Smeal College Celebrates Close Of Grand Destiny Campaign & Launch Of 50th Anniversary
Smeal College Celebrates Close Of Grand Destiny Campaign & Launch Of 50th Anniversary
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- As Penn State celebrated the close of its seven-year Grand Destiny Campaign, which secured $1.36 billion in gifts and pledges for the University, the Smeal College of Business also celebrated its Campaign successes, and began a yearlong 50th anniversary celebration of its own.
On Friday, April 25, at a dinner attended by some of Smeal’s most generous supporters, the College announced that it had secured a total of $73 million, exceeding its Campaign goal by $3 million. The funds will be used for general operation, graduate fellowships, faculty, research, undergraduate scholarships, programs, and the new building.
The evening featured testimonials from faculty member Abdullah Yavas, Professor of Business Administration and William Elliott Endowed University Fellow, who spoke of the impact of the Elliott Fellowship on his scholarly activities; and Jeffrey Drobish, a Smeal and Schreyer honors student, who spoke of the opportunities afforded by his undergraduate scholarship. There was also a video retrospective on the College’s first 50 years, centered on the themes of “Foundation,” “Excellence,” “Community,” “Learning, and Vision.”
On Saturday, April 26, about 300 people braved the dreary weather to kickoff the yearlong 50th anniversary of the College and look toward the future. Donning shirts emblazoned with the words “Building On 50 Years,” the attendees snacked on ice cream and popcorn before gathering within the architectural footprint of the College’s new building for an historic aerial photograph.
At 210,000 square feet, the Robert A.M. Stern designed building, which breaks ground in October and will be completed in summer 2005, will be the largest academic facility at Penn State. Check out the photographs from the event.
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REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu.
Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Center for Digital Transformation, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.
