The President’s Report on Philanthropy and Endowments 20 07–20 08 Penn State’S goal is to become the nation’s most comprehensive, student-centered research university. Your Your support will help to make a Penn State education possible for thousands of men and women. a Message from President Spanier The extraordinary generosity shown to I would also call your attention to the Penn State for the year ending June 30, 2008, performance of the University’s endowment will benefit students, faculty, and staff for and similar funds. The Penn State Investment many years to come. On the pages that fol- Council maintained a disciplined approach low, you will learn more about the scope and to asset allocation during a year when the impact of private giving. Let’s start with a market environment was especially volatile. few of the year’s highlights. Please see pages 21–24 for a summary of how our endowment fared. I can assure you that The University received gifts from the Investment Council will continue to act 74,166 alumni, an all-time high that reflects with prudence and care in its role as fiscal a broad base of support for the capital cam- steward of endowed gifts. Because endow- paign, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn ments are sources of funds that students and State Students. The total number of alumni faculty can count on year after year, they play donors represents a 3 percent increase from an especially critical role in Penn State’s abil- the previous year, a remarkable achievement ity to offer scholarships, graduate fellowships, at a time when the number of alumni making faculty chairs and professorships, and the like. gifts to their alma maters nationally is flat or For those of you who have cre- in decline. ated endowments at the Univer- Giving overall totaled $181.5 million, sity, a back pocket in this report second only to the previous year’s $190.3 contains more detailed informa- million as the highest philanthropic total in tion about your investment in our Penn State’s history. These numbers represent students and faculty. actual gifts received and exclude pledges. June 30, 2008, marked eighteen The number of gifts received— months since the beginning of 281,155—also set a record. Many of these the For the Future campaign. My gifts came from first-time donors, who sincerest thanks go to Peter Tom- typically go on to become long-term bene- bros, who has done an extraor- factors. This trend points to a promising dinary job as volunteer campaign chair, and future for Penn State. to the remarkable team of Penn State alumni and friends that he has recruited to provide Endowments created through the additional volunteer leadership. Please read Trustee Matching Scholarship Program, Peter’s letter on page 3 to learn more about which aims to keep a Penn State education how the philanthropic events of 2007–08 have accessible to all qualified students, regard- given the campaign powerful momentum in less of their financial means, passed the $50 its initial phase. million mark. In creating this important initiative, the Board of Trustees agreed to A Penn State education is a unique expe- match 5 percent of the principal of each gift rience that challenges the mind, invigorates annually with University funds, and the spirit, and leaves an indelible imprint on combine these matching funds with income alumni. Your support will help to make that from the endowment to effectively double experience possible for thousands of men and the financial impact of the scholarship. More women, whether directly or indirectly. Thank than 4,600 students benefited from Trustee you for your commitment to our University. Scholarships in 2007–08. Graham B. Spanier, President The pennSylvania STaTe UniverSiTy 2 0 0 7 – 2 0 0 8 1 P r e S i d e n t ’ S r e P ort on Philanthro P y and endow M e n t S Our vision is to affirm Penn State as the most comprehensive student-centered research university in America. university student-centered research Penn State as the most comprehensive Our vision is to affirm a Message from the Campaign Chair I am deeply grateful to the many alumni and friends who invested in Penn State students and faculty in fiscal 2007–08, and inFor the Future: The Cam- paign for Penn State Students. Over these past twelve months we have experi- enced great success in communicating the campaign’s vision: to affirm Penn State’s position as America’s most comprehensive student-centered research university. The enthusiasm with which Penn Staters have greeted the campaign— even though it is still in its leadership gifts phase and is not scheduled for a public launch until 2010—is a source of tremendous inspiration to me. I believe the campaign has resonated with donors because of the broad appeal of its six individual objectives: ensuring student opportunity; enhancing honors education; enriching the student experience; Building faculty strength and capacity; Fostering discovery and creativity; Sustaining a tradition of quality. You will find these objectives further defined in this report, and brought to life by personal examples of Penn Staters who chose to create endowments that support each of these six areas. As President Spanier has noted in his message, a record number of alumni made gifts in 2007–08. I am pleased to report that, with alumni leading the way, Penn State has successfully engaged strong support from all of our traditional constituent groups, as shown on page 14. When we go beyond the past fiscal year to include the eighteen months that have elapsed since the cam- paign began on January 1, 2007, we find these groups have given or pledged a total of $490 million toward the six objectives. As proud as all Penn Staters should be with these results, we must remember that the cam- paign still has a long way to go. Our nation and our University are certain to face economic chal- lenges, yet I remain optimistic about the future. Broadly speaking, Americans’ generosity toward education has proved to be quite resilient, even in a recessionary climate. In only four of the last forty years has total philanthropy to education declined from the previous year. In addition, I know that Penn Staters realize the need for student support is never more critical than during a downward economic cycle. Privately funded scholarships can make an enormous difference to countless students at such times. I look forward to your continuing support, and together we will successfully meet any and all challenges. Thank you. peTer G. TomBroS, Chair For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students 2 0 0 7 – 2 0 0 8 3 “As A single pArent, I was terrified at the thought of going back to school to earn a degree because I have so many financial responsibilities at home. Scholarship money has lessened the burden of acquiring a college degree by giving me more time to study and more time to spend with my son.” —Nicole Gorke, scholarship recipient and Nursing student at Penn State Worthington Scranton Ensuring Student Opportunity 6 Enhancing Honors Education 7 Enriching the Student 8 Experience Building Faculty Strength 9 and Capacity Fostering Discovery and 10 Creativity Sustaining a Tradition 11 of Quality “Being on the receiving end of A scholArship is humbling. I try to ‘repay’ the honor by doing my best athletically and academically. I feel so proud when I’m wearing that Penn State jersey.”—Kiersten Wood, scholarship recipient, Human Development and Family Studies major, and member of the Penn State field hockey team Ensuring Student Opportunity Private support for endowed scholarships and similar awards helps to keep a Penn State edu- cation within the financial reach of all students who have the ambition and ability to attend the University. there is a critical need for such sup- port. Undergraduates who take out loans to help finance their Penn State education are graduat- ing with an average debt of nearly $24,000—and that figure is rising each year. robert and Catherine Quinnan of dunmore, Pennsylvania, have taken a leadership role in increasing the financial resources available to students. they endowed the James P. and Catherine M. gilligan Memorial Scholarship to benefit undergraduates enrolled at Penn State worthington Scranton. the endowment, which assists those who have financial need and superior academic records, honors the memory of Catherine Quinnan’s parents, both of whom were employed by the dunmore School district. robert Quinnan is a graduate of the University of detroit and chairs the Penn State worthing- ton Scranton advisory board. Catherine Quinnan received her undergraduate and graduate de- grees from Marywood University in Scranton. “We’ve been impressed by the ways that the Worthington Scranton campus helps its students who have financial need. When I attended Marywood, I did so with scholar- ship assistance. I was grateful for that help, and I’m now very grateful to give back what I received.” — C at h e r i N e Q u i nn a N “Penn State Worthington Scranton is very similar to the type of universities Cathie and I each attended in that there are many first-generation students enrolled. The scholarship enabled us to aid those stu- dents and contribute to the economic de- velopment of northeastern Pennsylvania.” — r o b e r t Q u i nn a N P r e S i d e n t ’ S r e P ort on Philanthro P y and endow M e n t S Enhancing Honors Education the Schreyer honors College, which owes its of their financial means, have a unique matching creation in 1997 to a visionary endowed gift, component: the University matches 5 percent of is one of Penn State’s keystone academic the principal of each gift annually and combines programs, attracting undergraduates of ex- these funds with income from the endowment ceptional ability from around the nation to effectively double the financial impact of the and abroad.