Leading the Way

The Chaiken Centers for Student Success

When perennial Penn State benefactors Gene and Roz Chaiken made their largest-ever gift in 2021—a gift that cemented their legacy as the largest scholarship donors in Penn State history and resulted in the naming of the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building after they had already been recognized as Philanthropists of the Year—most thought it would be their capstone contribution to the University.

But recognition is not what motivates Gene and Roz Chaiken; helping students is. While the amount of their latest commitment to the University is not being disclosed publicly, it has made them the second-largest donors in Penn State history and extends their impact beyond the College of the Liberal Arts, where the bulk of their philanthropy has been focused and where they established the Roz and Gene Chaiken Center for Student Success earlier in 2021.

Building upon and consolidating existing academic support services, the new gift establishes Chaiken Centers for Student Success elsewhere in the University, including Penn State Abington, the College of Information Sciences and Technology, and Penn State World Campus, as well as a University-wide student success center at University Park. In addition to the new centers, the Chaikens’ latest gift establishes a professional development fund for Chaiken Centers University-wide and creates a new fund in the College of the Liberal Arts, the Gene and Roz Chaiken Dean’s Fund for Antisemitism Education.

“Through Gene and Roz’s extraordinary philanthropy, the Chaiken family is already synonymous with creating opportunity and success for students in the College of the Liberal Arts,” says President Bendapudi. “I am thrilled that students across the University will now benefit from the Chaikens’ profound generosity.”

The J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School

Penn State’s Graduate School, which enrolls more than 13,000 students across 300 degree programs, now bears the names of leading philanthropists who have committed $20 million to its future success and strength. In July, the Board of Trustees approved the naming of the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School in recognition of the couple and the endowment they have created to provide support, in perpetuity, for graduate students and faculty and for initiatives that enhance the academic caliber of graduate education at the University. The gift is the largest in the Graduate School’s century-long history, and it is expected to accelerate Penn State’s rise as one of the world’s top destinations for students pursuing advanced study in their fields.

The Foxes are now among an elite group of Penn State donors who have attached their names to high-level academic units at the University. Income from the endowment for the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School will be directed toward scholarships, fellowships, and other direct aid to graduate students, with a special focus on military personnel and their families. The endowment will also help the Fox Graduate School dean to engage leading faculty and visiting scholars and support initiatives and programming intended to elevate Penn State as the preeminent academic graduate school in the country.

“The Foxes’ visionary support speaks both to their tremendous generosity and the perennial importance of graduate-level studies in achieving the most noble aims of higher education: to elevate human knowledge and change our world for the better,” says President Bendapudi. “This commitment from Jeff and Ann Marie represents the first college naming gift in Penn State’s new campaign, and their leadership stands as an example of what we can achieve through the combined power of philanthropy, education, and partnership.”

A Commitment to Students across the University

With pledges to seven different funds, a donor who has chosen to remain anonymous will have a profound impact far into the future. The eight-figure estate commitment will bring the donor’s total support of Penn State to more than $13.5 million.

The commitment includes one of the largest scholarship endowments ever established in the College of Education, intended to assist students who are preparing for careers teaching world languages or English as a secondary language. Dean Kimberly A. Lawless says, “To address Pennsylvania’s shortage of K–12 teachers, it is imperative that we incentivize young people to enter the profession. This extraordinary gift will eliminate financial barriers to a College of Education degree, empowering students from diverse social and economic backgrounds to pursue meaningful careers that impact communities, the Commonwealth, and society as a whole. Our gratitude to this special donor is immeasurable.”

Gifts from the estate will also support areas across the University:

• In the College of Agricultural Sciences, a new scholarship endowment will direct support to first-generation college students with financial need, with a first preference for those with an interest in poultry science.
• At Penn State Berks, an endowed scholarship for undergraduates with financial need has been paired with a chancellor’s excellence fund to provide campus leadership with resources to address urgent needs and seize emerging opportunities.
• Two funds will be created at Penn State College of Medicine: a dean’s excellence fund and a research endowment that will complement the investments made by Four Diamonds in pediatric cancer research.
• The impact of the donor’s estate commitment will also be felt by the members and fans of Penn State’s Blue Band through an endowment that will offer flexible resources to meet the program’s most urgent needs.