University Park, Pa. -- The Penn State Alumni Association will make a $300,000 gift to the Penn State College of Medicine's "Match Day" program, a day when fourth-year medical students learn into which residency program they are accepted.
The Alumni Association's contribution comes from its Margin of Excellence Fund, created in 2000 as a permanent endowment to support a major gift every year to the University. This $300,000 endowment will be used by the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the College of Medicine to support events that engage medical students and alumni during that important day, including the annual "Match Day" Dinner.
"The Penn State College of Medicine trains more than 500 medical students each year. 'Match Day' is one of the most important days for graduating medical students as they find out their future residency program. It is a natural fit that as these medical students graduate into the ranks of Penn State alumni, the Alumni Association will be there supporting them, " said Lewis H. Gold '59, president of the Alumni Association. "I'd like to thank our Margin of Excellence Committee composed of Alumni Council volunteers and chaired by Vice President David C. Han '88, '05g, who recommended the gift from among four proposals."
This year, the Margin of Excellence Committee focused exclusively on the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, in an effort to help complete its fundraising campaign, which is part of the University's "Investing in People" initiative. This fundraising initiative for Penn State Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine went over its $135 million goal last month with a $25 million gift from Highmark Inc.
"Match Day is one of the highlights of a medical student's experience at the Penn State College of Medicine," said Harold L. Paz, Penn State's senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the Penn State College of Medicine, and chief executive officer of the Hershey Medical Center. "We are extraordinarily pleased to be the recipient of such a generous gift from the Alumni Association and know that the funds will allow us to expand our support for this meaningful day for our students."
Since the initial gift from the Margin of Excellence Fund in 2001, the Alumni Association has donated $1.9 million to the University from its "Margin of Excellence" fund. Recent Margin of Excellence gifts have gone to establishing endowments for the First-Year Enrichment Program for the Morgan Athletic Support Center (2006), Education Abroad Scholarships (2005), Student Discovery Undergraduate Research program (2004), and a Trustee Scholarship (2003). Other "Margin of Excellence" gifts have been used to help build the Blue Band practice facility (2002), endow undergraduate scholarships for Commonwealth campuses (2001) and contribute to new lighting for the Mall at University Park (2001). All told, the Alumni Association has contributed more than $12 million to Penn State since 1988.
With more than 159,000 members, the Penn State Alumni Association is the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world. Established in 1870, the Alumni Association strives to connect alumni to the University and to each other, provide valuable benefits to members and support the University's mission of teaching, research and service. The Penn State Alumni Association organizes hundreds of annual events and programs designed to inform, involve and inspire Penn State alumni. For more information on the Alumni Association, go to http://www.alumni.psu.edu/ online.