Penn State’s Eberly College of Science and the College of the Liberal Arts have announced an anonymous commitment from an alumnus. Valued at a total of $200,000, it will provide funds to support the information technology requirements of faculty in each college. The endowment, which will come from the donor’s estate, is intended to enhance greater teaching and research by dedicated faculty in fields ranging from physics and biology to humanities and social sciences.
"This generous gift will enable the Eberly College to continue to foster research and discovery through enhanced information technology,'' said Daniel J. Larson, the Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College. "The endowment will assist faculty in the research and discovering of technological applications and breakthroughs that impact and benefit areas such as medicine, health care, physical sciences and the environment, in addition to interdisciplinary fields."
Susan Welch, the Susan Welch Dean in the College of the Liberal Arts, noted, "Information technology plays a key role in both social sciences and the humanities. This wonderful gift provides critical resources to enhance computational tools to improve learning and to support research that allows faculty to forge new ideas about the human condition."
The gift will help the Eberly College of Science, the College of the Liberal Arts, and the University to reach the goals of 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 campaign is engaging 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. For the Future is the most ambitious effort of its kind in Penn State’s history, with the goal of securing $2 billion by 2014.