UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Elaine Lipinsky Family Foundation, run by her daughters Kamaya Jane Cohen and Diane Zeps, recently made a contribution to the Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform. The gift, which was matched by the University, will support research aimed at ending hazing and other dangerous behaviors and creating safer, more meaningful fraternity and sorority experiences.
Cohen has a strong Penn State connection through her daughter who graduated from Penn State in 2019. Cohen said her daughter thrived at Penn State and really found herself and her passion while at college. Part of her college experience included joining the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
Cohen was greatly affected by the tragedy of Timothy Piazza’s death, which happened in 2017 while her daughter was a part of the fraternity and sorority community at Penn State.
“When I heard what happened, the first thing that was in my head was that it could have easily been my daughter or any one of her friends. That is a parent’s greatest nightmare. It’s an issue everywhere and something needs to be done,” said Cohen.
Cohen expressed the importance of students and other practicing ‘upstanding’ instead of ‘bystanding’ to prevent these tragedies; however, she also expressed her desire to see more organizations tackling the many issues surrounding fraternity and sorority experiences. Cohen said she is thankful that the Piazza Center and Penn State are actively working to address these issues through research.
“If parents, alumni, organizations and students join forces, we will not only have the resources to tackle hazing but restore and reclaim the experience for generations to come. Fraternities and sororities are designed to be life-changing not life-threatening,” said Stevan Veldkamp, executive director, Piazza Center. “We are grateful to the Lipinsky Family Foundation for their support and to Kamaya Jane Cohen for modeling how concerned parents and families can invest in a safe community for all students.”
The Piazza Center was formed at Penn State in January 2019 and named in memory of Timothy Piazza, who was a sophomore at Penn State in 2017 when he died after a night of pledging activity. The multidisciplinary research center produces actionable data to provide campuses, fraternity and sorority headquarters, and practitioners with the evidence they need to enact significant change. The center’s studies are focused in four key areas: hazing and hazardous drinking prevention; peer accountability, leadership, community engagement and learning; mental and physical health; and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Penn State hopes to generate an endowment of $8 million to support the center's research. Toward that end, the University has committed $2 million in initial funding and will match up to $3 million in additional endowment funds committed for this purpose. Through this opportunity, organizations, alumni, parents, and friends can leverage their gifts to secure matching funds that double the impact of their generosity. To learn more about supporting the center and the goal that students in fraternities and sororities have a safe and enriching college experience, visit the Piazza Center website.
This gift will advance "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by serving communities and fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.