UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. —The Quell Foundation, as part of its mission to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health, has committed $12,500 in annual scholarship funding over the next five years by contributing $62,500 to Penn State. The Quell Foundation Bridge the Gap Undergraduate Scholarships will support full-time undergraduate students enrolled or planning to enroll at the University who manifest promise of outstanding academic success, who are majoring in human development and family studies, psychology, rehabilitation and human services, or successor degree programs, and who plan to pursue a career in a field of study related to the provision of mental health services.
“The scholarships serve one broad purpose of the foundation as a whole: to help students who are either experiencing stigma related to their own mental health status or trauma related to mental health in their family to make a difference in lives beyond their own,” said Christopher Alan Calkins, chair of The Quell Foundation’s Board of Directors and outreach assistant professor and executive director of the World Campus Masters of Health Administration program at Penn State. “I would like to see the scholarships generate meaningful dialogue around ‘brain disease’ — a term that likens mental illness to any other medical issue.”
The donation from the Quell Foundation marks a longstanding relationship between its CEO and president, Kevin Lynch, and Penn State University. Lynch, a Penn State alumnus who has struggled with mental health issues, created the foundation while working on his capstone project in the Master’s of Health and Administration program through World Campus.
“Mental illness affects nearly 42.5 million Americans,” said Lynch. “If I can help lift the mask on mental illness by supporting students in this field, then I’ll feel like I have given something back for all the help I received along the way.”
Gifts from Penn State’s alumni and friends have been essential to the success of the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve the public good. To fulfill that mission for a new era of rapid change and global connections, the University has begun A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, a fast-paced campaign focused on the three key imperatives of a public university. Private support will keep the door to higher education open and enable students to graduate on time and on track to success; create transformative experiences on Penn State campuses and around the globe that tap the full potential of Penn Staters to make a difference; and impact the world through discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship. To learn more, please visit www.giveto.psu.edu.