UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Anthony D’Augelli, professor of human development and family studies in the College of Health and Human Development, has established the Anthony R. D’Augelli Undergraduate Scholarship in LGBTQ Research and Services.
D’Augelli has conducted research for more than 20 years with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) people, their families, and communities. He hopes this scholarship will support continued, thoughtful research, one of the major forces driving change and remains the primary vehicle for continuing progress among the LGBTQ community.
The Anthony R. D’Augelli Undergraduate Scholarship in LGBTQ Research and Services will support undergraduate students in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies who are involved with faculty-approved research projects or internships related to LGBTQ topics.
“It is of great importance to me to encourage research and services focused on members of the LGBTQ community,” D’Augelli said. “Enormous changes have occurred in societal perspectives about this population, but the positive changes, including the enactment of marriage equality, contrast with widespread experiences of stigma and discrimination such individuals still face.”
“This scholarship is a wonderful commitment to students,” said Doug Teti, head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. “I know this endowment will reinforce the commitment and pride our students take in work that touches the lives of real people. I am grateful for Tony for investing in the careers and futures of students who are focused on serving the LBGTQ communities.”
D'Augelli said his own experiences with LGBTQ people, their families, and their communities has depended on the dedicated work of undergraduate students with strong commitments to helping others.
“These students have helped me collect data and make sense of it, and they have inspired me to continue. They have taken risks to be involved in the research; many have moved on to careers dedicated to the LGBTQ community. Their engagement in research and in services has emboldened them to take on difficult projects with the simple goal of enhancing others’ lives,” he said.
D'Augelli said this scholarship expresses his appreciation to students considering research and service careers working with and for the LGBTQ community.
“It is my way of supporting work that can be hard but whose rewards are enormous,” he said. “Whatever legacy I might leave in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies will be continued in the careers of students helped by this scholarship. It is my way of investing in the future of my own community.”
This gift will advance "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship.
To learn more, visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu or contact Kathleen Rider, director of development in the College of Health and Human Development, at 814-863-1064 or kmr8@psu.edu.
Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day (NCOD), an annual LGBTQ awareness day. NCOD provides an opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning individuals to affirm and celebrate their identities; for allies of the LGBTQ community to show their support; and for communities to demonstrate their commitment to diversity.