Penn State receives $30 mil. donation for honors college

Pennsylvania State University got a hefty gift last week from retired financier and university alumnus William Schreyer and his wife Joan -- a $30 million donation to create a new honors college designed to allow the school to compete with Ivy League institutions. The donation is the largest by an individual couple in Penn State's history and the second largest the school ever received. The Schreyer Honors College -- the first at a public university -- will enroll 300 students per year on new Academic Excellence Scholarships, allow 100 students to study abroad as Schreyer Ambassadors and provide students with mentoring and professional internships. It is designed to create "opportunities for young people in Pennsylvania, and indeed, all over the world, while advancing Penn State's stature as a world class university," Schreyer stated in a written release. Penn State spokesperson Alan Janesch said the honors college is part of a "specific effort to bring students to Penn State" in order to enable the school to compete with Ivy League institutions. Attracting "top students who might not be otherwise able to attend a university" is also an aim of the honors college, he said. In accepting the donation, Penn State President Graham Spanier thanked the Schreyers for what he described as an "extraordinary gift." "Every time the university has needed Bill and Joan, they have been there for us," he said in a written release. "He and Joan have made an impact on this institution that will be felt by countless generations of students." Potential students will apply to the honors college through a special application, and the school will have its own dean. Once accepted, students will take a mix of honors and regular courses. The honors college will be closely linked with the Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning -- a Penn State think tank -- and will function as a testing ground for the Institute's theories regarding teaching and learning, according to university officials. But despite the hype surrounding the honors college, several members of the university's pre-existing honors program questioned whether there was a need for the new college. "I think it's better to have the honors program integrated in the school because if you make the honors college a separate college, it seems even less accessible to the rest of the university," Penn State junior Katherine Larash said, adding that she worries an honors college will "detract from the whole university." The gift is among the top 20 gifts to a public university in America. Schreyer -- chairperson emeritus of Merrill Lynch -- has been a longtime supporter of Penn State. Previous donations have helped to support the Bryce Jordan Center at the Hershey Medical Center, the Schreyer Libraries Endowment in Global Management Policy and Planning and the creation of a Jewish Studies chair in the College of Liberal Arts. He has served as a university trustee since 1986, including a term as president of the board between 1993 and 1996. Schreyer graduated from the university in 1948 with degrees in commerce and finance, joining Merrill Lynch shortly after graduation. He quickly rose through the ranks of the company, serving as its chief executive officer in 1984 and as its chairperson in 1985. He was appointed as its chairperson emeritus in 1993.

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