Alumni and friends gave a record-setting $116 million to benefit the Penn State Smeal College of Business during the University’s “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence” fundraising campaign. But, Smeal graduates have also made a significant impact at other colleges and campuses across Penn State.
Here are four of many:
Mark Gruskin
Mark Gruskin made his first major gift to Penn State Greater Allegheny in 1995. Since then, the associate professor of finance and accounting at Penn State Lehigh Valley has committed close to $3 million to the Greater Allegheny campus.
Gruskin was among the first major donors to give to Greater Allegheny in the “Greater Penn State” campaign when he pledged $50,000 to endow an Open Doors Scholarship in 2017. Through his estate, he has made provisions to create scholarships, endow faculty positions, and create a chancellor’s excellence fund at the campus.
He has also pledged close to $1 million to Penn State Lehigh Valley.
Gruskin earned a degree in computer science from Penn State in 1976 and an MBA from Smeal in 1979.
–Anne Louise Cropp
Victor and Dena Hammel
Victor and Dena Hammel’s families were directly impacted by the Holocaust, leading the couple to value the importance of learning and implementing lessons from history.
The Hammels were intrigued by the University’s Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education (HGHRE) Initiative, a multidisciplinary effort to provide training and resources to help K-12 educators teach a wide range of difficult topics, from the Holocaust and other genocides to racism or trauma.
In 2021, the Hammels gave $450,000 to create an Eastern hub for the initiative at Penn State Berks. In August 2022, they committed $5 million to create the Hammel Family Human Rights Initiative at Penn State to provide permanent endowed funding for the HGHRE Initiative.
Victor Hammel earned a degree in accounting in 1967. He is chairman emeritus of Rentokil Pest Control, North America, and the retired co-owner and CEO of Ehrlich Pest Control. Dena Hammel graduated in 1968 with a degree in speech pathology and audiology and is a retired social worker.
–Anne Louise Cropp
Stephen and Nancy Sheetz
Stephen and Nancy Sheetz gave over $7.8 million to Penn State Altoona during the “Greater Penn State” campaign.
Their support includes $2 million for an endowed faculty position in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership as part of the campaign’s Economic Development Matching Program; $3.1 million to create full in-state tuition diversity scholarships; $1.7 million for the Sheetz Fellows Program (which supports research, study abroad, and internship opportunities to enhance students’ academic and professional experiences); and $1 million to support Penn State Altoona’s first emergency assistance fund and Ivyside Eats, the campus organization meeting the growing food insecurity crisis among students.
Over the years, the couple has given close to $19 million to Penn State Altoona.
Stephen Sheetz, former CEO and chairman of the board of Sheetz Inc., graduated from Penn State in 1969 with a degree in management.
–Anne Louise Cropp
Stephen Taub
In 2018, Taub made a $17.3 million estate commitment to Penn State Abington, the largest gift in the campus’ history. The Taub Endowments will provide high-impact opportunities for students through scholarships and global engagement programs focused on leadership, innovation, and multiculturalism within education, commerce, and government.
His lifetime commitment to Penn State Abington exceeds $22 million.
Taub, a longtime president and chief executive officer of the world’s largest natural licorice products manufacturer, graduated in 1973 with a degree in management.
–Anne Louise Cropp
