A State College couple has pledged $50,000 to create an endowment in the College of Education. The John and Gina Ikenberry Endowment for Student Support in Higher Education will support research and travel for graduate students pursuing a doctorate degree in higher education.
Penn State's Senior Class Gift Committee invites all members of the University community to submit proposals for the 2011 class gift. Any member of the University community is eligible to submit a proposal for the gift. Gifts can add something new to campus or can help to improve or endow existing gifts.
When Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, announced the creation of the Jack and Candy Burke Trustee Scholarship in honor of the college's retiring chancellor and his wife, Penn State Behrend and the regional community responded swiftly. To date, nearly 200 faculty, staff and friends of the college have contributed $118,764 in gifts and commitments to the Jack and Candy Burke Trustee Scholarship to, ultimately, support students -- the target of the University's current capital campaign, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students.
Gifts from Penn State's alumni and friends took the University to the top of a Chronicle of Higher Education survey of institutional fundraising campaigns in the first quarter of 2010. With a total of $78.6 million in commitments between January and March, Penn State's results passed those of the other 42 colleges and universities who reported on progress of campaigns with goals of $100 million or more.
Energy entrepreneur David A. T. Donohue and his wife, Pamela, recently committed $100,000 to establish the David and Pamela Donohue Trustee Scholarship in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS). The purpose of the scholarship is to provide financial assistance to undergraduates who demonstrate need for funds to meet their college expenses with a preference for students majoring in petroleum and natural gas engineering.
Erie native Rev. J. Charles Brock and his wife, Carolyn, have committed a $2 million estate gift to create the Erie Art Metal Professorship in Integrative Humanities, the first endowed professorship in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and the Institute on the American Dream Program Endowment to support the institute that Charles Brock founded. Charles Brock is currently director of the Institute on the American Dream and senior research associate in religious studies in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Penn State has received a $250,000 gift to endow a graduate fellowship in entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. At the request of the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, the endowment will be named the Lorenzo L. Langstroth Graduate Fellowship in Entomology, in honor of the 19th century apiarist widely considered to be the "father of American beekeeping."
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State will have a new source of funding for classical music thanks to the generosity of longtime supporter and Penn State Artists Series Director Nina C. Brown. The estate of Brown, who died on March 28, has established a $100,000 Nina C. Brown Endowment for the Performing Arts. The endowment provides continuing support for presentations of Beethoven's string quartets and other chamber music at the Center for the Performing Arts.
A $100,000 gift paid over five years from AT&T has created the first Trustee Scholarship in the College of Communications designated specifically for telecommunications students. Along with being the first for students focusing in that field, the scholarship also represents a proactive collaboration between different units at the University. The funding was derived from a business agreement between AT&T and Information Technology Services (ITS) at Penn State.
Following up on its seven-year pledge of $2.1 million to support student scholarships across the University, the Penn State Alumni Association allocated the third installment of $300,000 to four campuses, one virtual campus and one college.
Jeanne Chapkovich, an alumna who has had abundant personal interaction with students in Penn State's College of Communications and believes in their commitment and talent, has created an annual award to recognize them for their academic excellence.
Boalsburg, Pa., resident Fred Strouse credits 4-H with making him a successful farmer, auctioneer and entrepreneur. "My 4-H experience taught me so much about responsibility, planning and leadership that it really influenced me throughout my life," said Strouse. "It gave me knowledge and self confidence that have helped me become successful." In recognition of that early guidance, Strouse has established a $50,000 endowment for Centre County 4-H. Funded by an immediate gift of $10,000 and a $40,000 gift annuity, he hopes his support can make a difference in a child's life.
Penn State alumni, delegates of agricultural societies and the board (representatives of business and industry endeavors) recently elected five incumbents and two new members to serve on the University's Board of Trustees.
Penn State's Board of Trustees Friday (May 14) approved an interim maintenance and operating budget of $3,799,496,000. This budget supports all Penn State operations and enterprises throughout the Commonwealth. The University adopts an interim budget each year so that it has an approved fiscal operating plan from the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, until the next year's actual budget is approved by the University's Board of Trustees.
Penn State's Board of Trustees Friday (May 14) approved the construction of a $29.1 million, LEED-certified addition to the Moore Building on the University Park campus. The addition to the building, on Fischer Road east of the Nittany Lion Inn parking deck, is scheduled for completion in January 2012. Al Horvath, senior vice president for finance and business at Penn State, said the four-story addition will provide more space for research labs for the Department of Psychology in the College of the Liberal Arts. Penn State's Child Study Center, currently located on University Drive, will relocate to this addition to unite the department in one facility.
