For the Future – summer 2010

future For the

Summer 2010

Taking Off

The successful launch of Penn State’s campaign has ignited its alumni and friends

In This Issue: Photos from the Campaign Kick-Off Weekend Future_sp10.indd 1

6/30/10 7:57:19 AM

È

My family makes its living in the fluctuating dairy economy, and scholarships have provided the financial stability to help me continue my education at Penn State. Without this kind of support, my parents wouldn’t be able to send me to Penn State. Thanks to scholarships, though, I can focus on my classes and aim my career toward advancing technology in animal sciences.

É

David Wilson is an Animal Sciences major and a recipient of several scholarships in the College of Agricultural Sciences, including the William C. Nichol Trustee Scholarship.

M`j`k nnn%^`m\kf%gjl%\[l fi ZfekXZk If[e\p G% B`ijZ_# J\e`fi M`Z\ Gi\j`[\ek ]fi ;\m\cfg$ d\ek Xe[ 8clde` I\cXk`fej# Xk /(+$/-*$+/)- fi igb-7gjl%\[l%

;Xm`[ N`cjfe `j k_\ ]lkli\% 8j fe\ f] dfi\ k_Xe ((#''' G\ee JkXk\ jkl[\ekj n_f Y\e\Ôkk\[ ]ifd gi`mXk\cp ]le[\[ jZ_fcXij_`gj cXjk p\Xi# ;Xm`[ `j glijl`e^ X Yi`^_k\i m`j`fe Xe[ X Y\kk\i c`]\ ]fi _`dj\c] Xe[ _`j ]Xd`cp# Xe[ _\ `j ^iXk\]lc kf k_\ G\ee JkXk\ Xclde` Xe[ ]i`\e[j n_f _Xm\ dX[\ _`j \[lZXk`fe gfjj`Yc\% JZ_fcXij_`gj Xi\ k_\ kfg gi`fi`kp f] fli e\n ZXdgX`^e# Xe[ fli jlggfik\ij ZXe \ejli\ XZZ\jj Xe[ fggfikle`kp ]fi jkl[\ekj c`b\ ;Xm`[ Xe[ =fi k_\ =lkli\%

For the Future 2

Future_sp10.indd PS ad_Future.indd2 1

6/30/10 5/11/10 7:57:27 8:48:38AM AM

d

i

[

0 8:48:38 AM

A Message from Peter Tombros Dear Penn State Alumni and Friends, The Campaign Kick-Off was a historic moment for our University. That weekend, we launched For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students and declared our official goal of raising $2 billion by the end of fiscal year 2014. At the announcement celebration on Friday, April 23, I was extremely proud to reveal that thanks to the commitment of Penn State supporters, we had already succeeded in raising over half that amount. You can see photos from the weekend’s events and performances in the following pages.

This is the first issue of the For the Future campaign newsletter, and we are very pleased to include it with your copy of The Penn Stater this month. Inside, you will learn about a unique planned gift used by one Penn State alumnus to make a difference early on, and the faculty member who is currently benefitting from his support. Also in this issue, you can read a profile of a student whose scholarships are making it possible for her to receive the education her parents always wanted for her.

Indeed, undergraduate scholarship support is the top priority of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. As you’ll see on the next page, this campaign has established six ambitious objectives united by a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in the nation. I invite you to visit our Web site at www.giveto.psu.edu to learn more. There, you can also view the campaign videos produced

by WPSU and the TV spots featuring President Spanier and Coach Paterno that were shown on ESPN during the kick-off weekend.

This campaign is about our students and their future. We want to affirm Penn State’s place in the top echelon of higher education—to set the standard for education, research, and service across the Commonwealth and across the country. It will be our alumni and friends that will enable us to achieve that mission. As both a graduate of Penn State and its campaign chair, I thank you for your loyalty to this great institution. I hope this newsletter will remind you of what makes this University so special and help you find ways to deepen your connection with Penn State.

Sincerely,

Peter G. Tombros

For the Future 3

Future_sp10.indd 3

6/30/10 7:57:29 AM

For the Future,

Starting Today For the glory of Old State For her founders strong and great For the future that we wait Raise the song, raise the song When Fred Lewis Pattee wrote the lyrics to the Penn State Alma Mater in 1901, many of the University’s greatest traditions were already in place. The group that would become our famous Blue Band had been formed in 1899. Although the Nittany Lion mascot wouldn’t be born for a few more years, fans were already cheering on teams at the first Beaver Field. And our most important tradition had been going strong from the very beginning: offering an extraordinary education to students whose means might be limited, but whose ability and ambition are limitless.

Penn State has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of individuals to sustain their families, advance their professions, and contribute to our country’s strength. With a University-wide goal of $2 billion by 2014, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students will ensure that we can continue to fulfill our historic land-grant mission at the same time that we prepare our students for leadership in a world vastly different from any our founders could have imagined.

Philanthropy has become essential to keeping a Penn State degree affordable and enabling our students, faculty, and programs to excel. Through the campaign, we hope to engage alumni and friends as our partners in meeting six key objectives:

n Ensuring Student Opportunity: Increasing scholarship support so that students from every economic background can continue to choose Penn State n Enhancing Honors Education: Helping our best and brightest undergraduates to fulfill their vast potential and encouraging innovation across our curriculum n Enriching the Student Experience: Taking education beyond the classroom and preparing our students for global leadership

For the Future 4

Future_sp10.indd 4

6/30/10 7:57:35 AM

n Building Faculty Strength and Capacity: Helping

dedicated teachers and scholars at every stage of their careers to create and share new knowledge n Fostering Discovery and Creativity: Addressing urgent social and scientific needs and creating a vibrant academic environment in which our students thrive n Sustaining a Tradition of Quality: Maintaining the standard of excellence in education, research, and service for which Penn State has become recognized around the world.

degree will matter if families can’t afford the education we offer. Gifts toward all six campaign objectives will be critical as we affirm our role as the most student-centered research university in America. There has never been a more exciting moment to be a Penn Stater, and there have never been greater opportunities for our supporters to make a difference at the University. It is time to join together again, for Penn State students and For the Future.

To learn more about the campaign and the many ways that you can have an impact on the University’s students, faculty, and programs, visit www.giveto.psu.edu.

Scholarship support is the top priority of For the Future; nothing else we do to improve the quality of a Penn State

T he C a m pa i g n O b j ect i v es Total to date

Goal

%

$200,506,565

$435,000,000

46.1%

$47,298,906

$100,000,000

47.3%

$54,880,896

$164,000,000

33.5%

$89,970,666

$271,000,000

33.2%

$202,530,453

$386,000,000

52.5%

$422,014,907

$644,000,000

65.5%

Ensuring Student Opportunity Students with the ability and ambition to attend the University will have this opportunity through scholarship support.

Enhancing Honors Education Students of exceptional ability will experience the best honors education in the nation.

Enriching the Student Experience Students will thrive in a stimulating atmosphere that fosters global involvement, community service, creative expression, and personal growth.

Building Faculty Strength and Capacity Students will study with the finest teachers and researchers.

Fostering Discovery and Creativity Students and faculty members will come together within and across disciplines to pioneer new frontiers of knowledge.

Sustaining a Tradition of Quality Students will continue to work and study with faculty whose scholarship is enhanced by continuing philanthropic support.

as of May 31, 2010

For the Future 5

Future_sp10.indd 5

6/30/10 7:57:36 AM

Campaign Kick

Penn State has one of the most active and engaged student populations in the country, with more than 75% participating in at least one of the University’s more than 800 student organizations.

Penn State’s endowment generated approximately $65 million in program support in fiscal year ‘08–‘09.

Penn State received more than 300,000 gifts during fiscal year ‘08–‘09.

Nearly 78,000 alumni contributed a total of $182 million.

Future_sp10.indd 6

Donors have created more than 3,500 scholarships at Penn State, assisting just over 11,000 students each year—but only 14% of our undergraduate students receive a privately funded academic scholarship.

6/30/10 7:57:38 AM

ck-Off Weekend These photos capture just a few of the special moments that took place during the Campaign Kick-Off Celebration held at the University Park campus during Blue-White Weekend, April 23–25. Over 1,000 Penn State alumni and friends gathered to mark the official launch of the For the Future campaign and rededicate themselves to the University’s success in the coming years. To see a slideshow of photos from Campaign Kick-Off events, please visit future.psu.edu/photos. You can also view the campaign video shown during the weekend by going to future.psu.edu/videos.

Below, Campaign Vice Chair Lee Beard

Below, Campaign Vice Chair Bruce Miller

More than 21% of University Park undergraduates and 36% of undergraduates at other campuses are the first in their family to attend college.

Future_sp10.indd 7

6/30/10 7:57:41 AM

Future_sp10.indd 8

6/30/10 7:57:47 AM

Through its first two campaigns, Penn State added 262 endowed faculty positions. However, the University can offer endowed positions to just 9% of its tenured and tenure-track faculty members.

Every year, our undergraduates have unmet financial need totaling more than $270 million.

Future_sp10.indd 9

6/30/10 7:57:55 AM

74% of Penn State undergraduates receive financial assistance, most in the form of loans.

Future_sp10.indd 10

6/30/10 7:58:03 AM

Students graduate from Penn State with an average educational loan debt of more than $28,000.

Future_sp10.indd 11

6/30/10 7:58:26 AM

i m pact of g i v i n g Name: Emma Childs Major and Class Year:

I’m a senior majoring in Landscape Contracting.

Scholarship Story: I grew up on a farm in Taneytown, Maryland; my dad’s a farmer. A college education has been very important to my parents, knowing what they missed out on—they wanted that for all of us, even though they can’t give us as much support as they want to. I’m

Future_sp10.indd 12

paying for my schooling by myself with money that I’ve saved and money that I’m making now. It’s such a blessing to have a Trustee Scholarship, the Bunton-Waller Scholarship, and support from the Renaissance Fund.

I’m grateful that people I don’t even know want to support me in my studies.

Honors Experience:

Being in the honors program placed higher expectations upon me that

motivated me to work harder. It also gave me the opportunity to participate in challenging projects— for example, in one of my courses, we conducted an in-depth study culminating in a presentation designed for faculty about the sustainability of the campus. It went above and beyond the average research project.

Future Plans: After graduation, I hope to work for a nursery or landscap-

ing business. I have aspirations to eventually own my own business. At Penn State, I’ve been very well prepared for my future career. I know that after I graduate, I will be able to find a good job that I will enjoy.

For more stories about the impact of philanthropy on students, visit www.giveto. psu.edu/profiles.

6/30/10 7:58:29 AM

ways to g i v e

The Gift that Gives Back: The Charitable Gift Annuity Planned gifts are a unique way to support Penn State while simultaneously meeting your financial goals for your retirement or estate. In addition to giving you a sense of philanthropic pride, many planned gifts provide you with significant benefits such as tax savings, favorable treatment of capital gains, and guaranteed income.

A charitable gift annuity is a particularly attractive option for donors who want to have an impact on the University but also ensure that they—and, if they wish, a loved one such a spouse—will have access to a secure income for the remainder of their lives.

annuitant(s), the higher the income. The payment rate in effect when the annuity is established will never decrease, nor can you outlive it. A charitable gift annuity therefore provides a stable income stream safe from the fluctuations of the stock and real estate markets.

Charitable gift annuities at Penn State start with contributions of at least $10,000; unlike many retirement plans, however, there is no cap on the amount you can put in, and you can establish more than one annuity.

This means that you can use charitable gift annuities to supplement your retirement savings.

If you are a younger donor (at least 35), you can create a deferred payment charitable gift annuity by contributThrough this gift planning option, a donor makes an irrevocable gift of cash, securities, or other assets (such ing a minimum of $5,000 now to lock in payments at a future date. Deferring the annuity payments 1. You create an annuity. until later yields higher payouts and a larger charitable Penn State You income tax deduction in gift annuity the year the annuity is 2. You receive an income 3. Penn State receives established. tax deduction and fixed payments for life.

the remainder after your lifetime.

as CDs or bonds) to benefit the area of their choice at the University. In exchange, Penn State agrees to pay one or two designated persons a fixed annual income backed by the assets of the University.

The remainder of the gift can provide unrestricted funds for Penn State leadership to meet future needs, or create endowments for support of students, faculty, or programs. For example, Lionel B. Shaffer ’40 used the residuum from a charitable gift annuity to create the Shaffer Career Development Professorship (see next page).

The minimum age to establish a charitable gift annuity is 60. The age of the donor(s) at the time of the gift determines the annuity rate; the older the

Charitable gift annuities and other life income gifts allow you to plan for both your own future and the future of Penn State.

Many donors, however, also wish to begin making a difference right away as part of the For the Future campaign: with the early activation option for endowments, you can make an outright gift of 5 percent of the pledged endowment value and see the effects of your generosity immediately.

As a gesture of appreciation, the University honors any estate provision or deferred gift commitment with membership in the Atherton Society. To find out more about how gift planning can help you tailor your gift to both maintain your financial security and make a truly meaningful contribution, visit www.giftplanning.psu. edu or contact the Office of Gift Planning toll-free at 1-888-800-9170.

For the Future 13

Future_sp10.indd 13

6/30/10 7:58:30 AM

b u i l d i n g fac u lty st r e n g th :

Career Development Professorships

advancing the Profession Beth Shapiro examines the evolution of

animal populations over thousands of years.

Thanks to the Shaffer professorship, her career is evolving very quickly.

In a sense, Beth Shapiro’s work brings the past and future together. As an assistant professor and researcher at Penn State, she uses cutting-edge molecular biology techniques to analyze long-dead organisms. By extracting genetic information from 100,000-year-old bones and other prehistoric remains using sophisticated

technology, she hopes to find out how the peak of the last ice age affected the genetic diversity of large mammals like mammoths and mastodons.

But while her research involves studying incremental changes that occurred long in the past, Dr. Shapiro’s own professional development is moving ahead at a swift pace—and her future looks very promising. That’s because she is the latest faculty member to be awarded the Shaffer Career Development Professorship in the Eberly College of Science.

For the Future 14

Future_sp10.indd 14

6/30/10 7:58:32 AM

A career development professorship represents a unique partnership between Penn State and its supporters on behalf of the University’s faculty. It is designed to recruit and retain rising stars in academia by providing them with critical financial backing to kick-start their careers. The funding can underwrite research and educational expenses, conference travel, graduate assistantships or technician salaries, and program operating costs.

a gift to the University from Dr. Lionel Shaffer, who earned his degree in pre-medicine from Penn State in 1940. Dr. Shaffer, who passed away in 2002 after a distinguished career as a family physician and saxophonist, created the professorship from the residuum of a charitable gift annuity, one of many planned gift options at the University (see page 13 for more details). Dr. Shaffer chose to “early activate” the endowment, providing immediate funding on behalf of talented, up-and-coming faculty members. In doing so, he was able to see the fruits of his investment early on while simultaneously establishing a significant legacy at Penn State.

By the Numbers

In 2009, Penn State expanded the career development professorship program by creating the Faculty Endowment Challenge. Through this new initiative, the University will match donor gifts on a 1:2 basis, thus permitting donors to establish a $500,000 early career professorship by contributing $334,000 over five years with the remainder coming from Penn State. (For more information about this philanthropic opportunity, visit giveto.psu.edu.)

“The professorship provides funds that can be used for any aspect of my research,” says Dr. Shapiro. “It’s allowed me to purchase equipment that is crucial for my work, but disallowed by other sources of funding, and having this money available has made it possible for me to set up my research lab to the most modern standards.

Ultimately, the Shaffer professorship is going to fundamentally shape the trajectory of my academic career.”

By giving faculty members flexible resources to allocate as needed and explore new ideas, career development professorships can accelerate discoveries and put recipients on the fast track to success. Dr. Shapiro’s achievements are already attracting attention. Last fall, she was named a MacArthur Fellow and honored by the Searle Scholars Program, and most recently, she was selected as an Emerging Explorer by the National Geographic Society.

Much like scholarships and fellowships, endowed professorships are symbols of the University community’s belief in an individual’s potential and an investment in their future contributions to society. They serve as powerful incentives for tenure-line faculty members choosing between competing offers at universities because they confer a great deal of freedom and prestige.

The Shaffer Career Development Professorship was

Through the new Faculty

Endowment Challenge, donors can leverage a 1:2 match

from the University and establish an early career professorship—normally $500,000—with a gift of just $334,000.

Dr. Shaffer’s gift has proven beneficial not only to faculty in the Eberly College of Science, but students as well. Currently, Dr. Shapiro teaches two courses at Penn State: a senior-level bioinformatics class and an introductory biology course. “I thoroughly enjoy it,” Dr. Shapiro says of the intro lecture course. “I teach the first half to a large audience of nearly 700 students. I love the challenge of reaching everyone despite the class size.”

Indeed, associate and assistant faculty members are often the ones to teach such introductory courses. In doing so, they can reach thousands of students, meaning that they have a wide influence on undergraduate education at the University. By attracting top researchers with endowed professorships, Penn State ensures that its students learn from the best minds, passionate new faculty members with fresh perspectives on the latest developments in the field. Such enthusiastic educators can spark a lifelong interest in the discipline— and encourage even more bright minds to follow in their footsteps.

For the Future 15

Future_sp10.indd 15

6/30/10 7:58:34 AM

July 8–11

Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts

September 24

President’s Club Reception

October 9

Penn State Homecoming

October 13

Alumni Fellows Reception and Induction

November 4

Renaissance Fund Dinner

Hintz Family Alumni Center University Park, PA 16802-1439

T he Y e a r Ahe a d

A Healthier World Awaits One of the central initiatives of the For the Future campaign is a new freestanding Children’s Hospital at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Thanks

to dedicated supporters, the Children’s Hospital surpassed its campaign goal of $65 million and broke ground on the state-of-the-art facility in November.

A supplement to The Penn Stater magazine Future_sp10.indd 16

6/30/10 7:58:39 AM