Penn State alumni William J. “Bill” and Cynthia Fiedler Mayer of Boston, Mass., have expanded their philanthropy to the University with a gift of $50,000 to the Smeal College of Business in support of the Rogers Family Trading Room. They also have made a gift of $12,500 to the Men’s Ice Hockey Program.

The Mayers’ gift is part of the Rogers Trading Room Challenge, which was issued last year by Penn State alumni and longtime benefactors J. David and Patricia Maloney Rogers. The challenge matches gifts made to the Smeal College Trading Room Endowment dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million, ultimately adding $2 million to the fund. Income from the endowment is used to support the Rogers Family Trading Room and will provide for data subscriptions, equipment upgrades and student staff members.

"Cynthia and I have so many fond memories of Penn State,” said Mayer, “including the world-class education, tremendous athletic spirit, and total college experience. Penn State helped us build the foundation for a happy and successful life together, and we want to do our part in helping to provide the resources needed to develop the future business leaders of America, including our daughter Brittany, who will graduate next year with a degree in marketing."

Bill Mayer, a 1985 Smeal graduate in accounting, is executive vice president and senior credit officer for wholesale banking at Wells Fargo & Co., where he is responsible for the commercial bank, capital finance, equipment finance, flatiron capital and credit resolution lines of business. Cynthia Mayer graduated with a degree in marketing from Smeal in 1985. During her four years at Penn State, Cynthia played varsity field hockey and softball.

“We are very grateful for Bill and Cynthia’s gift to the college and the campaign,” said Charles Whiteman, the John and Becky Surma Dean of Smeal. “As business graduates, both Bill and Cynthia understand the significance of the Rogers Family Trading Room and the important role it plays in preparing students for their future professional careers. The Mayers’ gift will help to ensure that our students continue to gain a competitive edge.”

The Rogers Family Trading Room replicates a real-world trading experience and functions as a financial classroom and laboratory for undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers. Students in the Trading Room simulate trading, portfolio management and other finance-related activities. In addition to its role as a classroom and laboratory, the Rogers Family Trading Room is home to the Nittany Lion Fund, a $4.5 million student-managed stock portfolio. Unlike most student-managed investment funds around the country, which are backed by university endowments, the Nittany Lion Fund relies on investments from individual investors.

As an undergraduate, Bill played varsity lacrosse and club hockey for the Penn State Icers, which prompted the couple to make a gift in support of the Pegula Ice Arena at Penn State, to be completed in time for the 2013-14 season and coincide with the men's and women's hockey teams second year at the varsity level.

Prior to this gift, Bill and Cynthia established the William J. Mayer & Cynthia F. Mayer Trustee Scholarship for Smeal College students. The Mayers reside in Boston and are the parents of two daughters, Brittany and Katherine.

All gifts in support of the Rogers Trading Room Challenge and Penn State Athletics count toward Smeal College and Intercollegiate Athletics goals in For the Future: the Campaign for Penn State Students. This University-wide effort is directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America. The University is engaging Penn State's alumni and friends as partners in achieving six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University's tradition of quality. The campaign's top priority is keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families. The For the Future campaign is the most ambitious effort of its kind in Penn State's history, with the goal of securing $2 billion by 2014.

For more information or to give in support of the Rogers Trading Room Challenge, contact Todd Sloan, Smeal's director of development, at toddsloan@psu.edu.