With more than 80 friends, faculty, alumni and students in attendance, Penn State Hazleton held a reception on Fri., April 30, to launch For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, the largest university-wide fundraising effort in Penn State history.
President Graham Spanier announced the campaign across the university on April 23, noting that the goal of raising $2 billion by 2014 would help to ensure that the university can continue to offer an outstanding education to students from every economic background while benefiting the public through research and service.
At Penn State Hazleton, a goal of $6 million has been announced, with more than $2.9 million raised to date.
"Penn State Hazleton has been an integral part of the Hazleton community for more than 75 years and has provided access to educational programs to local students, as well as those from across the country," said Chancellor Gary Lawler. "Continuing and improving access to a Penn State degree through scholarships for students is the number one priority in this fundraising effort."
Ensuring student access and opportunity through scholarship support is one of six key campaign objectives. The other priorities of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students are:
- 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 at every stage of their careers;
- fostering discovery and creativity through interdisciplinary research initiatives; and
- sustaining the tradition of overall quality for which the University has become recognized around the world.
"This campaign is critically important to the young people who begin their college education here, and it is also important for the future of our community which greatly benefits from a vibrant, growing Penn State campus," said Kevin Salaway, director of Development and University Relations.
He continued, "Students today face challenges which were unimaginable a generation ago. Global competition and a tight job market demand the highest level of preparation for those entering the workforce. At the same time, the cost of higher education has skyrocketed. Today, the cost of one full year of college equates to about half of the average starting salary for college graduates."
Alumni and friends of the university and campus are support the campaign, even during difficult economic times, according to Attorney Pasco Schiavo, the campus' campaign volunteer chair.
"Penn State's alumni and friends have recognized that the destiny of the University is in their hands," said Spanier. "Through For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, our supporters will help us to affirm our role as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America."
For more information on For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, contact Kevin Salaway at 570-450-3175 or [email protected].