When Sue Powell walks across the University Park campus, from the landmark “The Pennsylvania State University” sign outside of Beaver Stadium to the named John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), she passes countless efforts that are the result, at least in small part, of her 38-year career of raising funds for the University.

Now, the retired director of development and alumni relations for EMS can count one more: the Sue Powell Endowment for Transformative Experiences, which is dedicated to supporting EMS students.

Powell, who stepped down in January after 15 years in her leadership role, was honored by friends and colleagues with the $50,000 endowment. Endowments continue to exist in perpetuity, with interest from the investment benefiting those specified in the endowment guidelines.

Fittingly for Powell, who made a career out of turning many gifts – large or small – into massive impacts on key University projects, support from this endowment will go to helping students in need of funding for research, travel, projects and other assistance. She said the awards, which will be determined by a committee headed by the college’s associate dean of undergraduate education, could help students with something as simple as offsetting printing costs for a poster contest or funding travel expenses to attend a research conference. Its focus will be experiences beyond the classroom that complete and enhance a Penn State education.

“For nearly my whole career as a fundraiser, I’ve always been on the other side of receiving endowments, so you can imagine my surprise when this small group of dedicated people presented this gift on my behalf,” Powell said.

Powell, who graduated from Penn State in 1981 with a degree in advertising, was among the first group of fundraisers to join Penn State’s fundraising team. She did so in 1983 after two years at a large media firm in Pittsburgh.

She said Penn State was just beginning to get into private fundraising after realizing the University was going to have to rely on support outside of research and tax dollars to better fulfill its commitment to its students, faculty and staff.

“It became clear to the University leadership that you cannot rely solely on state and tuition dollars,” Powell said. “President Bryce Jordan said, ‘We aspire to be the greatest state institution in this country. And yet the only way we can achieve those lofty goals is to go beyond relying on tuition dollars.’ The University started to build a development fundraising team, and I was lucky to be one of the first to be on it.”

From there she worked at several positions at Penn State before taking a job in EMS in 2006, which at the time was headed by future Penn State President Eric Barron.

“I was hired by President Eric Barron, then dean of EMS, who vowed to make us the most student-centered college on campus. I promised I would help accomplish that. It’s been my job to keep students at the center of my goals so it’s great that this endowment will continue that.”

The Penn State sign near Beaver Stadium, the construction of the Bryce Jordan Center, WPSU’s new headquarters and the transition to digital broadcasting and naming of EMS’ first department ─ The Leone Family Department of Mineral Engineering ─ were just a few of the many projects where Powell made an impact.

Helping alumni have an impact on the future successes of Penn State is something that drew Powell to the position. She knew alumni were engaged and committed to the successes of the University and its students. She found her role as the facilitator.

Take John Leone, who graduated in 1956 from EMS’ petroleum and natural gas engineering program. In his successes in the oil and gas industry, where he started his own business, he saw a need for engineers who had that business background and acumen. Powell helped Leone fund efforts that helped engineering students fit energy business and finance courses into their schedule.

“What I helped John do was think about his passion, and how he could translate that into a really, really impactful gift,” said Powell, who worked with Leone to create funds for future leaders in the energy industry. “His passion was developing an energy business-oriented curriculum to augment an engineering degree. And it’s exactly what he did. To celebrate his giving, we named the department the John and Willie Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering.”

It’s investments like that, and those from alumni and friends who offer philanthropy, mentoring and other forms of support, Powell said, which help the University attract the best faculty and researchers. It also opens doors for students from every background.

“We provide as much as we possibly can while students are at Penn State,” Powell said. “Following that, we encourage them to stay involved and stay engaged, and that’s what Penn State alumni do. As they excel in their careers — we see extraordinary alumni expertise — they’re so grateful for their experience, and grateful for the faculty who helped propel them to that level. It’s just such a sweet, sweet story that I’ve seen throughout my career.”

Contributions to the Sue Powell Endowment for Transformative Experiences 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