The President's Report on Philanthropy and Endowments
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The President’s Report on Philanthropy and Endowments › 2012–2013 Ensuring Student Opportunity Enhancing Honors Education Enriching the Student Experience Building Faculty Strength & Capacity Fostering Discovery & Creativity Sustaining a Tradition of Quality Table of Contents Message from the President 2 › Message from the Campaign Chair 4 Ensuring Student Opportunity 6 Enhancing Honors Education 8 Enriching the Student Experience 10 Building Faculty Strength & Capacity 12 Fostering Discovery & Creativity 14 Sustaining a Tradition of Quality 16 Concepts in Philanthropy 18 Philanthropy Awards & Honors 22 Endowment Overview 24 University Budget Summaries 28 Campaign Executive Committee 32 Leah Eder (cover and opposite) (cover Eder Leah Message from the President Each autumn, The President’s Report on Philanthropy and Endowments shares Penn State’s fundraising results and endowment performance, but the numbers that appear in the following pages aren’t just the measure of a single year’s effort. They reflect a tradition of giving that dates to the founding of the Farmers’ High School on donated land. They represent a culture of philanthropy that has been building through three comprehensive University-wide campaigns over four decades. And they illustrate how, over the course of the last six years, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students has inspired our alumni and friends with new excitement about what lies ahead for our institution. I am honored to report that as the campaign approaches its conclusion on June 30, 2014, the Penn State legacy of loyalty and support keeps growing. More than 193,000 donors—the largest number in our history—made gifts to the University in 2012–2013, and alumni giving rose by 23 percent over the preceding year. Many of our supporters were motivated by the students of THON, who broke their own record and raised $12.4 million for pediatric cancer research and patient care at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Others found their philanthropic purpose in the For the Future campaign’s focus on student support and pushed the Trustee Match- ing Scholarship Program past its original $100 million goal (see page18 for details on the program’s next phase). Whether donors created faculty endowments or gave to Message from the programs that exist because of gifts made in this campaign, they have helped For the Future to build momentum toward its $2 billion goal. President › You’ll find many other numbers in this report, but I want to share one that has Message from the deep personal meaning for me. When For the Future began, the faculty and staff campaign committed to securing $43 million in gifts from Penn State employees. Campaign Chair Last year, they passed that goal and kept on going, aiming for a new target of $55 million. And, as they have risen to so many challenges, the University’s faculty and staff rose to that one, too. At press time, they have given more than $56 million to For the Future. I am prouder than I can say to lead an institution that inspires such generosity among those who know it best. Their support, and yours, will be a challenge to us not only through the rest of this campaign but through many years to come. Thank you. Rodney A. Erickson, President The Pennsylvania State University Leah Eder Eder Leah 22 The President’s Report on Philanthropy and Endowments 2012–13 Leah Eder Message from the Campaign Chair The ticking of a clock, the flying pages of a calendar: In a classic movie, there are always shortcuts to suggest that time is passing fast. In a fundraising campaign, it’s harder to communicate how every day counts, especially as the end approaches. I can assure you, though, that when you receive this, those of us charged with leading For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students will be able to tell you how many weeks, maybe even how many hours, are left until June 30, 2014. It’s not just about reaching the most ambitious goal in the University’s history. It’s about the opportuni- ty that the campaign offers to make a difference for our students and our institution. Each moment and every gift matter. At the same time, philanthropy isn’t just about the present—it’s about the past and the future, too. No one understands that better than Russell E. Horn Sr., who cel- ebrated his 101st birthday and his 70th anniversary of graduating from Penn State this year. Russell entered the working world in the depths of the Great Depression. He knows the challenges that today’s graduates are facing, and he knows the value of a Penn State degree. His gift to a new center at Penn State Harrisburg will help genera- tions of students to succeed, and he is among the donors we feature in this year’s President’s Report on Philanthropy and Endowments. Russell’s gift reflects the campaign’s Sustaining a Tradition of Quality priority, Message from the and each story highlighted in the following pages represents a key objective of President For the Future: Ensuring Student Opportunity: A father who couldn’t afford to attend Penn State Message from the inspired his son to enroll—and to create scholarships for students in need. Enhancing Honors Education: A former honors student wants others to have their Campaign Chair own great experiences at the University. › Enriching the Student Experience: Even as they mourn a son and brother, a family celebrates his values through a new program that could change many lives. Building Faculty Strength and Capacity: Believing in the potential of an innovative field and department, an industry leader supports leaders to come. Fostering Discovery and Creativity: After more than five decades of helping patients, a medical pioneer says that endowing a faculty chair is the culmination of his career. As we track the minutes between now and the campaign closing, let’s remember that what we give now will make history: not only when we exceed the $2 billion goal of the For the Future campaign, but when Penn State students Eder Leah and faculty change our institution and the world with our support. Thank you. Peter G. Tombros, Chair For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students 44 The President’s Report on Philanthropy and Endowments 2012–13 Leah Eder Eder Leah The articles in this report not only tell the stories behind im- portant gifts to the University – they also highlight ideas and approaches that have enabled many donors to fulfill their philanthropic goals. To learn more, please see the Concepts in Philanthropy section, which begins on page 18. Philanthropic leaders use smart strategies to reach more students Last year was a tough one for John Ginder. As a junior Kinesiology major at Penn State Berks, he was juggling a full course load, a volunteer position as a Lion Ambas- Ensuring Student sador, and a part-time job at the bookstore. When he was hit with serious health problems, he had to cut back on his hours at work—hours that he has always Opportunity › counted on to pay for his education. Enhancing Honors “I come from a working-class family, and money can be very tight,” he says. “But be- cause I received the Eugene and Eleanor Curry Memorial Trustee Scholarship this year, Education I knew that I was going to be okay. I could afford to stay in school and stay involved, and the scholarship made me feel that someone cared and that all the hard work and Enriching the stressful moments of college are worth it.” Student That’s the message that Gene Curry Jr. ’59 Bus and his wife, Frances, hope that Experience their support will eventually communicate to more than fifty undergraduates a year at Penn State Berks. Since 2000, the Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania couple has established three scholarship endowments for the campus: the Eugene R. Curry Building Faculty and Frances Franks Curry Scholarship, targeted to students with financial need and Strength & leadership qualities; the Eugene and Eleanor Curry Memorial Trustee Scholarship, Capacity which honors Gene’s parents; and the Gene and Fran Curry Trustee Scholarship, created just this year. Fostering “I was the first in my family to go to college, and my Penn State education has helped Discovery & me to achieve all of my lifetime goals,” says Gene, a retired longtime broker with insurance leader Aetna Inc. and a co-chair of the Penn State Berks committee in For Creativity the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. “Fran and I want to make it possible for other students to have the same experience and live successful, productive, and Sustaining a happy lives.” Tradition of The Penn State experience wasn’t available to Gene’s father, a Lewistown, Pennsyl- Quality vania native who wanted to attend the University but couldn’t afford it. “He became a successful businessman, but he knew that it would be so much easier for Gene with an education behind him,” says Fran. “He really urged Gene to apply to Penn State.” Now Penn State has become a family tradition: One of the Currys’ sons, Sean, earned degrees in electrical engineering and computer science at University Park. The Currys are using every strategy they can to help other families begin their own 66 The President’s Report on Philanthropy and Endowments 2012–13 Gene Curry Jr. and Frances Curry (right), John Ginder › (below right) Penn State traditions. By capitalizing on matching funds from Aetna and from the University’s Trustee Matching Scholarship Program, Gene and Fran have been able to increase the impact of their giving. A bequest and a charitable remainder trust funded through disbursements from Gene’s retirement account will enhance their scholarship endowments after their lifetimes.