Peavlers commit $1.6 million to graduate education in the humanities

University Park, Pa. -- Retired Penn State faculty member and associate dean Terry J. Peavler and his wife, Linda Deniston-Peavler, have made a $1.6 million commitment to support outstanding graduate students in the humanities in the University's College of the Liberal Arts.

The gift is the largest ever made by a faculty member in the College of the Liberal Arts, according to Susan Welch, dean of the college. The couple are donating their family ranch in Colorado as an estate gift to the college and have designated the proceeds of the future sale for support of graduate education in the humanities.

Terry Peavler served more than 30 years in the college as a faculty member teaching Spanish language and literature courses; interim head of the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese; and associate dean of undergraduate studies. Linda Deniston-Peavler is a successful gourd artist whose works have been featured in galleries in Santa Fe and Taos, N.M.

The importance of graduate education to the college’s pursuit of national leadership and the financial needs of graduate students are well known to Terry Peavler, who served as graduate officer in the department. Throughout his Penn State career, he directly supervised the work of over a dozen doctoral students, all of whom have joined faculty at leading colleges and universities across the country.

“Being a graduate student can be extremely stressful,” Peavler said. “Many students have young families, classes are rigorous, and money is almost always an issue. I attended the University of California at Berkeley and was fortunate to receive generous aid, which made a major difference in my academic career. Linda and I want to do the same for humanities graduate students."

Welch added, "I am grateful for Terry and Linda’s generosity, which will help attract the best graduate students to our college -- students who, in turn, will become great teachers and scholars and contribute to the college’s national leadership.”

Peavler has written five books on Spanish American literature, including "Julio Cortazar" in 1990. He also developed undergraduate and graduate courses on Hispanic literatures, film and literature, and Spanish American literature.

He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Spanish and comparative literature in 1965 and 1966, respectively, from the University of Colorado, and a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1973. He joined Penn State in 1971 as an assistant professor and was named associate professor in 1979 and professor of Spanish and comparative literature in 1988. Peavler became assistant dean for undergraduate studies in 1994 and then associate dean a year later. He headed the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese from 1998 to 2000.

Linda Deniston-Peavler earned a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State College in 1969 and an associate’s degree in nursing from Pikes Peak Community College in 1978, and worked as a registered nurse until 1998.