The Behrend Medallion -- Penn State Behrend's foremost recognition of an individual who has brought honor to his or her profession and community -- was presented on May 23 to Thomas B. Hagen, chairman of the board of Erie Insurance Group. Joining Hagen, center, were the last four Penn State Behrend leaders: from left, Jack Burke, Ralph Ford, John M. Lilley and Don Birx.
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has selected Penn State Behrend as a lead partner for developing business and market opportunities created by a $6 billion Shell Pennsylvania Chemicals project in Beaver County.
Shell Pennsylvania Chemicals is building a $6 billion ethane "cracker" plant, similar to this facility, in Beaver County. The plant is expected to open in 2020.
Penn State Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford and his wife, Melanie Ford, a faculty member in the School of Engineering and director of Youth Education Outreach at the college, led the creation of a $100,000 endowment for students with financial need. The first scholarships were awarded in the fall of 2017.
Penn State alumni couple Antonio Nieves and Emily Sallack leveraged the 1:1 University match offered through the First-Time Endowed Scholarship Donor Matching Program to create one of the largest scholarship funds in Educational Equity.
A $175,000 gift from the FirstEnergy Foundation will support student research and industry partnerships at Penn State’s Behrend, Berks and University Park campuses.
Marybeth Smialek, director of external affairs at FirstEnergy, and Scott Wyman, president of Penelec, present a foundation check to Penn State Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford. The FirstEnergy Foundation has provided $175,000 to support student research and industry partnerships at three Penn State campuses, including Penn State Behrend.
Nishi Gupta has created a scholarship endowment to support engineering students at Penn State Behrend, where she began her education in 1978. "I wanted to do more, especially for women," she said.
