Fundraising campaign closes, exceeds goal raising more than $7.6 million

Penn State Hazleton's most recent fundraising campaign, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, recently closed, raising $7,645,133.50 over the seven-year span of the campaign and exceeding the campus goal of $6 million. This successful campaign generated more than 60 new scholarships for area students, substantial support for academic programs and faculty, and funding earmarked for facilities and equipment.

Attorney Pasco Schiavo, campus For the Future campaign chair, said, "We are overwhelmed by the support of so many within the Hazleton community and from around the country for Penn State Hazleton. It is testimony to the importance of the campus and the value that it represents to the Greater Hazleton community."

Gary Lawler, Penn State Hazleton Chancellor, commented "We were confident from the start that we would have a strong campaign, but to exceed our goals during such trying times in the economy and at Penn State, is truly a notable feat. We could not have come this far without the leadership and generosity of Pasco Schiavo, many others from the Hazleton community, and our alumni and donors throughout the country."

More than 2,200 individual and corporate donors contributed to the successful campaign at Penn State Hazleton which began in 2007.

Highlights of the campaign include:

  • 110 active scholarships now available at Penn State Hazleton
  • Pasco L. Schiavo Hall Hall named 
  • 25 acres of land donated; campus footprint increased by 23% 
  • Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium named 
  • Campus theater space created 
  • Campus art gallery established 
  • Dr. Lil Junas Gardens named 
  • Program support for engineering, bio sciences, chemistry, business, fine arts, faculty, athletics, women's symposium and astronomy.

The most significant fundraising effort in Penn State's history, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students has surpassed its university-wide goal, raising $2.158 billion in private support. Penn State is one of only 12 public universities in the nation to have exceeded a $2 billion campaign goal, receiving support from 167,500 alumni, believed to be the most alumni donors to any campaign in the country.

Since its launch on January 1, 2007, the For the Future campaign has been directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America. The University has engaged Penn State's alumni and friends as partners in achieving six key objectives: ensuring access and opportunity for students from every economic background, enhancing honors education and encouraging innovation across the curriculum, enriching the experiences of students beyond the classroom and preparing them for global leadership, building faculty strength and capacity through support for dedicated teachers and scholars, fostering discovery and creativity through interdisciplinary research initiatives, and sustaining the tradition of excellence for which the University has become recognized around the world. The campaign officially closed June 30, 2014.

Photo caption expanded:
Community members and Penn State Hazleton staff involved in the seven-year For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students included, first row, from left, Attorney Megan Kennedy, First Federal Charitable Foundation; Attorney Pasco Schiavo and Milton Lloyd, CPA. Back row, from left, Jaculin Scarcella, administrative support assistant; William Flood, Highway Equipment & Supply; Gary Lawler, chancellor; Kevin Salaway, director of Development and University Relations; and Carole Shearer, administrative support assistant. Committee members not pictured include Dr. Sharon Rohrbach, Robert Stanziola, Janney Montgomery Scott; Attorney Elizabeth Maguschak and Mary Celeste Kosko, Fellin's Jewelers.