architecture, said, "Cal Stuckeman's extraordinary commitment means we will have the resources to offer our students an exceptionally diverse learning environment that fosters collaborative learning in unique ways. He has helped, in extraordinary ways, to elevate the stature of our programs in architecture and landscape architecture. It's fitting that our school should bear his and Eleanor's names."
Cal Stuckeman retired as president and chairman of The Precise Corp., a manufacturer of machine tools and measuring devices. Previously, he served for 30 years with Pittsburgh-based Rockwell Corp. (later Rockwell International.)
Cal and Eleanor met at Penn State while he was an undergraduate. She passed away in 2002. He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, and the chapter house on Prospect Avenue in State College is named for him in recognition of the support he provided for its recent renovations.
Penn State in 2000 named Cal Stuckeman a Distinguished Alumnus, the highest honor it can bestow on one of its graduates, honoring his lifetime achievements in business and as a civic and community leader in the Pittsburgh area. He also served as volunteer head of the College of Arts and Architecture's segment of Penn State's Grand Destiny capital campaign, which concluded in 2003.
Visit http://www.artsandarchitecture.psu.edu/aunits/sala.html to learn more about the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the Stuckeman Family Building.