UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Continuing a long legacy of the Penn State Alumni Association’s philanthropy to the University, the Alumni Council has pledged $10,000 in support to the Penn State Student Care & Advocacy Emergency Fund.
“The Penn State Alumni Association has a 125-year history of engaging our alumni in the life of the institution, and they know that engagement starts while our students are still here,” said O. Richard Bundy III, vice president for development and alumni relations. “This gift will make a real difference in Penn State’s ability to support our students during this pandemic, when their needs are more profound than ever. We are grateful to the Association for their continued generosity and support.”
As Penn State continues to navigate these unprecedented times, gifts to this emergency fund provide critical support to students who have been adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and its financial and health-related implications.
The Alumni Council — the governing body of the Alumni Association — allocated this gift for the Student Care & Advocacy Emergency Fund from the Association’s Margin of Excellence Fund. This endowment was established in 2000 and was created to support major gifts to Penn State.
“We believe today’s students are the foundation of our great University. This gift provides an opportunity for us to immediately help those who are struggling during this unprecedented time,” Randy Houston, 81st president of the Penn State Alumni Association, said. “We Are Penn State, and that means we take care of each other in good times and whenever challenges may arise.”
In 2016, proceeds from the Margin of Excellence endowment helped the Alumni Association pledge $1.5 million in scholarship support to Penn State students, as part of the University’s current fundraising campaign, "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence."
In 2008, the Alumni Association also made a gift of $2.1 million to support "For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students."
That gift established 35 Penn State Alumni Association Trustee Scholarships, each endowed at $50,000 in 12 colleges, at 20 campuses, and three additional undergraduate units. It additionally supported graduate and professional education — $100,000 each for the Graduate School, the Penn State College of Medicine and the Penn State Dickinson School of Law — as well as $50,000 for Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate and Professional Studies.
To support the Student Care & Advocacy Emergency Fund and other aspects of the University’s COVID-19 response, Penn State alumni and friends can visit raise.psu.edu/response.
Established in 1870, the Penn State Alumni Association connects alumni to the University and to each other; provides valuable benefits to members; and supports the University’s mission of teaching, research and service.
More information about the Alumni Association is available at alumni.psu.edu.
This gift will advance "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a twenty-first-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.