future For the
Spring 2011
The Future Begins Now
Giving back starts early at Penn State
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The Future Depends on Scholarships. The Future Depends on You.
Nothing else we do to improve the quality of a Penn State education will matter if students and families can’t afford the opportunities we offer. Scholarships are the University’s top priority in this campaign. Every year, we lose talented, dedicated students because of the cost of a Penn State degree. Many undergraduates work multiple jobs while carrying a full course load, yet students are graduating with average educational debt of more than $31,000. These financial realities restrict the dreams of far too many students and families. With the help of our alumni and friends, we can ensure that our opportunities remain accessible for students whose means may be limited but whose ability and ambition are limitless.
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Almost 30 percent of all Penn State students are the first generation in their families to attend college, and more than 15 percent come from lowincome households. Almost 80 percent of all Penn State students qualify for and receive some form of financial aid, but only 15 percent of our students currently receive privately funded scholarships from Penn State. Among those who do receive scholarship support, the average award in 2009–2010 was just over $3,000, while tuition was more than $14,000 at University Park and more than $12,000 at the Commonwealth Campuses. The average unmet need per student was almost $7,700, a gap that is typically covered by additional loans, and the average debt of graduating seniors with loans was more than $31,000. The total unmet need among all Penn State students in 2009–2010 was more than $330 million.
You can make a gift to support students like Taunja at givenow.psu.edu. For more information about how to create your own scholarship fund at Penn State, please contact Rodney P. Kirsch, Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, at 814-863-4826 or rpk6@psu.edu.
I wanted to set an example for my children—how could I honestly tell them to complete college if I didn’t? The thought of returning to school after being away for such a long time was terrifying, and without scholarships, it would have been a huge financial burden. Thanks to the personal support of the Penn State faculty and staff, and the financial support of the John E. and Judith F. Baillis Scholarship, I will be able to reach my goals, for myself and my family. Taunja Belgrave, a mother of three, is majoring in Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State Brandywine. She hopes to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology and open her own private practice.
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A Message from Peter Tombros Many of us who follow the news about our University were thrilled by this recent headline: “Penn State Doctoral Programs Gain Top Outcomes in National Rankings.” A 2010 survey by the National Research Council (NRC), which evaluated programs in 62 fields at 212 institutions, placed Penn State at or near the top in more than two dozen disciplines—not only in the sciences, where we now rank among the best ten institutions, public or private, nationwide, but also in subjects ranging from anthropology to kinesiology. The NRC rankings, which consider faculty and student achievements as well as other measures, are among the most respected in higher education, and they confirm what we’ve been told by undergraduate education studies, corporate recruiters, and countless other sources: Penn State is a leader. That success wouldn’t be possible, though, without the philanthropic leadership of Penn Staters. In this issue of For the Future, our campaign newsletter, we’re highlighting some of the extraordinary individuals whose generosity and vision are shaping education, research, and service at the University. On pages 10 and 11, you can learn about leaders supporting leaders: Endowed chairs for five Penn State deans and one chancellor are taking our academic programs to an even higher level. At our Shenango campus, students are benefiting from the gift planning of two community leaders, whose story appears on page 8. Even as we mourn the loss of one of the University’s greatest fans and friends, Bill Schreyer, we are celebrating the honors college that is continuing his legacy of leadership (page 4). Above all, please don’t miss the remarkable photos and facts on pages 6 and 7, which showcase the incredible philanthropic spirit of today’s Penn State students. These young leaders are helping to create an institution that can make us all proud. I hope that you’ll consider joining together, with them and for them, in For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. Sincerely,
Peter G. Tombros Chair, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students
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A Legacy of Leadership Vision of Founder Continues to Guide Schreyer Honors College He spent a lifetime on Wall Street, but William A. Schreyer ’48, chairman emeritus of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., often remarked that the Schreyer Honors College was the best investment he ever made. Although Mr. Schreyer died on January 22, 2011, his investment in opportunities for talented and ambitious students will continue to yield remarkable returns for Penn State and for the 1,800 Schreyer Scholars enrolled each year by colleges and campuses across the University, says Christian M. M. Brady, dean of the Schreyer Honors College. “Bill Schreyer and his wife, Joan, are an extraordinary example of ethical leadership for our students and our institution,” Dean Brady says. “Through their generosity and vision, they have created an academic community unlike any other, complementing the opportunities offered in Penn State’s academic departments with the kind of experiences that will help our graduates to become responsible global citizens and leaders in every field and discipline.”
ed nationwide. Schreyer Scholars earn their degrees from Penn State’s academic colleges while enriching their education with special honors courses, one-onone work with faculty, independent research, travel for study and service, and other programs. In 2006, the Schreyers renewed their commitment to the college with an additional gift toward scholarships, study abroad and international opportunities, and programs emphasizing civic engagement and leadership. Since the Schreyer Honors College was established, its graduates have received more than 225 of higher education’s most prestigious awards—Fulbrights, Rhodes Scholarships, National Science Foundation Fellowships, and others—but Dean Brady says that the real measure of the college’s impact is the commitment of Schreyer Scholars to serving the larger world. “For Mr. Schreyer, it wasn’t enough for top students to achieve personal success,” he says. “He wanted Schreyer Scholars to be leaders, and he himself set the standard for what Penn Staters can and should strive to achieve.”
Created in 1997 with a gift from the Schreyers, the Schreyer Honors College built upon the existing University Scholars program and created a new model for honors education that has been recognized and imitatFor the Future 4
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Faces o f P hi l a n t h r o py: S ch r eye r S ch o l a r s & B r ot he r s Name: Benjamin Dodge Class Year and Major:
Sophomore Schreyer Scholar. Information Sciences and Technology with a minor in German. Scholarship Story: Since both my brother and I are currently attending Penn State, my family has multiple tuition bills. Each scholarship I earn helps to simplify the challenge of financing my college education. My scholarship support has also allowed me to freely explore academic majors and minors here at Penn State and encouraged me to give back to the University community as a student volunteer and leader in several service organizations.
Honors Experience: As
a Schreyer Scholar, I have been able to accelerate my knowledge and understanding, exploring courses I would normally never have the opportunity to take until senior year. Through the Schreyer Honors College Special Living Option, I have met many interesting students and made lasting friendships. The honors credit requirement has challenged me to become a better student who is interested in learning both inside and outside of the classroom. And the honors thesis requirement has provided me the opportunity to engage in real academic research before I graduate.
Name: Steven Dodge Class Year and Major:
Senior Schreyer Scholar. Information Sciences and Technology with a minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship. Scholarship Story: I’ve always wanted to attend Penn State because of the great experiences my parents and family friends had here. Receiving scholarships from the University provided extra motivation to be the best student that I can and take advantage of all of the opportunities that this University has to offer. My scholarships have not only helped pay for my Penn State journey but have helped make my younger brother’s Penn State journey possible too.
Honors Experience: Being a Schreyer Honors Scholar has provided me with opportunities to pursue my specific interests more deeply while working oneon-one with professors. The honors college has also allowed me to serve others, primarily through being a mentor during my sophomore, junior, and senior years. Having friends that are motivated to succeed and want to help you succeed as a student and as a person is a tremendous advantage to being a part of the Schreyer Honors College. Benjamin (left) and Steven Dodge are brothers from Reading, Pennsylvania, and the sons of two Penn State alumni.
Investing in Honors Education Philanthropy from the Schreyers and thousands of other supporters has helped Penn State to build a program that has had an impact across the University and beyond, resulting in what is widely recognized as the best honors college in the nation. Critical to Penn State’s continued success in enhancing honors education is the establishment of more endowment funds in the University’s academic colleges and campuses to support Schreyer Scholars. Through For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, donors can make a gift to a college or campus and designate their support to Schreyer Scholars enrolled in that academic unit. The University is aiming to raise $100 million in new support for Enhancing Honors Education through the campaign. You can learn more about the Schreyer Honors College at shc.psu.edu.
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Students: The Future of Philanthropy, Starting Now Across the University, students are coming together to ensure that those who follow in their footsteps will benefit from the same great Penn State experience they did— or perhaps one even better.
Breaking records has become an annual routine for the Penn State IFC/ Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Students’ year-long fundraising efforts collected an all-time high of more than $9.5 million in 2011 for The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, which benefits children and families battling pediatric cancer.
Students play a crucial role in the University’s fundraising efforts; just ask the student employees of Lion Line, Penn State’s telefund. These Penn State ambassadors speak with their peers, parents, alumni, and friends to encourage annual gifts to the University and increase donors’ support. Last year, Lion Line raised $1.7 million for academic initiatives at all colleges, campuses, and programs across the University while providing as many as 180 students with paid job opportunities each semester. For more information about the many ways that Penn State students give back, please contact Jordan Ford, assistant director of annual giving, at jaf378@psu.edu or 814-863-3935. You may also visit giveto.psu.edu/ studentphilanthropy.
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While walking across campus October 19-21, 2010, students and faculty may have noticed a few things were missing: a bench at the Allen Street Gates, the Armillary Sphere on the Old Main patio, the newly restored Old Main bell, and the Historic Street Clock by the HUB. By shrouding some of Penn State’s class gifts from view with a drape, the 2011 Senior Class Gift Committee showed what campus would be like without student philanthropy, encouraging their classmates to vote for their class contribution.
Seniors took notice: More than 2,800 voted, and the Lt. Michael P. Murphy/Penn State Veterans Plaza was named the 2011 class gift, the 150th in Penn State history. To date, the class of 2011 has pledged more than $250,000 to the project, the most ever contributed to a class gift. The plaza will honor Lt. Murphy, a Navy Seal who became the only Penn State alumnus to win the Medal of Honor, and all Penn State military veterans. Lt. Murphy received the United States’ highest military honor posthumously for his actions during the war in Afghanistan in 2005.
The 2010 Senior Class Gift—the Marsh Meadow Boardwalk and Overlook at The Arboretum at Penn State—raised more than $240,000 in student support. The boardwalk, a part of the H. O. Smith Botanic Gardens, will be constructed in summer 2011.
On the first Friday of each month, the HUB-Robeson Center ground floor is the place to be. On these Philanthropy Phridays, the students of the Student Philanthropy Council educate their peers through games and informational displays about giving back to Penn State and its impact on their student experience. Students have participated in Penn State history team trivia games, signed thank-you banners to show gratitude to donors, and created a sign displaying their personal experiences with philanthropy. Off the gridiron, Nittany Lion football players are dedicated to philanthropy in their communities. Since 2003, the Penn State chapter of Uplifting Athletes has raised nearly $500,000 for the Kidney Cancer Association through events like Lift for Life. Last year, more than eighty football studentathletes tested their endurance in the eleven-event strength and conditioning challenge before greeting fans and signing autographs. The ninth annual Lift for Life event is set for July 8, 2011, in Holuba Hall.
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Trusting in the Future One couple’s charitable lead trust creates significant opportunities for current and future students at Penn State Shenango. than when I was young, and it’s only getting harder for them to find the money to afford it. Eleanor and I are trying to do whatever we can to help.” The Chaddertons’ charitable lead trust, created through a gift of $500,000, is providing a $20,000 annuity to Penn State Shenango for ten years. Although the trust’s first distribution was only recently received by the campus, it has already provided $15,000 in scholarship support for students like Suzetta. The remaining $5,000 of this year’s gift was used to partially fund an interdisciplinary spring break service trip in March, which sent fourteen students to Urubamba, Peru, to help indigenous families replace their kitchens’ traditional open-pit fire with with clean-burning stoves and chimneys. Because the gift provides unrestricted support, it can be used at the discretion of the chancellor for the greatest needs of the campus each year. In her classes at Penn State Shenango, Economics major Suzetta McKnight is studying financial issues— but the sophomore has already learned some tough lessons on her own. “Paying for my college education has been hard for my family,” she says. “I waitress to help pay the bills, but it’s difficult to balance work and school. The scholarship I received from Paul and Eleanor Chadderton has meant that I can work less and spend more time studying. My grades have improved, and so has my family’s financial stress.”
The Chadderton’s charitable lead trust will continue to create exceptional educational opportunities for students at the Shenango campus for the next ten years. At that time, the trust’s remaining assets, including any appreciation, will be transferred to the couple’s beneficiaries at a reduced tax cost. “I know I’m not going to live forever,” Mr. Chadderton jokes. “I just want to get our estate in order and hopefully benefit future generations.”
That’s the kind of impact that Paul ’09h and Eleanor Chadderton hoped to see when they created a charitable lead trust to support Penn State Shenango in 2010. “As a father of two Penn State graduates, a business owner, and an active member of the community, I have seen firsthand the important role the University plays in our area,” explains Mr. Chadderton, retired owner and president of Chadderton Trucking, Inc., in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and a member of the Penn State Shenango Advisory Board. “Kids need more education today For the Future 8
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ways to g i v e
Wealth Transfer Strategy: Preserve Family Wealth with a
Charitable Lead Trust Gift planning allows you to give to Penn State in a way that best fits your Donor personal circumstances appreciating assets and interests, so that you can align your charitable giving with your overall financial and estate plans. Many giving options even offer you financial benefits, allowing you to make the greatest impact on current Penn State students and programs while maintaining future security for you and your loved ones. A charitable lead trust is one of the most effective ways to pass wealth to the next generation with little or no transfer taxes and also help shape the future of Penn State.
Penn State fixed annual payments charitable Lead Trust Donor’s Beneficiaries remaining assets
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You have the singular opportunity to be involved with the Penn State students and programs benefiting from your gift, and to experience your legacy in action.
With a charitable lead trust (CLT), assets valued at $500,000 or more are transferred irrevocably to The Pennsylvania State University as trustee. These assets may be cash, interest in a family business, or an income-producing property. The trust then makes annual annuity payments to the University for a prearranged term of years, providing critical support to the Penn State programs, colleges, or campuses selected by you. After the trust term ends, the remaining assets, including any appreciation, is distributed back to your children with little or no gift or estate tax consequences.
Now is an excellent time to set up a charitable lead trust because the IRS discount rate is a low 3.0 percent. The discount rate is the critical factor used in valuing future gifts to a charitable institution over a period of years, in the same way that interest rates are used to value loans. At the current low discount rate, a charitable lead trust paying an annuity of 6.72 percent of the initial trust value for twenty years results in a gift and estate tax deduction that will eliminate 100 percent of the tax liability on the assets transferred to establish the trust. If one of your goals is to maximize the transfer of assets to children or grandchildren at the lowest possible tax cost, this is an opportune time to discuss charitable lead trusts with your financial adviser.
A CLT offers advantages to both you and your beneficiaries, including: n The present value of the payments provided to Penn State reduces your gift and estate taxes. n The amount and term of the payments to Penn State can be set so as to reduce or even eliminate the transfer taxes due when the principal passes to your children.
The staff at Penn State’s Office of Gift Planning is also available to help you explore your options and design a giving plan that fulfills your philanthropic goals. Their services are professional, confidential, collaborative, and provided without cost or obligation. For more information, please contact the Office of Gift Planning (1-888-800-9170 or giftplanning@psu.edu) or visit our website at giftplanning.psu.edu.
❰ Shenango students on a trip to Peru supported in part
by the Chaddertons’ lead trust
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b u i l d in g fac u lt y s t r en g t h & C a paci t y
Leaders Supporting Leaders Chairs for the University’s top academic executives transform learning and discovery All CEOs need resources to invest in the future of their enterprises—even when the “C” stands for “college” or “campus.” In March, longtime University supporters Doug and Julie Rock honored the achievements of two Penn State leaders and created endowments that will provide those leaders and their successors with vital support: the Nancy Tuana Directorship in the Rock Ethics Institute (a program established by the Rocks in 2001) and the Susan Welch Dean’s Chair in the College of the Liberal Arts. “This gift will let us build on the outstanding progress we’ve made in our college by allowing us to develop important new initiatives in teaching, research, and outreach to the larger society,” said Dean Welch, who has led the college since 1991.“The Rocks’ support will most certainly enable us to continue on the path of national leadership among public liberal arts colleges.” The Welch Dean’s Chair is the sixth endowment of its kind at Penn State. These funds, which can be established with an outright cash gift of $5 million or more, give the University’s top academic leaders the flexibility to meet current needs while seizing opportunities to recruit top faculty and students, create new programs, and pursue a more ambitious vision for their college or campus. For the Future has asked the other Penn State leaders who hold an endowed dean’s or chancellor’s chair to reflect on what philanthropy has helped them to accomplish. The University’s goal is to establish an endowed dean’s or chancellor’s chair for each leadership position.
Ann C. Crouter The Raymond E. and Erin S. Schultz Dean of the College of Health and Human Development (established 1998) Achievements: Dean since 2007. Winner, President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration of Research and the Faculty Scholar Medal in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Use of Endowment Funds: “The Schultz Chair has allowed me to support areas that need to be nurtured in their earliest stages, such as our new academic minor in Global Health offered through the Department of Biobehavioral Health.” Impact of Gift: “This tremendous resource—the first such endowment created at the University—gives me the flexibility to address priority needs and to be innovative and entrepreneurial, and it will give all future leaders of the college the same security and value.”
Daniel J. Larson The Verne M. Willaman Dean in the Eberly College of Science (established 1999) Achievements: Dean since 1998. Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society. Use of Endowment Funds: “Funds from the Willaman Chair have principally been used to attract and/or
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retain some world-class faculty members, truly providing a margin of excellence. The chair’s funds presently support three outstanding faculty members.”
Active in the American Council of Education’s Office of Women in Higher Education and the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges.
Impact of Gift: “In the last decade, the college has advanced dramatically. A recent evaluation of researchdoctorate programs by the National Research Council puts us among the top ten institutions nationally in the basic sciences. Willaman Chair resources have been a critical part of that success.”
Use of Endowment Funds: “We have used the endowment to support such initiatives as our first-year experience programming, undergraduate research, and our student-produced national online journal of policy, government, and politics, The Dialectics.”
David Wormley The Harold and Inge Marcus Dean in the College of Engineering (established 2003) Achievements: Dean since 1992. Past president, American Society for Engineering Education. Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Use of Endowment Funds: “I have been able to purchase laboratory equipment that is vital to advancing the college’s world-class research in such diverse areas as energy storage, MRI imaging, and green design, and to support graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships that help us attract the very best students.” Impact of Gift: “This gift has allowed us to undertake key strategic initiatives that we otherwise would not have been able to pursue. Hal and Inge Marcus share our vision for the future of the college, and their gift is helping us to achieve it.”
Karen Wiley Sandler The Albert and Suzanne Lord Chancellor, Penn State Abington (established 2004) Achievements: Chancellor since 1994 and inaugural dean of Abington College (established 1997).
Impact of Gift: “The Lord Chair represents a partnership between visionary donors and the college to reach beyond the usual and bring possibilities to fruition, allowing our students to create their own success with our guidance and support.”
James B. Thomas The John and Becky Surma Dean in the Smeal College of Business (established 2010) Achievements: Dean since 2006. Founding dean of the College of Information Sciences and Technology, 1999-2006. Only Penn State dean who was also a Penn State undergraduate. Use of Endowment Funds: “With what we’ve received from the Surma Chair funds so far, we’ve already been able to fund scholarships, the promotion of the Honor Code, and other initiatives. And after a Korean Ph.D. student was injured in a car accident recently, we were able to contribute to bringing her father here to visit during her recovery.” Impact of Gift: “These are things we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise that really make a difference in the Smeal community.” To learn more about endowed positions for academic leadership at Penn State, visit giveto.psu.edu/faculty or contact Rodney P. Kirsch, Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, at 814-863-4826 or rpk6@psu.edu. For the Future 11
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Office of University Development 2 Old Main University Park, PA 16802 W E
A R E
P E N N
S T A T E
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce. U. Ed DEV 11-17
The C a mpa i g n Objec t i v es still to reach Progress
Progress to date: $1,326,860,682
Goal: $2,000,000,000 66.3%
Ensuring Student Opportunity
Students with the ability and ambition to attend the University will have this opportunity through scholarship support.
Total to date
Time elapsed: 57.8%
Goal
%
$257,467,919 $435,000,000 59.2%
Enhancing Honors Education
Students of exceptional ability will experience the best honors education in the nation.
$61,236,581 $100,000,000 61.2%
Enriching the Student Experience
Students will thrive in a stimulating atmosphere that fosters global involvement, community service, creative expression, and personal growth.
Building Faculty Strength and Capacity
Students will study with the finest teachers and researchers.
$89,562,166 $164,000,000 54.6% $118,175,254 $271,000,000 43.6%
Fostering Discovery and Creativity
Students and faculty members will come together within and across disciplines to pioneer new frontiers of knowledge.
$236,966,266 $386,000,000 61.4%
Sustaining a Tradition of Quality
Students will continue to work and study with faculty whose scholarship is enhanced by continuing philanthropic support.
$563,452,496 $644,000,000 87.5% as of April 30, 2011
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