At an event held on Oct. 31, leaders from the Student Philanthropy Network announced that the class of 2024 has voted to create the University Park Undergraduate Association Basic Needs Endowment as their class gift. The fund will provide sustained support for students facing hardships in pursuit of their degree.
Penn State has named Richard M. Barger, a 1971 graduate in business from Penn State Harrisburg, and William C. Lane, a 1975 graduate of the Smeal College of Business, as the 2023 Fundraising Volunteers of the Year.
Jeffrey P. Merritt, a 1985 architectural engineering graduate, and his wife, Jean P. Merritt, have established two gifts at Penn State Harrisburg to support teacher education, including a $100,000 gift to establish the Merritt Program Fund for Teacher Education.
Every summer, the Division of Development and Alumni Relations brings on a cohort of interns to tap into their talents and introduce a new generation of young professionals to careers in institutional advancement. Many of these interns find motivation and satisfaction in building the kinds of philanthropic support that made their own educational journeys possible.
Albert "Bert" Evans, chair of Evans Delivery Company Inc. in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, has made a commitment of $100,000 to establish the Bert and Josette Evans Internship Fund to support students in the applied behavior analysis program at Penn State Harrisburg.
In a continuation of its longtime partnership with Penn State, Barnes & Noble College, a Barnes & Noble Education company, which operates the Penn State Bookstore, has awarded a 2022-23 round of grants to support a range of programs and initiatives across the University.
