Gift supports College of Arts and Architecture student travel, experiential learning

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Drew Stewart Popjoy Fund for Travel and Experiential Learning in the College of Arts and Architecture has been established by Oveta Hall Popjoy in the name of her late husband, whose time as a student at Penn State shaped a productive career in architecture.

Throughout an almost 50-year marriage, Drew, who graduated in 1972 with a bachelor of architecture degree, would talk to his wife often and fondly about his time at Penn State. Whether it was about a job in the dining hall, or his love of the arts at the University, he made clear that his time at Penn State set him up for success.

But it was a semester in England and travel across Europe that Drew would say changed his life.

During the spring of 1972, when he wasn’t working in an architecture studio in London, he traveled across England, and after the semester was over, he ventured further into Europe. It wasn’t just the architecture that caught his eye. The art and its historical connection to European culture fascinated him.

Before he died in early 2024, Drew laid the groundwork with the College of Arts and Architecture for a gift that would give students in the college the opportunity to travel and experience a transformational journey similar to the one that helped shape who he was.

“Drew’s time at Penn State was never far from his mind,” Oveta Hall Popjoy said. “He had a wonderful experience at Penn State, and what we both wanted is for current and future students to also have a wonderful educational experience at the University.”

After graduating from Penn State, Drew spent more than four decades as an architect. The majority of his career was with the Oliver Carr Company in Baltimore, Maryland. He stayed with the company when it was bought out by the New York firm Tishman Speyer and remained there until he retired.

Throughout his career he stayed connected to Penn State and was philanthropically engaged with multiple units across the University, but the College of Arts and Architecture was his main beneficiary.

Shortly after Drew died, Oveta established the Drew Stewart Popjoy Fund and in the fall of 2024, she received welcome news: More than 250 students had benefited from educational trips made possible by the gift.

“This is exactly what Drew wanted. He loved Penn State and wanted to make sure that his philanthropy directly benefited the students,” Popjoy said.

In December 2024, the fund supported art history students’ travel to Paris to study the reconstruction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, led by assistant teaching professor Lindsay Cook.

Robin Thomas, head of the Department of Art History, said the fund has already provided an opportunity for students to leave learning through a screen behind and experience artwork and architecture firsthand.

“Nothing replaces the power of in-person experiences, but few programs have the resources to provide them. This is why the Drew Stewart Popjoy Fund is so amazing,” Thomas said. “It places Penn State within an elite echelon of schools that support this type of experiential learning. In short, it is truly transformative.”

Just days after Oveta learned about the Paris trip, she was cleaning a closet and found two tote bags with screen-printed images of the cathedral. With the bags was a letter thanking Drew for his support of the reconstruction efforts.

“I had no idea that he gave money to help restore the church,” Popjoy said, “and to find this out a few days after I learned that students had travelled to Paris was Drew’s way of telling me that this fund is a good thing.”

Reflecting on her almost 50 years living with a passionate Penn Stater, Popjoy said she feels closer to the University each day, and to explain those feelings, she referenced the Bible verse, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

“I feel like the Penn State students are my neighbors,” Popjoy said. “I really feel like a part of the Penn State community.”

The Drew Stewart Popjoy Fund for Travel and Experiential Learning in the College of Arts and Architecture advances the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.