Penn State alumnus Earl K. Harbaugh and his wife, Kay, have given $100,000 to endow the Harbaugh Scholars Program for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Their aim is to inspire faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences to develop innovative teaching and learning processes.
The college will award the Harbaugh Faculty Scholarship each spring to members of faculty who demonstrate a commitment to being creative and wish to cultivate new, non-traditional curricula. Harbaugh Scholars then have the summer to develop the new initiatives to be introduced in the fall semester. Successful proposals may be reconsidered for additional funding annually.
Earl K. Harbaugh earned his bachelor's degree in general agriculture from Penn State in 1961. He and his wife, both natives of Pennsylvania, live in St. Charles, Ill., where he is the president of Ditch Witch of Illinois and Wisconsin. Founded by Harbaugh in 1970, the company provides products, services and training for the underground construction industry.
In addition to this gift, the Harbaughs established the Earl and Kay Harbaugh Scholarship in Agricultural Sciences in 1994. He also belongs to the College of Agricultural Sciences' committee for the Grand Destiny Campaign.
The University invests endowed gifts and uses part of the annual income for the purposes designated by the donors. The remaining income is returned to the principal to protect it from inflation.
Penn State Abington has received a $500,000 gift toward the renovation of the Lares Union Building. Dorothy Roosen Diebold, a graduate of the Ogontz School For Young Women, has made a $100,000 commitment and the Diebold Foundation has made a $400,000 commitment to the project.
Also, Penn State alumnus Albert Lord has made a $300,000 gift to Penn State Abington. A $150,000 commitment will fund the Sallie Mae Atrium in the Lares Union Building. The remaining $150,000 gift will create an endowment in the Penn State Abington Business program. This endowment will support local, regional and international internships and a senior case competition for teams of Penn State Abington students and students from other colleges.
Wayne Hilinski, a senior lecturer in advertising, is no stranger to Penn State's College of Communications. Having graduated from the University with a degree in journalism in 1962, he went on to pursue a successful career as a copywriter and creative director at such agencies as DDB/Needham, McCann-Erickson and the Leo Burnett Co. In 1996, he returned Penn State, sacrificing a financially lucrative career to teach advertising courses and dedicate his life to helping students become successful and confident leaders of tomorrow's media industries.
This fall, as yet another way to give back to the University, he donated $25,000 to the college to establish Penn State's first fully endowed scholarship in advertising. Beginning next year, full-time undergraduate students majoring in advertising will be eligible to apply for the Wayne Hilinski Advertising Scholarship in the College of Communications. Each recipient will receive an annual amount of approximately $1,250. Applicants must be of sixth-semester standing, and preference will be given to students who have served as members of the Advertising Club and/or the Daily Collegian's advertising staff.
Hilinski's contribution not only provides additional funding for undergraduate support, but also contributes to the University's Grand Destiny campaign, which aims to raise $1 billion in private support during the seven-year period ending June 30, 2003. The campaign is focusing on increasing endowment funds to create more support for students, faculty, programs and special purposes. It also provides the University community with an opportunity to ensure that Penn State will continue in its efforts to attract the best and brightest students.
Hilinski is excited to have become a part of a leadership program aimed at helping students, faculty and staff receive more funding through scholarships, fellowships and other ongoing support.