University Park, Pa. -- Penn State alumnus and retired investment banker Eugene Fiedorek and his wife, Mildred Fiedorek, have given $1 million to establish the Mary and Anthony Fiedorek Trustee Scholarship in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The Fiedoreks established the scholarship to honor Eugene's parents, Mary and Anthony Fiedorek, who emigrated from Poland in 1913, and who, despite their lack of any formal education and limited financial means, insisted that all five of their children obtain a college education.
Three sons -- Joseph, Leo and Eugene -- earned degrees from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences in 1942, 1948 and 1952, respectively. Eugene Fiedorek financed his own education with summer and part-time employment while attending college. Through their scholarship, the Fiedoreks plan to make a Penn State education possible for other first-generation students.
"Gene and Millie's gift is unprecedented in the history of the college -- it's the largest gift of cash from an alumnus we have ever received, and it demonstrates tremendous foresight by the Fiedoreks," said Eric J. Barron, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. "Having struggled to put himself through college, Gene is aware of the unique difficulties that first-generation college students face when seeking a degree, particularly in light of the rising costs of higher education.
"The terms of the Trustee Scholarship Program allow us to make 5 percent of the Fiedoreks' gift immediately available to our students. In fact, the college has just awarded $50,000 in Fiedorek Trustee Scholarships to financially needy undergraduate students for the 2004 spring semester, so our students are already feeling the impact."
Following graduation from Penn State in 1952 with an undergraduate degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering, Eugene Fiedorek had a successful career in the oil and gas industry. He worked initially for Shell Oil Co. and eventually for the Republic National Bank of Dallas for 23 years, the last 10 of which he served as executive vice president and managing director of its energy department. In 1988, he founded EnCap Investments L.C. and served as the company's managing director until its sale in 1999.
The Fiedoreks have three children and 12 grandchildren, and reside in Dallas, Texas.
The Trustee Scholarship program, launched in 2002, is a unique matching scholarship initiative aimed at keeping a high-quality college education accessible to all qualified students, regardless of their financial means. The program's goal is to raise $100 million in private support for new undergraduate scholarships across the University by June 30, 2007.
To underscore its commitment to this effort, the Board of Trustees agreed to match 5 percent of the gift with University funds, and to make these matching funds available to assist students as soon as the donor completes scholarship pledge forms and guidelines. The matching funds continue in perpetuity and are combined with income from the endowment to increase the financial impact of the scholarship.