Building Faculty Strength and Capacity

The University Libraries supports over 7,000 faculty members as they access knowledge, develop research, and connect to the world through teaching and learning. The Libraries remain the embodiment of Penn State - and what Penn State can achieve. Your contribution to name a Dean's or Faculty Chair, or other teaching and learning positions will promote the excellence of our Penn State traditions and innovations.

The Dean's Chair

is a high priority for the Libraries. This prestigious level of support will aid the University and the Libraries to attract and retain key leadership and to provide discretionary funds to assist in making significant progress in programming objectives.

Faculty Chairs

provide funds to engage strong leadership, research, and teaching positions for the Libraries. Many alumni and friends of the University do not realize that the Libraries, although not a college, employ teaching staff. Currently University Libraries supports over 150 faculty on its staff. Endowment funds to support their work and service are essential for current and future excellence.

Library Professorships

will ensure that the Libraries have exceptional subject specialists in areas of critical importance. These positions allow the Libraries to recruit and retain some of the finest librarians in the country who will use their endowment funds to conduct research, advance collections and programs, and establish new services.

Honors Education Programs

enhance various subject libraries that support honor students on special research and projects. Two priorities of the Libraries are to enhance support for honor students and to digitize honors theses for online access. To achieve these goals the Libraries seek funding to strengthen online searches, expand technology assistance, and develop other support for honor students' projects.

Library Graduate Fellowships

are funded by endowments that provide tuition and stipends to offset living expenses, which can make the difference in a promising student's decision to attend Penn State. These graduate level students will devote themselves to excellence and research, while exhancing their own expertise in their field of study.

Undergraduate Interns

gain real-life experience in their disciplines, while they simultaneously benefit the Libraries through their work. Endowments directed to internships, like the Marie Bednar Libraries Internship Program Endowment, provides perpetual funding to provide internship opportunities.