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Arts and Architecture

Advancement Office
215 Wagner Building
Phone: 814-863-2142--Development
Phone: 814-863-0621--Alumni Relations
Phone: 814-863-2104--Communications
Fax: 814-863-5526

Barbara Korner, dean, bok2@psu.edu
Dan Isidor, director of development, dsi1@psu.edu
Sue Anne Graham, major gifts officer
, ssg3@psu.edu

Caran Aikens, development assistant, csa12@psu.edu
Susan Baker, administrative assistant, scb10@psu.edu
Joyce Hoffman, director alumni relations and communications, jeh7@psu.edu
Eizabeth King, assistant director of development, emk19@psu.edu
Janeann Lindsay, staff assistant, jul19@psu.edu
Amy Milgrub Marshall, writer/editor, alm157@psu.edu

Opportunities for Giving

Penn State's College of Arts and Architecture begins the twenty-first century with high hopes for the future, amidst some very real challenges. We have recently completed an incredibly successful fundraising campaign A Grand Destiny: The Penn State Campaign which raised $54 million for the college. This campaign has allowed the college to reach to new heights in education, research, creative endeavors and community outreach. And because the campaign focused on endowment support and new and renovated facilities, much of Grand Destiny's success will be felt in perpetuity.

In contrast to this unprecedented level of support from our generous alumni and friends, government support for higher education has decreased tremendously in the past few years. In our efforts to further the college's quest for improvement, we must continue to move forward by garnering support for our programs. We have therefore developed the following priorities with a goal of almost $22 22 million dollars to be secured in private philanthropy within the next four years:

Academic Support--$11 million--which encompasses the following:

  • Academic Excellence Initiatives--$4.5 million--A broad umbrella under which each of our schools, academic departments, and university art services have developed specific goals related to the college's strategic plan.
  • Trustee Matching Scholarship Support--$2 million--A five-year initiative seeking to raise need-based scholarship endowments that will be matched by the University.
  • Faculty Support--$4.5 million--Endowed chairs and professorships that are vital tools for attracting and retaining the best faculty members.

Capital Projects--$3.5 million--secures final funding on two important new facilities for the college:

  • Stuckeman Family Building for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
  • Blue Band Building

Sustaining Support--$7.5 million--Annual support which provides everyday help to enhance our on-going operations and our community-based programs in visual and performing arts support:

  • Palmer Museum of Art: annual Friends memberships, exhibition sponsorships, gifts of works of art, and museum-quality art collections, gifts-in-kind of media and silent auction items and endowments for art acquisition, exhibitions, and programs
  • Center for the Performing Arts: annual memberships, performance sponsorships, gifts-in-kind of media, and program endowment
  • Pennsylvania Centre Stage: individual gifts, performance sponsorships, gifts-in-kind of media and equity-actor housing, and program endowment

Annual Gifts

Examples of what gifts at the following levels could purchase for the college:

  • $1000--Help with travel expenses as our Architecture and Landscape Architecture students and faculty spend one required academic semester during their college career in Rome, Italy, in a study-abroad program.
  • $750--Scholarships for minority high school students from rural or inner-city areas to attend a week-long Architecture Summer Camp on the Penn State campus exposing students to the many areas of the design process within the Architecture field.
  • $500--Provide the funds to rent a bus to take our Visual Arts students to New York City for a two-day trip to visit contemporary-artist studios and visit the latest museum exhibitions.
  • $250--Support the purchase of computer software, sheet music or publication of our libraries.
  • $100--Provide lodging and meals for a guest lecturer or artist.
  • $75--Support student and faculty travel to professional conferences and music recitals.

Endowments

An endowment is an investment of permanent funds, a portion of the earnings of which are available for annual spending. For example, an undergraduate scholarship endowment might generate 10 percent annual growth in the current market and pay out five percent annually to be used to award a scholarship; the remaining five percent would be added to the principal to adjust for inflation. The idea is that the funds donated are permanent, and only the earnings on them are available for spending by the college.

Naming Opportunities and Endowment Specificity:

Endowments provide exceptional opportunities for donors to name gifts and to specify projects or programs that are of interest to them. All endowed gifts can carry the name of the donor or a loved one. In addition, the focus of an endowment can be specific. For example, if John Smith wants to support a School of Music voice student and honor his wife Jane, he could endow a fellowship that might be called "The Jane Smith Graduate Fellowship for Vocal Excellence." Listed below are some of the naming opportunities available and the corresponding required funding levels.

Endowment Opportunity and Amount:

  • Naming of Dean's Chair--$5 million
  • Naming of Department Head's Chair--$3 million
  • Naming of Chair--$2 million
  • Naming of Professorship, Curatorship, or Fellow--$1 million
  • Naming of Graduate Fellowship--$250,000
  • Naming of Undergraduate Scholarship--$50,000
  • Naming of Program Support Endowment--$25,000
  • Naming of Student Aid--$20,000

To make a gift:

The type of gift you wish to make--cash, securities, property, a work of art--will determine the techniques and the special tax and financial benefits available to you. An outright gift of cash or other assets will generate an immediate income tax charitable deduction. Penn State can put this kind of gift to work quickly in support of the programs of your choice. If you have assets that you would like to give but depend on for income, then you may prefer to make a deferred gift. Several deferred gift plans allow you to make your commitment while providing income for yourself or others. Endowments blend a donor's vision with the college's needs and objectives and typically bear the name of the donor or donor's loved one.

For more information, contact us using the contact information at the top of this page. You may also donate online through the Office of University Development's secure Web site.



Please note: General donations made to Penn State will not reach the College of Arts & Architecture unless they are designated as a gift for the College of Arts & Architecture. Donations sent directly to our college do not need to be designated for any special purpose, unless you choose to indicate what you would like to support with your gift.

For more information about the College of Arts and Architecture, access www.artsandarchitecture.psu.edu