Archive of College Gifts
MORGAN FAMILY FOUNDATION FUNDS RESEARCH IN BIO-ENERGY
University Park, Pa., December 3, 2008
The Morgan Family Foundation, of Los Altos, Cal., has committed $270,000 over the next two years to fund research at the Biomass Energy Center in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The Biomass Energy Center coordinates and facilitates bioenergy research and outreach across the University, building teams to address the complete value chain of biomass energy systems. Biomass energy or "bioenergy" refers to the use of organic materials to generate electricity, produce biofuel, or create products normally made through nonorganic methods. The foundation's gift supports a project that will partner Penn State with Dartmouth College, Iowa State University, and the environmental stewardship organization, Sustainable Conservation. [more info]
WHITING CENTER CREATES INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE ENDOWMENT AT PENN STATE
University Park Pa., November 25, 2008
Penn State has received $50,000 from the Marjorie Grant Whiting Center for Humanity, Arts and the Environment to support indigenous knowledge studies and activities. The gift will create the Marjorie Grant Whiting Endowment for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledge. The University is part of a global network of more than 20 indigenous knowledge resource centers and is the only center currently active in the United States. [more info]
DAYS COMMIT $1 MILLION TO ARBORETUM AT PENN STATE
University Park, Pa., October 23, 2008
Plans long in the making for a children's garden at the Arboretum at Penn State may be realized sooner than anticipated, thanks to a $1 million endowed gift from State College native Marcia Udine Day and her late husband, Robert J. Day, to support Arboretum programs related to the special interests of children and youth. [more info]
REDDYS CREATE AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES TRUSTEE SCHOLARSHIP
University Park, Pa., October 7, 2008
Through their longtime personal and professional involvement with Penn State, C. Channa and Usharani Reddy have seen firsthand the need for student financial support. Most recently, the Penn State distinguished professor and head of the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and his wife have given $50,000 to the College of Agricultural Sciences to endow a scholarship to assist undergraduates who have financial need. The award, named for the donors in honor of their generosity, gives first preference to students majoring in toxicology in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences. [more info]
TURFGRASS STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM TORO'S FINANCIAL AND PRODUCT SUPPORT
University Park, Pa., September 16, 2008
Penn State's turfgrass science program has received a $40,000 grant from The Toro Co. to support student activities, along with product donations that include an aerator and other Toro equipment valued at about $25,000. Toro's cash grant will help give student teams the opportunity to travel and compete in two major turfgrass events. The new aerator will be used for demonstration and instructional purposes. [more info]
HARBAUGHS GIVE $250,000 TO CREATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP LECTURE FORUM
University Park, Pa., August 28, 2008
Penn State alumnus and fund-raising volunteer Earl K. Harbaugh and his wife, Kay Harbaugh, have given $250,000 to create the Harbaugh Endowment for Entrepreneurship in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The endowment will fund the Harbaugh Entrepreneurship Forum, which will bring successful entrepreneur leaders to the University to meet with students and faculty and to participate in a biannual lecture series focusing on current and future opportunities for national and international economic investment and growth in the food and fiber business sector. [more info]
YOUNG ALUMNUS GIVES BACK TO HONOR GRANDFATHER
University Park, Pa., July 30, 2008
Many Penn State alumni, after years of establishing themselves in their careers and their lives, give back to help young students with their college costs. Benjamin Cordivano has given back, but with a difference: At age 24, he has endowed a student award, only two years after graduating from the University. [more info]
NEW SCHOLARSHIP HONORS FOREST RESOURCES DIRECTOR STRAUSS
University Park, Pa., July 24, 2008
A new Trustee Scholarship to assist students in Penn State's School of Forest Resources will honor the school's retiring director, Charles H. Strauss. Patricia Kocjancic, of Kane, and her family have committed $50,000 to endow the award.
"Our family has been connected with the forestry industry for many years, and Chuck Strauss has earned our admiration and respect," Kocjancic said. "We decided to establish this scholarship as a way of honoring him and, at the same time, helping to make sure that students who want to make forestry their career have the means to do so." [more info]
TRUSTEE'S GIFTS TO BENEFIT PA 4-H STUDENTS, RURAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS
University Park, Pa., May 14, 2008
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Outreach programs will benefit from $550,000 in gift commitments made by University trustee and agribusiness leader Keith W. Eckel. Eckel has given $50,000 to establish the Eckel Family Trustee Scholarship, which will support undergraduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences who have financial need. First preference will be given to students who are present or past members of Pennsylvania 4-H, a youth development program of Penn State Cooperative Extension. In addition, Eckel plans to endow Penn State Outreach programs in rural leadership and 4-H leadership with an estate gift of $500,000. [more info]
UNDERHILLS ENDOW AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES TRUSTEE SCHOLARSHIP
University Park, Pa., March 3, 2008
A Penn State alumni couple, Lowell T. and Lois B. Underhill, of Wilmington, Del., have given $71,000 to endow a Trustee Scholarship to benefit undergraduates enrolled in the College of Agricultural Sciences who have financial need. [more info]
HAAGEN-DAZS GIFT TO SUPPORT PENN STATE HONEYBEE RESEARCH
University Park, Pa., February 19, 2008
As the pollination season approaches in Pennsylvania and the Northeast, scientists at Penn State and elsewhere continue to seek answers to the decline of the nation's honeybees and other pollinators, which are critical to the production of $15 billion worth of crops in the United States.
To assist in this effort, a major ice cream brand has stepped up to support honeybee research and education in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. [more info]
STUDENTS INSPIRE ALUMNUS TO DONATE ADDITIONAL $100,000 TO FUND
University Park, Pa., November 15, 2007
When Penn State alumnus George L. Settlemyer, of Port Royal, created a fund in 2005 to help students in the College of Agricultural Sciences pursue international study, he didn't realize at the time what an impact the students would have on him. By expressing their gratitude through letters, postcards and photos sent from around the world, the students benefiting from the fund inspired Settlemyer to contribute an additional $100,000 to the endowment. [more info]
CASIDAS GIVE $100,000 TO ENDOW TWO SCHOLARSHIPS AT PENN STATE
University Park, Pa - October 30, 2007
Earl Casida, Penn State professor emeritus of microbiology, and his wife, Veronica, of State College, have given $100,000 to establish two scholarships in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The L. Earl and Veronica Casida Scholarship will benefit undergraduates who have outstanding academic achievement or promise. First preference will be given to students majoring in plant pathology. The L. Earl and Veronica Casida Graduate Scholarship in Plant Pathology will benefit academically outstanding graduate students. [more info]
PA FARM BUREAU DONATES $40,000 TO THE PASTO AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM
Rock Springs, Pa., September 14, 2007
Penn State’s Pasto Agricultural Museum will benefit from a $40,000 gift by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau to the museum’s enhancement fund. The statewide farm organization’s pledge will support the expansion of the museum building at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. [more info]
GIFTS FROM PASTO AG MUSEUM NAMESAKE TOP $750,000
University Park, Pa., August 15, 2007
A recent gift of $177,000 to Penn State's Pasto Agricultural Museum from museum namesake Jerome "Jerry" Pasto of State College has brought his philanthropy to the museum to approximately $740,000, and his total giving to the University to nearly $750,000. Pasto designated his newest gift to the museum's endowment, which provides program support for operations. Pasto, associate dean emeritus and professor emeritus of agricultural economics in the College of Agricultural Sciences, was volunteer curator of the Pasto Agricultural Museum from 1978 to 1998. [more info]
TRUSTEE SCHOLARSHIPS BENEFIT ANIMAL SCIENCE STUDENTS
University Park, Pa., May 23, 2007
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has received $100,000 to establish two Trustee Scholarships that will give first preference to undergraduate students majoring in animal sciences. Friends and family of Henry and Dona Bergfeld, of Summitville, Ohio, have pledged $50,000 to endow the Henry L. and Dona A. Bergfeld Trustee Scholarship. Larry Hilgendorf has pledged $50,000 to establish the Larry E. Hilgendorf and J. Edgar Hilgendorf Trustee Scholarship, in memory of his father. [more info]
PENN STATE FACULTY COUPLE COMMITS $100,000 FOR AG SCIENCES SCHOLARSHIPS
University Park, Pa - April 3, 2007
Students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will benefit from two new scholarships created by Paul Wangsness, senior associate dean of the College, and his wife, Sally Wangsness, former director of the University's School of Nursing. The State College couple has given $50,000 to establish the Wangsness Family Trustee Scholarship, which will assist students who have financial need. In addition, they have committed $50,000 as part of their estate plans to fund the Paul J. and Sally I. Wangsness Scholarship in Animal Sciences, with preference given to students who have both financial need and excellent academic achievement. [more info]
MINCEMOYER AG SCIENCES TRUSTEE SCHOLARSHIP BRINGS FAMILY'S PHILANTHROPY TO MORE THAN $200,000
University Park, Pa., February 8, 2007
A gift of $50,000 from Boalsburg resident Betty Jane Mincemoyer to create the Fern and Nora Kauffman and Ruth and Lee Mincemoyer Trustee Scholarship is the latest in a legacy of family philanthropy to Penn State. The scholarship, named for Betty Jane's parents and those of her late husband, former University Professor Donald Mincemoyer, will benefit undergraduates in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Altogether, the family has made gifts totaling about $209,000 to support the Penn State programs important to them. [more info]
KEMPS ENDOW PENN STATE GREATER ALLEGHENY AND COLLEGE OF AG SCIENCES SCHOLARSHIPS
University Park, Pa., January 25, 2007
Penn State alumni George R. and Ann E. Kemp of White Oak have pledged $100,000 to create two undergraduate scholarships at the University. The Wallace and Zelda Bland and Kemp Family Trustee Scholarship will support students at Penn State Greater Allegheny (formerly McKeesport) who have financial need. The George R. and Ann E. Kemp Scholarship in the College of Agricultural Sciences will support academically promising undergraduates, with first preference given to students college-wide who were home-schooled. If none are eligible, preference will be given to students in the School of Forest Resources. [more info]
University Park, Pa., December 21, 2006
Students majoring in wood products at Penn State will benefit from a new Trustee Matching Scholarship established by Joan L. and Malcolm H. Stehman. The Stehmans have committed $50,000 for the scholarship, which will assist students who have financial need. Malcolm Stehman, a 1956 Penn State graduate in wood utilization, spent his career with Westvaco, U.S. Plywood, Champion International and Georgia Pacific, retiring in 1996 as manager of eastern U.S. particleboard and medium density fiberboard manufacturing. This is the second scholarship the Stehmans have established to benefit wood products majors in the College of Agricultural Sciences, having endowed a previous award in 2001. The Stehmans, both natives of Lancaster County, now reside in Roswell, Ga. [more info]
FEHNELS ENDOW $100,000 LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SCHOLARSHIP IN AG SCIENCES
University Park, Pa., November 10, 2006
Penn State alumnus Edgar Fehnel and his wife, Dorothy Fehnel, have pledged $100,000 to endow a Leadership Development Scholarship in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The scholarship will support outstanding undergraduates who are interested in exploring various leadership styles within social, cultural, political, and organizational contexts. First consideration for the Edgar and Dorothy Fehnel Leadership Development Scholarship will be given to majors in agricultural and extension education, taking the leadership development and communication option, and who have participated in the Future Farmers of America and/or 4-H programs. Second consideration will be given to students minoring in leadership development. [more info]
MASTER FARMERS ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHES TRUSTEE MATCHING SCHOLARSHIP
University Park, Pa., October 26, 2006
The Master Farmers Association has committed $150,000 to establish a Trustee Matching Scholarship to benefit undergraduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences who have financial need. The scholarship will be named for the Pennsylvania Master Farmers Association. Established in 1927 by Pennsylvania Farmer magazine and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Master Farmer program is one of America's oldest and longest-running agricultural honors programs. [more info]
FUND-RAISING CAMPAIGN WILL ENHANCE PASTO AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM
University Park, PA. - October 12, 2006
Penn State's Pasto Agricultural Museum has for 27 years aimed to help the public understand and appreciate the way farming life used to be. However, the museum's contents have outgrown its space -- currently, only about 35 percent of its collection can be displayed at any given time. So that the museum can better fulfill its mission, the College of Agricultural Sciences has launched the $500,000 Pasto Agricultural Museum Enhancement Campaign. The museum hopes to open the newly remodeled and expanded facility during Ag Progress Days in August 2008. [more info]
HEINZ FOUNDATION GIVES $250,000 FOR SENSORY ANALYSIS LAB IN NEW FOOD SCIENCE BUILDING
University Park, Pa., May 22, 2006
The H.J. Heinz Co. Foundation has given $250,000 to Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences for a state-of-the-art sensory analysis center in the new Food Science Building on the University Park campus. The new center will be named the H.J. Heinz Laboratory for Sensory Evaluation in recognition of the foundation's gift and will provide University scientists and food industry experts with expanded space and upgraded equipment for food preparation, testing and analysis. Sensory analysis uses human senses to measure such food characteristics as taste, texture, smell and appearance consistently in a controlled environment. The information thus collected assists the food industry in addressing consumer demands and introducing new and improved products. The new Food Science Building will replace Borland Laboratory as the home of the Department of Food Science and the Creamery. The building is scheduled to be completed in June. [more info]
TORO GIVES STATE-OF-THE-ART TURFGRASS EQUIPMENT AND SCHOLARSHIPS TO PENN STATE
University Park, Pa., May 18, 2006
The Toro Co., a leading manufacturer of turf maintenance equipment, has given Penn State's Center for Turfgrass Science several gifts having a combined value of nearly $150,000. The company's gift-in-kind of state-of-the-art equipment for the University's turfgrass programs, valued at more than $128,000, will be used to train all turf students in modern irrigation technology, equipment operation and turfgrass maintenance. Toro also contributed $20,000 for turfgrass student scholarships and to send students to several national golf industry shows. The University's turfgrass science program, initiated in 1929, is among the oldest in the nation, and has made Penn State a world leader in the development and management of improved turfgrass varieties and other products. [more info]
FORMER TULANE PRESIDENT ESTABLISHES TRUSTEE MATCHING SCHOLARSHIP AT PENN STATE
University Park, Pa., May 17, 2006
Herbert E. Longenecker, a Penn State alumnus and former president of Tulane, has established a Trustee Matching Scholarship to benefit students in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The scholarship, named for Longenecker, will give first preference to students majoring in food science. Trustee Matching Scholarships, requiring a $50,000 minimum gift, are designed to keep a Penn State education accessible to all qualified students, regardless of their financial means. The Trustee Matching Scholarship program is a five-year effort to raise $100 million in private support for new undergraduate scholarships across the University. The program, launched in 2002, has a unique matching component--the University matches 5 percent of each gift annually and combines these funds with income from the endowment to increase the financial impact of the scholarship. [more info]
HEISERS CREATE TRUSTEE MATCHING SCHOLARSHIP IN GRANDSON'S MEMORY
University Park, Pa., April 11, 2006
Penn State has received $50,000 from Delroy and Jacqueline Heiser to establish the Heiser Family Trustee Matching Scholarship in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The Heisers created the scholarship, which will give first preference to undergraduates majoring in horticulture, to honor the memory of Matthew Hill, their grandson. [more info]
JANET AND FRANK DUDEK ESTABLISH EXCELLENCE ENDOWMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE
University Park, Pa., March 14, 2006
Penn State alumni donors Janet and Frank Dudek have pledged $50,000 to establish an endowment to benefit the Department of Food Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The Frank J. Dudek and Janet Glasgow Dudek Excellence Endowment will provide funds for ongoing purchases of departmental lab equipment.
Janet received her bachelor's degree in zoology from the College of Science in 1969, and in 1972 completed her master's degree in animal nutrition in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Frank received a bachelor's degree in mineral economics from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences in 1971, and both went on to receive an MBA degree from George Washington University. Having met while students at Penn State, the couple now resides in Arlington, Va., where Janet works as a private consultant for the pharmaceutical industry and Frank is a pilot for American Airlines. Janet also served on the College of Agricultural Sciences' Volunteer Committee for Penn State's Grand Destiny Campaign, is a long-time member of the Food Industry Group, and is a member of the Armsby Honorary Society, which honors alumni and friends who have demonstrated a commitment to the College of Agricultural Sciences. The Dudeks previously established a scholarship for graduate students in food science.
This summer the Department of Food Science will move into a new $46 million building, the largest of its kind in the nation. This new facility will include a medium-size food manufacturing plant, three small-scale processing pilot plants, an outreach center, a modern sensory analysis laboratory, two teaching laboratories, and many research laboratories. During the next year or two the department plans to outfit all these spaces with state-of-the-art equipment for teaching, research and outreach activities. "Janet and Frank's generous support will make such equipment purchases easier to fund," said John Floros, head of the department, "which will improve the quality of research being performed in our labs for years to come and have a tremendous impact on the educational experience of our present and future students."
COLLEGE OF AG SCIENCES FACULTY FAMILIES CREATE TRUSTEE MATCHING SCHOLARSHIPS
University Park, Pa., February 27, 2006
Penn State's multi-year effort to raise $100 million in private support for new Trustee Matching Scholarships across the University has received a major boost from several State College-area donors who have ties to the College of Agricultural Sciences faculty. New gifts from the Reddy, Zoumas, and Mincemoyer families totaling $150,000 will establish three awards in the College. "Their generosity exemplifies the commitment our faculty and staff have to helping our students succeed," said Robert Steele, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. "These Trustee Matching Scholarships will help students who may otherwise not be able to attend college." [more info]