Your Donation at Work

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Your Donation at Work

"We enact our values through the decisions we make and the actions we take. The value of access, especially access to higher education and access to a public research library’s resources, motivates and energizes me as a library leader. It's clear that this value also motivates and energizes our supporters because of the actions they take. We celebrate their generous philanthropy as it enables Penn State Libraries to reach the highest levels of excellence in our services, collections, and personnel."
- Dean Faye A. Chadwell

 

 

WORKING TOWARDS DIGITAL EQUITY: THE MARY O'NEILL MARSH TECH ACADEMY ENDOWMENT

Penn State and libraries have always been important to Mary Marsh, who grew up as an avid reader in State College.

Mary graduated from Penn State in 1969 with a degree in law enforcement and corrections. During her time here, she worked at the Health and Human Development (HHD) Library, seeing first hand how important library services are to students.

Read More about Mary's commitment to digital equity.

Tech Academy Penn State University logo with grey circle with green, light blue, and dark blue circles connected by lines inside the grey circle

 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: PHIL AND SUSAN GRESH

Penn State has a special place in the hearts of Phil and Susan Gresh. During their time at Penn State, they met on a blind date at a football game and married three years later. Phil graduated from the College of Liberal Arts and Susan graduated from the College of Health and Human Development, so giving to the Penn State Libraries is considered neutral ground. “We have been coming back to Penn State for a long time and have been involved in many different ways over the years,” said Phil. “Eventually we went and met Sue Kellerman (Judith O. Sieg Chair for Preservation and Head of Preservation, Conservation, and Digitization), and the rest is history.”

Read More about Phil and Susan

A student sitting at a desk using the the Olympus CX43 RF microscope to examine materials

 

 

INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE: THE PRYSTOWSKY SCHOLARSHIP

Passionate Penn Staters Eric and Bonnie Prystowsky met at Penn State in 1966 and still consider Penn State a very special place. “Bonnie graduated from The College of the Liberal Arts, and I from The Eberly College of Science,” said Eric Prystowsky. But, both of us spent many hours together in the library. The library became an area of common interest to us then, and a good way for us to give back to Penn State now.”
Read More about the Prystowsky Scholarship

Eric and Bonnie Prystowsky with large paned windows in the background and yellow and green foliage

 

 

DONOR SPOTLIGHT: ROBERT F. GUENTTER, JR., '82 BUS, '83 MPA

“I went through grad school and somebody paid for my schooling. What I learned later in life is that the University didn’t give me the money, somebody paid for that tuition, and I never had the chance to thank whoever paid for that. Doing this award is my way of saying thank you to the person or group that helped me get my start. It’s my way of giving back.”

Read More about Rob's passion to give.

Rob and Janelle Guentter

 

 

A PASSION TO PAY IT FORWARD

"In 1979, I borrowed $100 from an emergency student loan fund. That was a huge amount of money to me at the time! I had no idea how I'd pay it off in 30 days, but I did. It allowed me to buy a book and art supplies that I desperately needed to stay in school that term. I've never forgotten that help! I vowed then that I would give back to the University someday to help keep at least one other kid in school the same way.  I'm very happy that I've begun to do this!"

Read More about Scott Warrington

Scott Warrington standing in front of a tree bayside, on land

 

 

DONOR COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

The inimitable Sue Paterno, ’62 Lib Arts, Vice-Chair of the University Libraries Development Board, recently spoke with fellow Libraries supporter Lily McGovern, ’71 Lib Arts, and learned they have more in common than a shared love of the University Libraries...
Read More about Sue Paterno's interview

Lily with her mother Angelina Miller

 

 

 

FROM BEDNAR INTERN TO FUTURE LIBRARIAN

“During my time at the Penn State Libraries, I was able to collaborate meaningfully across the library and the University. By expanding my network of collaboration, I was able to plan successful events which fostered an environment of open sharing and collective knowledge creation.” – Lily Murray, Student Engagement and Outreach Bednar Intern, 2018-2020

Read More about the Lily Murray

Lily Murray

 

 

Marion Mackinnon’s Gift Leads the Way for Students With Disabilities

"As an international student who is blind and pursuing a Ph.D. in Learning Design and Technology, I am deeply indebted to University Libraries’ Adaptive Technology & Services. All tactile graphs as well as alternative text materials required for my course work are always provided to me in a timely manner, making my academic experience very enjoyable. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to those who have supported me –giving me the strength to not give up but to keep moving forward." -Jooyoung Seo.

Read More about Adaptive Technology

Blind student studies map using raised lines