Raise Penn State

Last year, as the Penn State Glee Club was preparing for its spring European concert tour, Mike Helms, a Glee Club alum and longtime supporter, understood that some students might not be able to make it due to the cost. Mike and his wife, Martha, made a gift of over $175,000 to the Glee Club endowment. It cut the per-student cost for the trip to about $600. Thanks to their support, 42 members embarked on a 10-day concert tour of Prague, Vienna and Budapest. These are some of our favorite thank you notes that the students sent to Mike and Martha.

Congratulations to the 2025 Penn State Renaissance Fund honorees Bill and Connie Hayes! After years of lending their service and volunteerism to causes across the region and nation, the couple will lead the charge to expand scholarship support for community-minded students at Penn State. https://ow.ly/waXV50WExVo

Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Schuylkill students pursuing careers in the behavioral sciences now have a scholarship opportunity thanks to the generosity of Josette and Albert “Bert” Evans. Endowed with a $100,000 gift, the Josette and Bert Evans Behavioral Sciences Scholarship supports students majoring in psychology or human development and family studies who are participating in the applied behavior analysis certification course and internship.

On Friday, hundreds of passionate student leaders gathered in Hershey for the Mini-THON Leadership Summit — and kicked it off with an unforgettable moment: the reveal of an incredible $6,413,950.26 raised during the 2024-25 school year to help conquer childhood cancer. From creative fundraisers to community events, students from more than 225 schools came together with one mission — to support kids and families at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital and to fuel lifesaving research at Penn State College of Medicine through Four Diamonds. Read more about this powerful milestone: https://bit.ly/454WBrG

The demand for information security professionals far exceeds the supply of qualified workers, but Penn State Great Valley‘s master’s degree in information science is working to meet that need. 💻Jeffrey Lipson, an alumnus of that program who went on to found the cybersecurity firm Layer 8 Security, worked with his company five years ago to establish a scholarship for information science students. This year, he endowed the Jeffrey P. Lipson Master of Science Scholarship in Information Science. Both scholarships offer students in the master’s program $2,500 each year, with a preference for active military service members and veterans, in a nod to Lipson’s experience as a retired Marine colonel. https://ow.ly/l5gA50Wyz7H

POV: You’re a squirrel at Penn State.

🎓Congratulations to the 18 outstanding graduate students who received the inaugural Fox Scholarships from the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Penn State.🌟 Supported by a $20 million endowment, these awards support summer research, dissertation completion, military veteran aid, and more—empowering scholars across 15 graduate programs to make a real impact. This scholarship program received over 600 applications—an impressive testament to the dedication and caliber of Penn State’s graduate education community. Kudos to all the recipients! I look forward to seeing how their research will drive innovation and positive change. #FoxScholars #EthosOfExcellence #GraduateEducation #GradEdAmbassador #WeAre #PennState https://lnkd.in/ecANj7Xb

Penn State welcomed Andrea Spahn-McGraw as its new senior associate vice president for University Development on July 14. Andrea comes to Penn State from Indiana University’s School of Medicine, the largest medical school in the nation and among the top public institutions in the country for NIH-funded research. As senior associate vice president, Spahn-McGraw will manage and coach campus, college, and University Park fundraising leaders and will provide strategic direction for major gifts fundraising.

Kicking off the Penn State University journey in NYC! This past weekend, we hosted our Student Sendoff—welcoming incoming students with alumni advice, new connections, and plenty of Penn State pride.🤍💙 Huge thanks to our alumni volunteers and our sponsor, Olde City, for making the event possible. #PennState #PSUNYC #WeAre #StudentSendoff #Classof2029 #AlumniNetwork

We are officially ONE WEEK AWAY from John and Karen Arnold Dean of Smeal, Corey Phelps, going Over the Edge for the Centre County United Way! 🧗♂️💙 Dean Phelps will be rappelling down the Hyatt Place, which is 12 stories high and the tallest building in State College. Every dollar he raises will go directly to programs and services that help thousands of Centre County residents. Let’s come together to support our community. 🤝 Your donation makes an impact — get involved today: https://lnkd.in/e37JA-i5