Gary Mullen, a longtime Penn State faculty member and administrator, and his wife, Beverly Mullen, have committed $600,000 in support of the University's Department of Mathematics.

They designated $500,000 to endow a career development professorship, and the remainder to increase the endowment of an undergraduate scholarship they had previously created.

The Gary L. and Beverly B. Mullen Career Development Professorship in Mathematics will be awarded to an assistant or associate professor who demonstrates exceptional promise as a scholar, according to Daniel Larson, dean of the Eberly College of Science. Income from the endowment might be used to support the Mullen Professor's teaching program, provide seed funds for new areas of research, and similar purposes.

"Career development professorships are exactly what the name implies -- recognition and support for junior members of the faculty who show great potential for making outstanding long-term contributions to scholarship," Larson said. "Such endowments help the college to attract and retain some of the best available teachers and researchers who are in the early stages of their careers. We are very grateful to Gary and Beverly for their remarkable generosity and vision."

The Mullens previously established the Boyd A. and Bernice K. Mullen Endowed Memorial Scholarship in memory of Gary's parents to assist undergraduates in the Department of Mathematics who show promise of academic success. Since that fund became active in 2006-07, six students have received awards. The Mullens' additional contribution means more support will be available to help students.

The Mullens' gift comes at the outset of Penn State's faculty and staff campaign, a component of the University-wide capital fund-raising effort, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, now in its leadership gifts phase.

Gary Mullen is the volunteer chair for the faculty and staff campaign in the Eberly College.

"Gary and Beverly's gift is truly inspirational and helps to establish the momentum we need as we begin our efforts to enlist faculty and staff participation in the For the Future campaign," said Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses John Romano, who serves as volunteer chair for faculty and staff giving University-wide.

Romano noted that the Mullens made their commitment as part of their estate plans.

"In making a campaign gift, faculty and staff can choose from many options to find one that's appropriate for their circumstances, regardless of the size of their commitment," he said. "Office of University Development professionals will be glad to work with prospective donors to select the right option."

Gary Mullen received a B.A. in mathematics from Allegheny College in 1969, then earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Penn State. He joined the University's math department as an instructor in 1974, later taught at Penn State Shenango, then returned to the University Park campus in 1982 to become assistant dean and eventually associate dean of what is today the Eberly College of Science. In 1993 he returned to teaching and research in the Department of Mathematics and has also served two three-year terms as department head. He has agreed to serve a one-year term as interim head, beginning July 1.

Beverly (Boggs) Mullen graduated from Shippensburg University in 1975 with a B.S. in business education and also holds an M.S. degree in office administration. She joined Harrisburg-based AMP Inc. in 1980 and retired from the company's successor, Tyco Electronics, as manager of corporate coding in 2007.

To learn more about faculty and staff giving to Penn State, visit http://www.giveto.psu.edu/WhoContributes/FacultyAndStaff/index.html.   

This story appeared on Penn State Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/39365/nw1