Penn State Intercom......September 5, 2002

Alumni support aids current students

Ten current Penn State graduate students will be the first to receive awards to support work on their dissertations from a fund created by a $1 million gift from the University's Alumni Association.

The first winners in what will be an annual competition were selected this spring to each receive $5,000 that will has been placed in their student accounts. The Alumni Association Dissertation Awards are designed to provide recognition and support for doctoral candidates who have passed their comprehensive examinations and who have had their dissertation topics approved.

This year's winners are: Heather C. McCune, art history; Brandon E. Dugan, geosciences; Sungwon Kim, materials; Shilpa Mehta, biochemistry and molecular biology; Isis K. Mullarky, pathobiology; Harihara Prasad Natarajan, management science, operations and logistics; Jennifer Schwartz, sociology; Joseph Sherwin, engineering science and mechanics; Catherine E. Thomas, English literature; and Michael A. Trakselis, chemistry.

According to Regina Vasilatos-Younken, senior associate dean of The Graduate School, graduate students who receive these awards are distinguished not only by the quality of their dissertation topics and effort but also because they have achieved recognition through outstanding recommendations from faculty members, professional awards, presentation of their work at national professional meetings and/or publications in top-ranked, peer-reviewed journals.

The $1 million Alumni Association gift for graduate student support was part of a $5 million contribution made by the association in 1997 to expand educational opportunities for students, recognize excellence in teaching and support construction of the All-sports Hall of Fame and the new alumni center.

The Alumni Association gift came from funds earned from entrepreneurial programs such as the MBNA America MasterCard, Alumni Tours and licensing agreements. Penn State's Alumni Association is the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world with nearly 140,000 members. However, membership fees were not used to make the gift.

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