Penn College

Scholarship honors former Larson Design Group leader, promotes diversity

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Inspired by the mission of the 50K Coalition, a new scholarship established at Pennsylvania College of Technology by Larson Design Group (LDG) supports diversity and honors the longtime service of the firm’s former president and CEO.

The 50K Coalition focuses on a bold national goal of producing 50,000 diverse engineering graduates annually by 2025. The Keith S. Kuzio Larson Design Group Scholarship at Penn College will be awarded to a full-time, diverse candidate studying in the architecture and engineering fields at the college. The yearly scholarship includes a summer internship.

Kuzio served for a combined total of 20 years as LDG’s president and CEO, transforming the firm into an award-winning, 100% employee-owned enterprise with a national reach. He retired in April 2020 and now serves the organization on its board of directors and as a leadership adviser.

To support the scholarship endowment, LDG hosted a campaign to collect donations and offered a 100% match for any employee contribution.

The Keith S. Kuzio Larson Design Group Scholarship will benefit Penn College students in multiple academic majors while fulfilling the admirable objective of increasing diversity in the architecture and engineering career fields,” said Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour. “We are most grateful to LDG for this generous endowment, which also honors Keith Kuzio, a long-time supporter and partner of the college.”

LDG and Penn College have a long history of collaboration. More than 150 Penn College graduates have been employed at the company over the past three decades.

The firm’s employees visit the college’s classrooms and labs several times annually to lend expertise to students. The company also provides tours of its facilities to architectural technology classes and to gaming and simulation students, with whom they have exchanged ideas for the uses of virtual reality.

Additionally, this is the third LDG scholarship at Penn College; the company also offers The Larson Design Group/Ken Larson Scholarship and The Larson Design Group/Robert W. Ferrell, Jr. Memorial Scholarship.

“Larson Design Group has been a longtime supporter of Penn College and has benefitted greatly from the talented LDG professionals that have attended the college,” said LDG President and CEO David Martin. “The scholarship is an excellent way to honor Keith and his career achievements while promoting the diverse workforce of the future needed in architecture and engineering.”

An LDG podcast focusing on scholarships, diversity and inclusion and featuring Kuzio; Terry Krezmer, LDG’s chief human resources officer; Elliott Strickland, vice president for student affairs at Penn College; and Loni N. Kline, vice president for college relations at Penn College, is available here.

Founded in 1986 in Williamsport, Larson Design Group is an award-winning national architecture, engineering and consulting firm with 12 offices in five states and a vision to elevate client relationships, enrich the careers and lives of its employee-owners, and enhance the communities in which it operates.

Anyone interested in contributing to a Penn College scholarship — or establishing one — may visit www.pct.edu/give/scholarship, email giving@pct.edu or call 570-320-8020.

For more about the college, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.

Last Updated February 15, 2021