Donor Reception Honors 'Significant Impact' of College's Benefactors

Financial and in-kind contributions to Penn College were celebrated at Wednesday's ninth annual Donor Wall Recognition Reception, held in the Student and Administrative Services Center. The event applauded members of the Ambassador, Heritage, Visionary, Golden and Millionaire’s societies, extending a special welcome to newly added donors and those moving to a higher giving level. "The wall pays tribute to individuals, families, organizations, small businesses and large corporations from near and far, but the impact ... is felt across our campuses," President Davie Jane Gilmour said. "Your gifts translate into scholarship money for students, instructional materials and technology for teaching, enhanced faculty experiences, and visual and architectural improvements to our campus." The president particularly recognized Penn College employees who moved into the Millionaire's Society (inclusion requiring gifts of $1 million and more). "Over the years, this group has contributed over $1.1 million to the Penn College Fund. We are grateful for this exceptional support from our employees," she said, introducing five faculty/staff contributors as representatives of in-house philanthropy collegewide. "As you look around our campuses, you should take pride in knowing that your gifts have made a significant impact on the quality of programmings and academic life that we offer," the president said in thanking them – and all of the college's benefactors, both present and unable to attend. "Our student body is here, in part, because of your generosity." Students and catering staff of Le Jeune Chef Restaurant provided a buffet at the event, which also included remarks by Barry R. Stiger, vice president for institutional advancement.