UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) announces the founding of the Murchison Family Trustee Scholarship, made possible by a gift of $100,000 to Penn State. Open to college of IST undergraduate students in financial need, the Murchison Family Trustee Scholarship is first awarded to eligible students from the state of New York.
A 1991 industrial engineering alumnus, Rod Murchison has devoted his professional career to developing market-leading data networking and security solutions. Currently, he serves as the vice president of Tripwire Inc., delivering advanced threat protection, security and compliance solutions to more than 9,000 organizations worldwide.
With more than 50 scholarships offered at IST, the college joins Penn State in a commitment to top-notch, affordable education. Giving preference to students from New York State allows the Murchison Family Trustee Scholarship to focus on the particular challenges faced by non-resident students, including higher tuition.
Founded in 1997, the College of Information Sciences and Technology was created to educate students and prepare leaders in the fast-paced, rapidly growing fields of technology. From network concerns faced in the health care industry, to privacy needs of corporations and small business, to matters of national security and cyber warfare, IST students learn to harness their powers of creativity and agile thinking to solve the problems of today, and innovate for tomorrow.
With the generous support of scholarships and awards like the Murchison Family Trustee Scholarship, IST students have achieved an average job placement rate of 86 percent since 2007, with an average starting salary of more than $64,000 in 2014.
Penn State will contribute annual additions to the Murchison Family Trustee Scholarship totaling 5 percent of the initial fund, and will match at 5 percent any additional gifts made toward the scholarship.