University trustee steps forward with $1 million estate gift

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Inspired by the prospect of coupling her ongoing service with new resources to empower students, Penn State Board of Trustees member Mary Lee Schneider and her husband, Edward Flam, have stepped forward with an estate commitment of $1 million to support the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Once realized, the endowed Schneider-Flam Family Excellence Fund will offer an annual income, in perpetuity, for the college’s dean to promote excellence, competitiveness, innovation and accessibility.

“We are grateful for the commitment Mary Lee has demonstrated as a member of the Board of Trustees,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “And now, she and her family are adding to their support of the University with long-term philanthropic support that will foster continued innovation and drive forward progress on strategic priorities and initiatives in the Bellisario College of Communications.”

“A significant gift to Penn State was always a part of our estate planning strategy,” Schneider said. “Our challenge was to identify the right timing and the right vehicle to provide the maximum benefit to the University. Working with the Division of Development and Alumni Relations, we found a way to structure the gift to get this balance just right. Having been through this process, I’d encourage other potential donors to do this: reach out to explore the various options and mechanisms for giving. There are ways to maximize your support for Penn State while doing it in the timeframe and in the manner that feels most comfortable to you.” 

As a member of the Mount Nittany Society, Schneider has already established a substantial philanthropic legacy at the University. The Bellisario College of Communications has been the focus of much of the Schneider-Flam family’s giving, including two Trustee Scholarships and an Open Doors Scholarship, as well as support for the CommVentures Fund, the Bellisario Media Center Equipment Fund and the Holocaust Education Innovation Fund. Outside of Bellisario, they have contributed to a Renaissance Scholarship, the Board of Trustees Emergency Assistance and Immediate Needs Funds, and the Student Farm Endowment.

As her involvement and commitment to Penn State deepened over the years, Schneider was recognized with the Alumni Fellow Award in 2006. She was elected to Penn State’s Board of Trustees effective July 2015 as a business and industry representative.

“Mary Lee leveraged her Penn State education to break into the publishing industry and rise to the highest echelon of corporate leadership,” said Marie Hardin, dean of the Bellisario College. “I have been so proud and profoundly grateful that in recent years she has deepened her commitment to the Penn State ethos of service to our community. This estate gift is a tremendous testament to her and Edward's commitment to Bellisario students and their determination to press ahead with fostering new opportunities.”

During her four years at University Park, Schneider split her time between two communities: The Daily Collegian and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. A change in her family situation could have delayed or derailed the completion of her degree.

“When I was a sophomore at Penn State, my father lost his job,” Schneider recalled. “I was incredibly fortunate to be able to finish my degree at Penn State back when tuition — supported by a then robust state appropriation — was manageable. I was able to complete my degree without taking on any debt. Today this is not the case for many of our students.”

After earning her bachelor's degree in journalism from Penn State in 1984, Schneider began her career in publishing in Manhattan working for Condé Nast Publications, Time Warner and McGraw Hill’s BusinessWeek magazine, which is rebranded today as Bloomberg BusinessWeek. After nearly a decade in New York City, she relocated to Chicago to eventually become the president, digital solutions and chief technology officer at RR Donnelley, then a $12 billion provider of communication products and services to Fortune 500 companies. She next became president and chief executive officer of Follett Corp, a $2.8 billion provider of educational content and services to K-12 schools and colleges and universities, followed most recently by a final stint as the president and CEO of SG360°, a direct marketing company that was sold to a private equity firm in 2016.

“Mary Lee has proven to be a tremendous colleague and visionary leader when it comes to charting Penn State’s path forward,” said Matthew W. Schuyler, chair of the Board of Trustees. “Her gift is a reminder to our board and the entire Penn State community that we can all think creatively and deeply about how best to contribute to building a brighter future for the University.”

Donors like Mary Lee Schneider and Edward Flam advance 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.