UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A $2.3 million gift from the William A. and Joan Schreyer Foundation is set to launch an innovative program and enhance the experience of students entering the Penn State Schreyer Honors College by fostering a meaningful sense of community, identity and belonging.
For the past 18 years, Schreyer Scholars have attended a two-day orientation experience, known as SHO TIME. More than 300 incoming first-year Schreyer Scholars and nearly 300 students entering the college in their second and third year participate in exercises designed to build camaraderie, promote wellness and become familiar with campus support services.
To build upon this annual orientation, the Schreyer Foundation designated $2.3 million to establish the Schreyer Family New Scholar Experience Endowment. The New Scholar Experience will pair the SHO TIME orientation with a dynamic new program, called the Foundations of Scholar Success, that provides a one-credit, semester-long curriculum to build awareness of the tools, resources and strategies of learning and self-care and put students on the path to flourishing across their Penn State experience.
“The visionary investments made by Bill and Joan Schreyer 25 years ago to found the Schreyer Honors College have had a profound impact not only on our University, but on the world,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “Their generosity has helped Penn State empower scholars of extraordinary talent and ambition to achieve lifelong success as leaders and innovators around the globe. With this continuation of their giving, the Schreyer Foundation will further that impact and advance our University’s focus on enhancing student success and fostering a sense of community and belonging for all Penn Staters. This new program will continue to build on the Schreyer Honors College’s reputation for excellence, and I am truly grateful to the Schreyer family for their continued leadership and innovation.”
The program has been crafted to help Schreyer Scholars fulfill the following aims:
- Discover a sense of belonging and connection to the campus community through discussions and activities related to identity, diversity and inclusion
- Explore their own identities and experiences and learn how to respect and value the diversity of others
- Develop effective time management skills to balance academic and personal responsibilities, including prioritization, goal setting and scheduling
- Gain fluency in on-campus resources, such as academic support services, health and wellness services and career development services
- Learn strategies for academic success, including study skills, note-taking and test-taking
- Master skills and resources for prioritizing self-care
- Build meaningful connections with peers and Schreyer staff who will provide ongoing support and community throughout their Schreyer journey
With expertise from faculty and graduate-level leaders, peer leaders will train and credential peer educators, who will guide the bulk of the programming and activities, with the goal of building the trust, resourcefulness and judgment that participants will need to excel.
“My parents envisioned the Schreyer Honors College as more than the sum of its parts — they aimed to create a community committed to excellence and achievement within the larger Penn State context and with access to all of the institution's strengths and resources,” said DrueAnne Schreyer, daughter of Bill and Joan and trustee of her family’s foundation. “Our hope is that this program will mean that each and every student will feel connected to that community and to the University, valued for their contributions and empowered to advocate for their unique needs.”
Since the passing of her father in 2011 and her mother in 2021, DrueAnne Schreyer has helmed her family’s private foundation, which was founded in 1987 to channel support to educational institutions and other philanthropic priorities. She also serves as a member of the Schreyer Honors College external advisory board.
“The Schreyer family launched the college with their visionary leadership, and now, it is charting the path forward with this powerful new engine for student success,” said Patrick Mather, dean of Schreyer Honors College. “Our undergraduates come from 38 states and from 28 countries around the world, and many are the first in their families to pursue higher education, so the fact that we’ll have this curriculum in place to build connections between students with diverse perspectives and builds bridges to supportive services is a giant leap forward.”
Penn State launched the University Scholars program in 1980. In 1997, Bill and Joan Schreyer made a $30 million gift to advance their transformative vision of a world-class education that would empower Schreyer Scholars to rise to leadership roles throughout their communities, civic organizations, academia and the global business world. It was, at the time, the single largest gift in the history of the University. A gift of an additional $25 million in 2006 expanded the college’s curricula, resources, programming, faculty and staff. Alumni who have earned their degrees in the Schreyer Honors College have gone on to earn more than 150 of the nation’s most prestigious fellowships and awards, including National Science Foundation Fellowships and Rhodes Scholarships.
Donors and organizations like the Schreyer Foundation advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients, and communities across the Commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.