Wolfingers create Ag Sciences Trustee Scholarship

University Park, Pa. -- Sandy Wolfinger knows without a doubt his career achievements were made possible by his Penn State education, and he wants to ensure that hard-working students receive the same opportunities. To accomplish this goal, he and his wife, Connie Wolfinger, are giving $50,000 to the University to establish the Harold H. "Sandy" Wolfinger Trustee Scholarship. The award will assist undergraduates with financial need, giving first preference to students majoring in forest science in the School of Forest Resources.

"Our hope is that the scholarship will not only help financially, but also validate the student's hard work and plant a seed of encouragement that they might help others when they are able to do so," said Wolfinger.

Sandy Wolfinger, who received his bachelor's degree in forest science from Penn State in 1965, is president of the consulting forester partnership Northern Forests, LLC. Connie Wolfinger is a real estate broker and owner of Field & Stream Real Estate. The couple resides in Cuba, N.Y., where they are developing an arboretum on the extensive grounds of their residence. Sandy and his son, Shawn, are partners in Sylvan Glen Inc., a real estate investing and development company. Sandy’s daughter, Kelly, is a partner with her father in Wolfinger Inc., a restaurant corporation.

The Wolfingers previously supported the new Forest Resources Building on the University Park campus and also established a scholarship at Penn State Mont Alto, where Wolfinger spent his first year of school. Their commitment to Penn State also has been demonstrated by hosting forestry students and faculty at their home for overnight forestry field training.

The Trustee Matching Scholarship Program is designed to keep a Penn State education accessible to all qualified students, regardless of their financial means. The program has a unique matching component -- the University matches 5 percent of the principal of each gift annually and combines these funds with income from the endowment to effectively double the financial impact of the scholarship. Implemented in 2002 upon approval by Penn State's Board of Trustees, the program assisted approximately 4,600 students University-wide last year.