University Park, Pa. -- Penn State Schuylkill has received a $1 million gift from the John E. Morgan Foundation to endow Trustee Matching Scholarships, awards that aim to keep a University education accessible to qualified undergraduates, regardless of their financial means.

The gift is the largest ever received by the Schuylkill campus for student aid, according to R. Keith Hillkirk, chancellor of the campus.

"This gift means so much to Penn State Schuylkill in enabling us to make a Penn State education more affordable and accessible to students and families," Hillkirk said. "We are deeply appreciative of the Morgan Foundation's continued support of the campus and its commitment to post-secondary education."

Hillkirk noted that the first awards will be made later this year. "Depending upon the size of individual awards, which will vary with need, as many as 60 students could benefit during a given year when the endowment is fully functional," he said.

Consideration for the John E. Morgan Trustee Matching Scholarships will be given to Schuylkill campus undergraduates who have financial need, with first preference going to students of advanced standing who are graduates of high schools in Schuylkill, Lehigh and Carbon counties.

John E. Morgan, who died in 2001 at age 89, earned prominence in the textile industry with his late-1950s invention of the waffle stitch, used in the manufacture of long underwear and blankets. He sold the J.E. Morgan Knitting Mills in 1984 and retired to a second career as a philanthropist, with Penn State Schuylkill, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics among the beneficiaries. At the Schuylkill campus, for example, his gift in the 1980s made possible the construction of the Morgan Auditorium, which is named in recognition of his generosity.

The Tamaqua-based John E. Morgan Foundation carries on his philanthropic work.

"We are deeply grateful to the John E. Morgan Foundation for its continuing support of important Penn State programs and facilities," said University President Graham B. Spanier. "This latest gift is a marvelous example of how private support helps Penn State to make its educational programs available to a broad base of prospective students."

The Trustee Matching Scholarship program's goal is to raise $100 million in private support for new undergraduate scholarships across the University by June 30, 2007. To underscore its commitment to this effort, Penn State's Board of Trustees agreed to match 5 percent of each gift with University funds, and to make these matching funds available to assist students as soon as the donor completes scholarship pledge forms and guidelines. These matching funds will continue in perpetuity in combination with income from the endowment.

The John E. Morgan Trustee Matching Scholarships do not require a separate application. Penn State's Office of Student Aid and the Penn State Schuylkill Scholarship Committee will consider all students' eligibility for the awards as part of the overall financial aid process.

The Schuylkill campus typically enrolls about 1,000 students annually and offers the first two years of undergraduate study in more than 160 fields, in addition to awarding baccalaureate and associate degrees in selected disciplines.

Visit http://www.giveto.psu.edu/Trustee for more information about the Trustee Matching Scholarship program, and http://www.sl.psu.edu to learn about Penn State Schuylkill.