UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Schreyer Alumni Society Board has made a $55,000 commitment to endow the Schreyer Honors College’s Emergency Fund, a vital resource that provides financial assistance to Scholars facing unanticipated circumstances.
The emergency fund is intended to provide short-term financial assistance to students with an immediate need. It addresses a variety of needs from the costs of meals to campus housing, and transportation.
The initiative to endow the emergency fund was led by Brian Harkless, the board’s vice president and a 1995 graduate of Penn State.
Since graduating with a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering, Harkless has worked as a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy. He joined the Schreyer Alumni Society Board (SASB) during the 2021-22 academic school year and immediately got involved with the Alumni Engagement Committee. With this group, he helped plan and manage the Honors College’s annual philanthropic projects, such as participation in GivingTuesday.
The emergency fund has been a target of GivingTuesday efforts for several years, but possessed no annual budget, relying solely on philanthropic contributions to keep it functional. With a drive to increase the number of students impacted, Harkless led the SASB in contributing an annual baseline donation to ensure the fund’s survival.
“Designating an endowment sets a starting minimum availability each year, which can then grow through regular giving paths. Now, every dollar given to the fund can produce significantly larger impacts over time,” Harkless explained. “It's a way alumni can uplift current and future students to continue building the best honors education experience in the world.”
Honors College Financial Aid Specialist Austyn Yatison works directly with Scholars in need of the fund’s resources, allowing her to see its resounding impact firsthand, she said. She explained how the fund is not a “one-size-fits-all” solution but rather alleviates costs brought about by a variety of unpredictable circumstances.
“We have had such a wide range of students reach out, as the fund is designed to help students through any unforeseen circumstances. This could be anything from a student’s laptop being broken during finals week to students who have lost parents,” said Yatison.
During the previous 2023-24 academic school year, the college's financial aid office received 46 requests for emergency funding, with an average amount of $1,700 being awarded. A total of nine requests have been submitted for the 2024-25 academic school year thus far.
Yatison emphasized her gratitude for the fund’s endowment, and how SASB’s role in the process demonstrates the college's values of creating a community with long-lasting engagement.
“I can't express how overjoyed and excited I am to hear about this endowment, it is going to have a huge positive impact,” she said. “Having a resource that we know we can count on is just invaluable. I also love that it's coming from SASB; Scholars supporting other Scholars is such a full-circle moment.”
The Schreyer Alumni Society Board (SASB), the group responsible for the endowment, is the main governing body of the Scholar Alumni Society and exists as an affiliate group of the Penn State Alumni Association. The board’s mission is to connect Schreyer alumni to current students through engagement efforts such as the Schreyer Activity Challenge, Mentoring with Honors Program, and Connect Networking & Career Day. These events and programs seek to encourage professional relationship-building between past and present Scholars.
Both endowed and other gifts to the Honor's College's Emergency Fund will 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.