Investing In People
Spring 2007
A Message from the Chair of the National Council for Penn State Philanthropy
Downsbrough Legacy Supports Science and the Arts
Schreyers Continue Transformation of Honors Education with $25 Million Gift
Penn State Children’s Hospital Receives Two Major Gifts
Agricultural Honors Group Creates Trustee Matching Scholarship
A Message from Art Nagle, Chair, National Council on Penn State Philanthropy
Every year, Penn State does well in the usual national rankings, but our University received special recognition last fall from Washington Monthly. The magazine evaluated institutions across the country for their impact on American life. Penn State came in third, behind only M.I.T. and the University of California, Berkeley, for “fostering research, national service, and social mobility.” This recognition
reflects a university that is evolving to meet the challenges of a new century while maintaining
the values upon which it was founded.
In this issue of Investing in People, you’ll learn how philanthropy is enabling Penn State to better serve students and communities across the Commonwealth. Thanks to support from Hershey Entertainment & Resorts and Penn National Gaming, Penn State Children’s Hospital will be able to offer a better health care experience for central Pennsylvania’s youngest and most vulnerable patients. From the very beginning, Penn State has been a partner to the Commonwealth’s agricultural industry, and now the Master Farmers Association has established a Trustee Scholarship to support new generations of young people pursuing careers in the field. Penn State’s student-athletes represent our University’s values to fans throughout the region, and John and Nancy Steimer have recognized all that these young people do for Penn State with a gift to the men’s basketball program.
The most exciting and encouraging news we have to report in this issue? Penn State students are more engaged in fundraising for the University than ever before, thanks to not only Thon and the Senior Class Gift but also the new Student Philanthropy Council.
As the Investing in People era comes to a close and the University prepares for our next fundraising campaign, I hope you’ll find our students’ enthusiasm as inspiring as I do, and I hope you’ll join the newest generation of Penn Staters in supporting this remarkable institution.
Sincerely,
Art Nagle
-return to index-
Downsbrough Legacy Supports Science and the Arts
From sheep farming to scuba diving, George Downsbrough threw
himself into his interests with gusto.“My father never did anything halfway,” recalls his son Bruce.
“If he got involved in something, he became totally immersed in it.”
When the Rutgers-educated physicist, who passed away three years ago,
came to State College to head up HRB Singer in 1970, he discovered a
new passion: Penn State. Downsbrough and his wife, Margaret, became
leading volunteers and supporters of the Eberly College of Science, and
George was named an honorary alumnus of the University in 2003.
Now his family has honored his commitment to Penn State with a $3.3
million gift from his estate to create the George A. and Margaret M.
Downsbrough Department Head’s Chair in Physics, as well as $350,000
in support for Pennsylvania Centre Stage, the professional arm of Penn
State’s School of Theatre.
-return to index-
Schreyers Continue Transformation of Honors Education with $25 Million Gift
A decade after they transformed honors education at Penn State with a $30 million gift to create the Schreyer Honors College, William ’48 and Joan Schreyer have committed another $25 million to the program they describe as “the best investment we have ever made.”
Thanks to their support, the Schreyer Honors College has become a national model for educating talented students; in 2005, it earned a spot on the Reader’s Digest list of “Top 100 Innovations” for its holistic approach to scholarship and leadership. With the Schreyers’ latest gift, which makes them the top donors in Penn State’s history, the college will strengthen its emphasis on ethics, civic engagement, and international study while increasing scholarship support.
William Schreyer, chairman emeritus of Merrill Lynch & Co. and trustee emeritus of the University, says,
“Joan and I have great confi dence in Penn State and—yes, I must say it—we are bullish about its future. We hope our gift today inspires others to express their generosity to the University in the next campaign.”
- Read the full press release here.
-return to index-
Penn State Children’s Hospital Receives Two Major Gifts
Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company of Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Penn National Gaming, Inc., of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, have each committed $1 million to help build the much-anticipated Children’s Hospital at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
In recognition of their contributions, a future surgical waiting area will be named for Penn National Gaming, and recreational areas throughout the facility will be named for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. The waiting area will provide a central location for families to share and receive information regarding their children’s surgery, while the play areas will provide a place for patients and families to participate in games and activities to help provide a sense of normalcy.
Penn State Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in central Pennsylvania and the region’s only pediatric trauma center, houses 120 beds and treats more than 125,000 patients each year.
To date, $24 million in commitments has been secured for the proposed children’s hospital building.
- Learn more about the new children's hospitalhere.
- For more information on how you can make a difference in the lives of patients of today and tomorrow at Penn State Hershey, please contact the Office of University Development & Alumni Relations at (717) 531-8497.
Agricultural Honors Group Creates Trustee Matching Scholarship
The Master Farmers Association, one of America’s oldest and longest-running agricultural honors programs, has committed $150,000 to establish a Trustee Matching Scholarship for students in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Established in 1927 by Pennsylvania Farmer (now American Agriculturist) magazine and Pennsylvania
Cooperative Extension, the Master Farmers program recognizes those with outstanding farming ability,
marketing skills, family solidarity and cooperation, and civic involvement. The association has sponsored annual scholarships for undergraduates since 1967.
Master Farmers Association board member Charles Brosius ’52 spearheaded the effort to create the scholarship. A Chester County mushroom farmer, Brosius served as Pennsylvania secretary of agriculture from 1995 to 1997 and as a member of the Penn State Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1997 and 2000 to 2006. Last fall he was recognized as trustee emeritus. He has served the University and the agricultural industry in many capacities during his long career.
- For more information about the Trustee Matching Scholarship Program, contact:
Kelly Snyder
Director of Major Gifts, Undergraduate Scholarships
Steimers Boost Men’s Basketball Program with Latest Gift
John ’49 and Nancy Steimer have supported Penn State athletics for three decades. This year, John expressed his lifelong love of basketball in a new way when he and Nancy established the John and
Nancy Steimer Endowment for the Men’s Basketball Team Power Forward Position.
This latest gift refl ects their excitement about the future of men’s basketball at the University and will give Coach Ed DeChellis important resources to help him round out his squad with a top-notch student-athlete.
John’s relationship with men’s basketball at Penn State goes back to 1942, when he arrived at college and went out for the freshman team. Play was cancelled that year when World War II broke out, and John left school to enter the service. He later returned to complete his bachelor’s degree in Forestry.
“I was very happy we could help with this scholarship,” John said. “Nancy and I both feel Penn State is where we got our start and that without Penn State we would not have been as successful. Giving back is something we just enjoy doing.”