Penn State students and faculty in agriculture and business will be among the chief beneficiaries of a $2 million gift to the University from Galen and Nancy Dreibelbis of State College. The couple targeted slightly more than half their donation to boost the Galen Dreibelbis Endowment for Excellence in Agriculture and Business Administration. They created the endowment several years ago to support scholarships, research, equipment acquisitions and other academic activities.
Galen and Nancy Dreibelbis directed the remainder of their gift to support these initiatives:
-- an endowed athletic scholarship for students who are members of the wrestling team at the 126-pound weight class;
-- the Beaver Stadium expansion, a project that will add 10,000 seats and other improvements to the stadium infrastructure in response to the growing public demand for Nittany Lions' football tickets and a more fan-friendly game environment.
-- an undergraduate scholarship for sons and daughters of members of the Amateur Softball Association of Pennsylvania or for students who are themselves members of that association. The scholarship will be named for Andrew and Margaret Loechner, who dedicated a great deal of time and effort to amateur softball in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation;
-- the Penn State Geisinger Health System, to be used where needs are greatest.
Galen Dreibelbis, a lifelong resident of the State College area, is a commercial and residential real estate developer. He also raises beef cattle on his Harris Township farm.
Galen Dreibelbis served three terms in the state Legislature (1971-77) before retiring to devote full-time to managing Nittany Gas and Oil Co., a firm which he founded in 1956 and sold in 1982, and his other business interests. His previous philanthropy to Penn State includes support for the construction of the Agricultural Arena, The Bryce Jordan Center, and program support for athletics, WPSU radio, the performing arts and the Renaissance Scholarship fund. He also served on the College of Agricultural
Sciences' advisory committee, and was the honoree of the annual Renaissance dinner in 1993. In 1994, in recognition of his many years of involvement with Penn State, the University named him an honorary alumnus.
Nancy Dreibelbis is a native of Mifflin County.
The gift is part of Penn State's Grand Destiny campaign, a seven-year effort to raise $1 billion in private support to strengthen the University's mission of teaching, research and service. The campaign involves all 24 Penn State locations and is scheduled to end June 30, 2003.
As
part of the leadership of S&A Homes, Robert and Sandra Poole have shaped
the future for thousands of central Pennsylvania home buyers. Now the Pooles
are helping to build the future at Penn State through a $500,000 gift in support
of several University programs.
Robert E. Poole is president and CEO of State College-based S&A Homes, the area's largest home builder. His wife, Sandra L. Poole, is a director and an interior design consultant for S&A.
The Pooles are endowing a faculty fellowship in The Smeal College of Business Administration, a graduate assistantship in the University Libraries and an undergraduate scholarship in the College of Engineering for a Schreyer Honors college student, and also are supporting Penn State athletics. All of the endowments will bear the couple's name in recognition of their generosity.
The Poole Faculty Fellowship in Business will provide supplementary funds to a member of the accounting department. These funds may be used for research, innovations in instruction or other scholarly activities.
The Poole graduate assistantship will provide the libraries with a graduate student who is a specialist in information technology. Students in the School of Information Sciences and Technology, or those majoring in computer science, communications or management information systems, will be eligible for the award.
Preference for the Poole Schreyer Honors College scholarships will be given to undergraduates majoring in architectural engineering or civil and environmental engineering. The Pooles will designate the purpose of their support for athletics at a later date.
A Philadelphia native, Robert Poole graduated from Penn State in 1972, majoring in accounting. He has been a co-owner and president of S&A Homes since 1982. The company is the Centre Region's largest provider of single-family dwellings and also has offices throughout Pennsylvania and in West Virginia. Long active in community activities, Robert Poole serves as chairman of the Second Mile, a charitable organization that promotes the welfare of disadvantaged children. He also is a director of Centre County Agricultural Land Preservation and co-chaired a fund-raising campaign for the State College YMCA.
Sandra Poole, a Sharpsburg native, has resided in State College since 1978. As S&A Homes' design consultant, she works with customers to select lighting, floor coverings and other interior elements, and supervises changes to floor plans.
The Pooles previous philanthropy to Penn State has included support for the construction of The Bryce Jordan Center and an endowment in The Smeal College for real estate studies. Robert Poole also serves as vice chair of the Centre Region component of Penn State's Grand Destiny campaign, a seven-year effort to raise $1 billion in private support to strengthen the University's mission of teaching, research and service. The campaign involves all 24 Penn State locations and is scheduled to end June 30, 2003.