The legacy of a well-respected assistant professor of architecture technology will continue at Pennsylvania College of Technology through a new scholarship fund established in his memory.
The executors of the estate of the late William H. Ealer have signed an agreement with the Penn College Foundation establishing the William H. Ealer Scholarship Fund.
The foundation is accepting donations toward building the scholarship fund to an endowment of at least $25,000, at which time it will begin making scholarship awards.
Recipients of the awards will be chosen from qualified applicants who are enrolled either as full-time or part-time students in Penn College's building science and sustainable design: architectural technology concentration bachelor-degree major or the architectural technology associate-degree major. Applicants must demonstrate financial need, and preference will be given to students who have received the award in previous years.
Ealer died Feb. 14. At the time, he was the longest-serving active faculty member at Penn College, having begun his teaching career at Williamsport Area Community College, a predecessor of Penn College, in 1965.
"William Ealer was a great example of the "˜gentleman architect'," said Dorothy J. Gerring, an associate professor of architecture technology who worked with Ealer for more than 18 years. "He challenged his students and colleagues to broaden their knowledge base and to be holistic in their approach. His true love and passion was for architecture as a physical and expressive art.His eclectic approach always wove a tapestry of history, buildings, opera and baseball."
"He remembered every student he'd ever had," added Gerring, "and was unequivocally proud of their successes and the architectural education offered at Penn College."
One of Ealer's former students was Air Force Col. Frank J. Sullivan, director of joint staff at the Pennsylvania National Guard headquarters and a 1973 graduate of the architectural technology major.
"Bill Ealer was one of the most intellectual men I have ever met, but he never made a student feel inferior," Sullivan said. "He had the ability to bring the students up to levels of study and curiosity that was well beyond our expectations. He taught us all how to think. My life was changed by his classes and philosophy."
Ealer included Penn College's Madigan Library in his estate plans. He also donated several pieces of art and architectural books from his collection to the library.
Alumni and friends who would like to make a donation to the William H. Ealer Scholarship Fund can do so online or by mail to: The Penn College Foundation, One College Avenue, Williamsport, PA, 17701-5799.
Penn College is a special mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University, committed to applied technology education. With more than 6,500 students enrolled in bachelor-degree, associate-degree and certificate majors, Penn College has the second-largest enrollment in the Penn State system.
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