UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State alumnus Louis Gatto and his wife, Katherine Gatto, have committed $100,000 to establish the Gatto Trustee Scholarship in the 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 $200,000 scholarship fund for undergraduates with financial need who are studying abroad.
"I'm thankful that Lou and Katherine have committed to supporting undergraduate education at Smeal," said James B. Thomas, the John and Becky Surma Dean of Smeal. "By giving first preference for the Gatto scholarship to students who are planning on studying abroad, the Gattos are removing a significant financial barrier for students who want to broaden their education with global exposure. This is an important part of the academic experience for so many Smeal students, and I'm grateful for Lou and Katherine's support in this area."
Louis Gatto is founding partner of Gatto McFerson, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based financial services and management consulting firm for veterinarians. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in accounting in 1968 and worked at Price Waterhouse & Co. in New York and First Interstate Bank in Los Angeles before starting his own accounting practice in 1977.
Gatto is founder and president elect of the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants & Advisors and serves on the board of the Animal Health Foundation of California. He also serves on the Business Advisory Board of the California Veterinary Medical Association and frequently speaks at veterinary schools and conferences. In addition to his bachelor's degree from Smeal, Gatto is a graduate of the Veterinary Management Institute at Purdue University.
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 Gatto 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.