$1 Million Grant from Stabler Foundation to Fund Scholarships at Harrisburg University

Feb. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology today announced that it has created an endowment fund, thanks to a $1 million grant from The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation.  The grant will create the new Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Endowed Scholarship Fund at the private university. The fund will aid students who meet financial need and academic requirements, and have demonstrated a commitment to leadership and service.

This grant will enable the University to provide talented students far greater access to an HU education and ensure that graduates will enjoy the high-paying, high-growth careers that a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education can provide, says Dr. Mel Schiavelli, president of Harrisburg University,

“The creation of our first endowed scholarship fund is a transformational day for Harrisburg University and for the countless number of students who will benefit in the coming years from this grant," says Schiavelli. "We are grateful to the Stabler Foundation for this grant and for their belief in our students and our mission.  Thanks to the unparalleled generosity of supporters like the Stabler Foundation, our students are receiving a gift of opportunity, a gift that will endure, and a gift for the future of Central Pennsylvania."

With this grant, the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Endowed Scholarship Fund will in perpetuity provide need-based financial aid to students.

The first recipients will enter Harrisburg University this fall.  Scholarship recipients will be required to do their best to “pay it forward” to future HU students. They will sign a moral pledge to begin contributing to the University’s Stabler Endowed Scholarship Fund within five years of graduating or completing military service, or after repaying any legally binding educational loans.

"The Stablers believed that the recipients of financial assistance should recognize an obligation and be encouraged to return that which they receive so others, in turn, may receive similar assistance.  The pledge will help to ensure that the Stabler Endowed Scholarship Fund will continue to grow over time and help college students recognize the value of philanthropy long before graduation," says Ryan T. Riley, associate vice president of development and alumni relations at Harrisburg University.

The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation was established by Mr. and Mrs. Stabler in 1966 and provides grants exclusively for charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or educational purposes. Generally, grants are only made to organizations and institutions that are located, or provide their primary services, in Central or Eastern Pennsylvania.

For more information on how to make a gift to Harrisburg University, contact Ryan T. Riley at 717.901.5140 or CONNECT@HarrisburgU.edu

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Established in 2001 to address Central Pennsylvania’s need for increased opportunities for study leading to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, Harrisburg University is an innovative and ambitious private institution.