Philanthropy
Science Journal, Fall 1995 Vol 13, No. 1
More than thirty students per year in the Eberly College of Science will benefit from a new scholarship fund established through a bequest from the estate of Nellie H. Roberts. The $2.7-million estate gift will be used to endow undergraduate and graduate scholarships for students majoring in astronomy and astrophysics, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics.
The college will name the scholarships for the donor and her late husband, Oscar L. Roberts. Both were graduates of the UniversityóNellie in 1929 with a master of science degree in home economics and Oscar in 1929 with a doctoral degree in chemistry.
Nellie Roberts spent most of her life in the Philadelphia area, where she taught school for 32 years. Oscar Roberts was a chemist who died during a laboratory explosion while working for Atlantic Richfield, now ARCO, in 1944.
"The University is grateful to Mrs. Roberts and alumni like her for their foresight in endowing scholarships," says Penn State President Graham Spanier. "Private giving is crucial in our efforts to provide higher education opportunities to all deserving students." A native of the state of Indiana, Roberts fondly remembered her years at Penn State and frequently stated to friends that she would "take care of Penn State" when she passed away.
"The scholarships created by Mrs. Roberts are like the Braddock Scholarships in the effect they have on our ability to recruit the most academically talented students in the physical sciences," adds Dean Gregory L, Geoffroy. "These outstanding students not only learn job skills that they take into the business world, they also engage in research that helps to make the world a better place." The Braddock Scholars program was established in 1985 when alumnus Homer F. Braddock left the University a bequest of $5.6 million, stipulating in his will that the gift be used to endow scholarships and fellowships in the physical and biological sciences. Nellie Roberts created the Roberts scholarships by providing in her will that, upon her demise, a percentage of her estate would be awarded to the University. She died last April in Indiana. The University will invest the $2.7 million Roberts designated to endow the scholarships. A portion of the annual return will be used for student support and the remainder will be retained in the principal as protection against inflation.
Annual Gifts From Alumni for Science
Students and Teachers Up 16 Percent
The number of annual gifts to the Eberly College of Science has risen 16% from 1994 to 1995, with more than 4,261 alumni and friends making donations. The increased number of gifts during this time has also produced a 26% increase in the amount of giving to the college and its departments, and has provided annual funds totalling more than $349,000.
Annual gifts are critical to the success of Penn State and the Eberly College of Science. Donations provide a source of revenue to meet special financial needs for which there is often no other source of support.
"Feeling well prepared for a career or for future study, alumni often support the college as a way to 'givesomething back' . . . "
Gifts from alumni and friends also ensure that the college is able to further develop the areas of excellence for which the University has become nationally recognized. Private support, therefore, plays a major role in the continuance and development of the Penn State educational experience and allows the Eberly College of Science to maintain its reputation as a premier research institution and a training ground for future scientists.
Annual donations are also self-perpetuating. Dean Gregory L. Geoffroy says, "When alumni support Penn State financially, we know that they feel good about their own educational experiences at Penn State. Feeling well prepared for a career or for future study, alumni often support the college as a way to 'give something back' to the institution. Their generosity, in turn, enables us to even better prepare current and future generations of students."
Uses of annual donations during the past year include:
Questions regarding the financial support of the Eberly College
of Science may be directed by writing to the Office of Alumni Relations
and Development, 430 Classroom Building, University Park, PA 16802, or
by phoning (814) 863-8454.