A Year in Giving

Even as the ongoing pandemic created global uncertainty, Penn State supporters showed their faith in the University’s future. Here are top stories from the Philanthropy at Penn State newsletter. To join the mailing list, please send a request to philanthropy@psu. edu. You can also look for @RaisePennState on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to stay up to date on all the ways that Penn Staters are supporting our institution.

JULY 2020

With the assistance of the Harrisburg-based Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) of Central Pennsylvania, an anonymous donor made the first major gift to Penn State’s Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Initiative. The Initiative is partnering with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and other organizations to provide educators with the tools to tackle difficult topics in their schools.

AUGUST 2020

Twenty-five years ago—halfway through their careers as Penn State faculty—Gerry and Liz Susman made estate plans to endow positions for those who would follow in their footsteps. This year, the Susmans activated those endowments early so the University can begin awarding the professorships to accomplished academic leaders in the College of Health and Human Development and the Smeal College of Business.

SEPTEMBER 2020

Penn State and Wabtec announced a new strategic partnership that builds upon a long history of collaboration between the University and the transportation industry leader. The partnership, which touches areas across the institution, includes philanthropic support for Penn State Behrend’s science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) camp for middle school girls.

OCTOBER 2020

Although College of Engineering alumnus David P. Stone died in 2018, his passionate love for music lives on through a faculty chair in the School of Music, endowed this year through his estate. Before his death, Stone also named the Olsan-Stone Terrace at the school’s new Recital Hall in honor of his parents.

NOVEMBER 2020

Building upon her own work as a leader at Dell, Smeal College of Business graduate Karen Hughes Quintos and her husband, Tony, made a $1 million commitment to create both an Educational Equity Scholarship and a program fund to ensure that the college’s students are prepared to foster a welcoming and inclusive culture in the workplace.

DECEMBER 2020

Even as Penn Staters faced the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, they stepped up to support current and future students through another record-breaking #GivingTuesday, which raised more than $990,000 and secured more than 10,400 gifts for priorities across the University, from support for THON and the Blue Band to programs focused on sustainability and health care.

JANUARY 2021

Veterans are valued members of the University community, and Penn State Brandywine supporters Jack and Carol Wixted created a scholarship for those former servicemembers and their families who choose to enroll at the campus. The scholarship complements other Brandywine initiatives, including a new center, intended to support and honor military students.

FEBRUARY 2021

Fueled by his struggle to find a community as a gay student at Penn State in the early 1980s, College of Agricultural Sciences graduate Jeff Conrad is helping to ease the way for today’s LGBTQ+ Penn Staters through a $1 million gift to renovate the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity’s physical space, which has been renamed in his honor.

MARCH 2021

In March 2020, senior student-athletes experienced the heartbreaking cancellation of their final collegiate season. A year later, Intercollegiate Athletics announced that thanks to the generosity of alumni and fans, nineteen of those students had received support to return and complete their Penn State sports careers through the Returning Senior Fund.

APRIL 2021

The Engineering Ambassadors program cultivates leadership and communication skills among College of Engineering students, who use their abilities to connect with groups traditionally underrepresented in the field. Raytheon Technologies continued to provide philanthropic support for the program this year, and participants like Amanda Hildenbrand (shown here) have gone on to internships at Raytheon subsidiaries like Pratt & Whitney.

MAY 2021

Charles H. “Skip” Smith, the Penn State alumnus and philanthropist who launched construction on The Arboretum at Penn State with a landmark gift in 2007, made a new $3 million commitment to ensure strong leadership for the Arboretum far into the future. Announcement of the Smith Endowed Directorship came as the University began a search to replace the founding director, Kim Steiner.

JUNE 2021

As Invent Penn State marked five years of inspiring entrepreneurship and innovation across the Commonwealth, an anonymous donor made the largest gift to date to the Fayette LaunchBox powered by Penn State. The $250,000 commitment secured a 1:1 match from the University’s LaunchBox Matching Program, which remains in effect until the end of the campaign.