Alumni

McKeesport Alumni Society donates $25,000 for campus Nittany Lion Shrine

University Park, Pa. -- More than five years of hard work by the Penn State McKeesport Alumni Society has literally paid off as the alumni society recently presented a $25,000 check to McKeesport Campus Executive Director Curtiss E. Porter to pay for the McKeesport Alumni Society Nittany Lion Shrine.

Installed in the fall of 2003 outside of the newly completed Student Union Building, the three-quarter size replica of the Nittany Lion is slightly smaller than the original lion at the University Park campus.

The McKeesport Alumni Society Nittany Lion Shrine has quickly become the "centerpiece of campus and has already become part of the fabric of the campus," according to Porter.

The McKeesport Alumni Society initiated the "Bring the Lion Home" campaign in the spring of 2000 to raise $25,000. The substantial pledge and subsequent donation paid for the construction and installation of the Nittany Lion Shrine on the McKeesport campus, and included the naming opportunity that will remain in perpetuity. The society raised the money by selling replica of the Buck Union Building, selling University Creamery ice cream and Ye Olde College Diner grilled stickies, hosting an ice cream booth at International Village in Renzie Park, and by hosting two highly successful Longaberger Basket Bingos.

Founded in 1982, the society works to connect Penn State McKeesport alumni; provide valued services for Penn State McKeesport faculty, students and the local community through fundraisers and scholarships; and uphold Penn State's mission of teaching, research and service. The stated mission of the group is "to stimulate and sustain the continued interest of all University alumni and former students of the McKeesport campus and to provide a means whereby the same may join together for the enrichment of the McKeesport campus and the University."

For more information on the Penn State McKeesport Alumni Society, go to http://www.mk.psu.edu/alumni/alum_sub_mas.htm

Last Updated March 20, 2009

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