Private Giving
Penn State Intercom......July 26 , 2001

Gift of $100,000
endows advertising club

Donald and Virginia Davis of Chilmark, Mass., have given the College of Communications $100,000 to endow the Donald W. Davis Penn State Chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF).

Donald Davis, a 1942 graduate of the University's journalism program, and his wife made the gift to honor the memory of Davis' father, Donald W. Davis Sr., a longtime Penn State professor who founded the University's advertising program in 1936. The Davises previously have made gifts to fund an advertising ethics symposium, an annual scholarship and the Donald W. Davis Advertising Laboratory in Carnegie Building.

Each year, students in the Penn State Chapter of AAF prepare for and compete in the national organization's advertising competition in New York City. The annual proceeds from the new endowment will, in perpetuity, defray the chapter's costs of producing its advertising campaign book and copies for the competition's judges and officials. It also will help fund the travel and hotel costs associated with the competition for the presenters and club members.

Donald W. Davis is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of The Stanley Works, one of the largest international manufacturers of builders' hardware and tools. For the past 15 years, Davis has taught courses in leadership and ethics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a life member of the Alumni Association and has been honored with the University's Distinguished Alumnus and Alumni Fellow awards. In May, he gave the commencement address at the College of Communications' graduation ceremony.

Back