UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- As Penn State strives to meet the growing student demand for counseling services and treatment for substance use disorders, a new gift of $25,000 will honor an alumni leader and channel resources to Counseling and Psychological Services Center (CAPS) and the Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) at Penn State.

The Gedrich Family Endowment for CAPS and CRC will provide joint funding in perpetuity to both programs, contributing to the interconnected missions of these offices and encouraging greater partnership in their delivery of services. CAPS assists undergraduate and graduate students by delivering in-person and virtual counseling, crisis intervention, psychiatric services and community education and outreach. CRC, by contrast, connects with a more needs-intensive segment of the Penn State population, serving students in recovery from alcohol and other substance use disorders. Both programs are housed within Student Services.

The fund was created by Pat Gedrich and her sons with the dual aims of widening the student safety net and also memorializing her late husband, 1982 alumnus and longtime volunteer Alan R. Gedrich, who died in October following a battle with cancer.

“Highly visible funding priorities tend to attract a lot of attention, but some of the most critical programs -- the ones serving the most vulnerable and at-risk students -- can easily fall by the wayside,” said Gedrich. “Alan was so committed to the idea of a community that nurtures all its members, especially those in duress, and that’s why we’ve chosen to fund these programs. CAPS and CRC deliver essential treatment for mental health struggles and addiction so that everyone has a shot at pursuing their dreams and becoming their best selves.”

Lori Strayer, an alcohol and other drugs coordinator and leader of the SMART Recovery Group within CAPS, noted that the additional resources made available by the fund could help to drive forward efforts to create a “no wrong door” scenario that ensures that students receive attention whether they access services through expanded drop-in availability, proactive educational outreach or enhanced coordination between offices.

“CAPS is committed to delivering high-quality mental health care to every student who can benefit from our services,” said Strayer. “Even with the disruptions associated with COVID-19, our office served 3,200 students during the 2020–21 academic year, and given the scope of the need, we are continually seeking ways to remove barriers and increase access to ensure we can match students with the most appropriate treatment.”

The strain on psychological health caused by the pandemic has also affected students in need of services at the Collegiate Recovery Community.

“Since we launched the CRC in 2011, student demand for our services has always been acute, but as the pandemic has worn on across almost two years, we’re seeing new levels of stress and burnout, compounded by loneliness, which exacerbates excessive use,” said Jason Whitney, CRC program coordinator and assistant teaching professor in the College of Education. “Targeted intervention and tailored support have the power to change the basic trajectory of students’ lives, and that’s why fully funding these services is so crucial. The Gedrich Family Endowment is an important step toward realizing that goal.”

Pat Gedrich’s commitment to helping Penn Staters is in part an outgrowth of the decades that she and her husband devoted to mentoring students, facilitating internships and hosting programming in the Philadelphia area. Alan, who earned his accounting degree in 1982 from the Smeal College of Business and then his juris doctor from the University of Pittsburgh, went on to become a tireless advocate for the University, serving as a volunteer on the Penn State Alumni Association’s Alumni Council and Executive Board. In 2013, he was recognized as the Alumni Council Member of the Year. Gedrich was also active in the Smeal College of Business Alumni Society, and he played a pivotal role in reenergizing Smeal’s Philadelphia chapter. In addition, he sat on the Penn State Law Board of Advisors, drawing on decades of legal experience he accumulated as an attorney for Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young, LLP.

“Alan loved Penn State, and he showed it by advancing the University’s mission in hundreds of tangible ways,” said Roger Williams, who served as executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association from 2003 to 2015. “But beyond his service and accomplishments, we all loved him for the qualities he embodied every day: humility, optimism, compassion and generosity. It’s these attributes that indelibly touched all of those around him and that will leave a lasting imprint on Penn State.”

Penn State has educated the Gedrich family across three generations. Alan’s father, sister and uncle all hold degrees from Penn State, and in recent years, Pat and Alan’s two sons, Austin and Ross, have taken up the Penn State mantle.

“For Alan and me, Penn State was there from the beginning and stayed with us to the end,” said Gedrich, who works as director of sales for H&G Sign Company. “We met at a Penn State happy hour in Philadelphia. A year later, we got engaged at Arts Fest. At our wedding, we had friends from Germany and Amsterdam whom he’d met while studying abroad. Those same friends flew in for the funeral. It means so much to our family that we can do our part to strengthen Penn State after it did so much for Alan and our children.”

Gedrich is now encouraging other alumni and friends who were inspired by her husband and who care about the CAPS and CRC programs to consider contributing to the Gedrich Family Endowment.

The Gedrichs’ 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 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hard-working students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by serving communities and fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.