Jan 30, 2011 3 min read

With a commitment of $200,000, The Eberly Foundation of Uniontown has endowed a fund to provide the leadership of Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus with a permanent source of support.

“The Eberly Foundation Excellence Fund will be a stable resource that gives our campus the freedom to seize new opportunities and meet unexpected challenges,” said Chancellor Francis K. Achampong.

The Eberly Foundation made the pledge in support of For the Future, The Campaign for Penn State Students, Penn State University’s current fundraising initiative.

“The foremost goal of the The Eberly Foundation is student support, and this pledge will help to further that goal,” said Carolyn Blaney, president of The Eberly Foundation.

Support from The Eberly Foundation Excellence Fund may be used for a broad range of campus needs, including cultural events that bring together the student body and the community; short-term emergency funds for students whose families have been affected by deaths, job losses, and other changes that impact their financial circumstances; state-of-the-art technology and software that enable Penn State Fayette students to gain hands-on experience with the tools of their future professions; and academic innovations, such as service learning or faculty/student research partnerships, that require seed funds to secure results and obtain additional funding.

“The Eberly Foundation Excellence Fund can enrich the experience of students and enhance Penn State Fayette’s ability to serve the larger community,” said Achampong. “We are extremely grateful to The Eberly Foundation for its past generous support of Penn State Fayette and for this most recent pledge, which provides us with flexibility in meeting the campus’ most immediate needs. This gift is a strong and welcome endorsement of our campus campaign objectives and our continuing commitment to the people of southwestern Pennsylvania.”

For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students is directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America. The University is engaging Penn State’s alumni and friends as partners in achieving six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University’s tradition of quality. The campaign’s top priority is keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families. The For the Future campaign is the most ambitious effort of its kind in Penn State’s history, with the goal of securing $2 billion by 2014. Penn State Fayette is pursuing a campus goal of $8 million and the objective of ensuring an extraordinary educational experience in response to the changing needs of students and the region.