UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Bookstores, managed by Barnes and Noble, has awarded its second round of grants to support a range of programs and initiatives across the University. As previously announced, the bookstores launched the new grant program through a five-year, $1.25 million commitment to the University. Of this total, $425,000 will support the Faculty/Staff Forum, the Four Diamonds Fund, and the Library Enrichment Fund, and the remaining $825,000 will be awarded through the grant program.
The goals of the grant program are to have a significant impact on student and faculty life through relatively small, targeted investments at Penn State campuses across the Commonwealth in addition to University Park. Each semester, Steve Falke, regional director of the Penn State Bookstores, will review applications with John Dietz, associate vice president for development.
“We are delighted to be able to announce the second round of recipients who will be receiving the grant from the Penn State Bookstores,” said Falke. “Our commitment to the students remains as strong as ever as our place in the Penn State community continues to grow.”
The program received nearly 30 funding requests from a range of units for the second round of grants. The following initiatives were selected to receive funding:
- STEM Program for Young Women – Penn State Altoona
- PaSSS – Commonwealth Campus System
- Advancing Culturally Sensitive Literacy in Philadelphia – Penn State Abington
- Lake Effect High School Creative Writing Contest – Penn State Erie
- All That’s Jazz Scholarship Benefit – Penn State Greater Allegheny
- Textbook & Educational Resources Endowment – University Libraries
- Diversity Circles – Penn State Worthington Scranton
- Libraries’ Open House – University Libraries
- Penn State Homecoming 2017
- Create a Sense of Community – Smeal College of Business
“We continue to be grateful for the generosity of the Penn State Bookstores, managed by Barnes and Noble, in giving these grants to the chosen groups on our campuses,” said Dietz. “All the recipients from the first two rounds have been deserving and we anticipate more highly-qualified applicants next year.”
Gifts from Penn State’s alumni and friends and partners have been essential to the success of the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve the public good. To fulfill that mission for a new era of rapid change and global connections, the University has begun "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a fast-paced campaign focused on the three key imperatives of a public university. Private support will keep the door to higher education open and enable students to graduate on time and on track to success; create transformative experiences on Penn State campuses and around the globe that tap the full potential of Penn Staters to make a difference; and impact the world through discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship. To learn more, visit www.giveto.psu.edu.