UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Longtime Penn State volunteer leaders Iris and Ed Beckwith have partnered with the University to create the Beckwith Family Educational Equity Scholarship for Student Affairs. The Beckwiths made a $25,000 contribution, which was matched 2:1 by the University through the Educational Equity matching program. The scholarship will benefit full-time undergraduate students who contribute to the diversity of the student body, demonstrate financial need, and contribute to the University through active involvement in one or more aspects of Student Affairs by participating in a student organization.

Ed, a Penn State alumnus, was engaged during his four years as a Penn State student and credits much of his well-rounded education to his out-of-the-classroom involvement. With this scholarship, the Beckwiths want to assist students who may not otherwise be able to benefit from these engagement experiences by removing potential financial hurdles.

"Ed and Iris Beckwith have been among the strongest allies I have found in my time at Penn State,” said Damon Sims, vice president for Student Affairs. “Their consistent encouragement of the student experience beyond the classroom in all its forms, but particularly for opportunities that promote diverse student leadership at Penn State, is borne from their genuine understanding of the transformative leadership experiences our students enjoy. I could not be more grateful for the Beckwiths' generosity and involvement, all of which has been given warmly and enthusiastically."

The Beckwiths expressed how important involvement outside the classroom is in helping students build leadership skills that will benefit them throughout their careers. 

“You don’t become a good leader without having the experience of being a leader, and what better place to get that experience than Penn State?” said Ed Beckwith. “We created this scholarship so students can develop leadership skills they may not have access to without this support.”

The Beckwiths have been involved volunteers with Penn State for many years. Iris has been active with Student Affairs throughout the University’s last two fundraising campaigns and serves as co-chair of the Student Affairs and Undergraduate Education Development Council. Ed served on the executive committee of the “For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students,” chaired the Gift Planning Advisory Council and co-chairs the Penn State Law Advisory Board.

Iris, who graduated from the University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT, has spent her professional career as a child advocate and educator presenting child abuse prevention education and internet safety programs for children and parents. She has been featured throughout the larger Washington, D.C., community at conferences and in radio and television interviews on these issues. Through her work with both Childhelp USA and the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, she has presented at Penn State and schools in State College.

Ed is a partner in the national law firm, BakerHostetler LLP, where he heads the firm’s tax-exempt and philanthropic practice. Since 1984, he also has served as an adjunct professor of tax law at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C

The Beckwiths are longtime supporters of Penn State students and have previously established two scholarships. They endowed a Trustee Scholarship in the College of Education that gives preference to students who are looking to study or minor in Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies (CMAS). More recently, they established an Open Doors Scholarship in Undergraduate Education that supports students who are enrolled or planning to enroll at the University and are participating in one of the following programs: RaiseMe, Pathway to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS), The Student Transitional Experiences Program (STEP) or Complete Penn State.

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.