Philanthropy Fun Facts
People's Names on Campus
Hintz, Schreyer, Palmer. You see their names all over campus. But what you may not realize is that the campus landmark you associate their names with wasn't necessarily their first gift to Penn State.
Just one example of the generosity of Ed and Helen Hintz is apparent when you walk through campus and see the Hintz Family Alumni Center. It all started with their first gift in 1957--a $2.00 contribution to the Levi Lamb Fund.
William and Joan Schreyer have made many generous gifts that have helped Penn State compete for the best students and faculty via the Schreyer Honors College. Their first contribution was a $10 gift to the College of Liberal Arts in 1960.
In 1953, forty-eight years before H. Campbell Stuckeman made a pledge to fund the The Stuckeman Family Building for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), he made his first annual gift.
The Eberly family has been very loyal and generous to Penn State. It began with Robert E. Eberly's first gift of $10 to the College of Science in 1955. The Eberly College of Science, and Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, now bear the family's name.
Jeanne Claycomb Berkey made her first gift to the University in 1987 when she contributed $500 to the University Libraries. A 1948 graduate, she and her husband, Earl, were enjoying ice cream at the Creamery when they saw a sign asking for donations. Spring 2006 marks the opening of the Berkey Creamery, located in the Food Sciences Building.
The Smeal College of Business was named in 1990 to honor Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal who both graduated from Penn State in 1942. At the time, the Smeals' $10 million gift for the College of Business was the largest
individual donation in the University's history. Their first philanthropic gift to the University was a $5.00 contribution to the College of Liberal Arts in 1953.
Barbara Palmer and her late husband, James, began supporting the Museum of Art at Penn State in 1971. In 1986, they made a generous gift for which the museum was renames the Palmer Museum of Art.