G.C. Murphy Co. Foundation donates an additional $50,000

Penn State Greater Allegheny has received an additional $50,000 grant from the G.C. Murphy Co. Foundation for the purpose of increasing the foundation's endowed scholarship fund.

When fully funded, the size of the G. C. Murphy Co. Foundation Scholarship endowment will be more than doubled, according to Pat Quinn Winter, director of Development. "Thanks to this generous grant, the number of scholarship awards will increase in future. We're very grateful to the foundation for recognizing the needs of our students."

The scholarship is designated for residents of McKeesport and the Mon Valley, with preference given to students whose relatives were employed by the G. C. Murphy Co. Founded in McKeesport, in 1906, the chain grew to be one of the most popular five-and-dime and Murphy's Mart operators in the country before being sold in the mid'1980s.

The increased funding from the G.C. Murphy foundation will provide many more students with the ability to receive a college education. "Scholarship support is a critical component of our student aid program, it helps take away some of the financial burden of attending college and allows students to concentrate on their studies and co-curricular experiences,"” said Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter.

This grant supports the University's new fundraising drive, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. The campaign gives its highest priorities to ensuring that a Penn State education remains accessible to students regardless of their financial means and to strengthening the qualities that make Penn State a student-centered university. The University has not yet determined a dollar goal for the campaign, which is still in its leadership gifts phase.

Most recently, a $10,000 grant was given to redesign the G.C. Murphy Co. Foundation Lab in the E. R. Crawford Building. The information technology video suite provides students and faculty access to leading-edge video capture and manipulation equipment. The lab offers dynamic spaces to complete class assignments and community service projects. Past foundation grants include support for the Student Community Center building fund and computer labs.