Scholarship: Fraternity foundation creates Smeal College Trustee Scholarship
Outstanding Penn State students from Blair County who have financial need and are enrolled in the Smeal College of Business are eligible to benefit from a gift from the Phi Sigma Delta Sigma Educational Foundation and its members. The foundation matched a $25,000 gift made by 36 Phi Sigma Delta fraternity brothers for a total of $50,000 to create the Mike Devorris/Phi Sigma Delta Sigma Educational Foundation Trustee Scholarship.
M. Mitchell “Mike” Devorris grew up in Blair County and graduated from Penn State in 1930 with a degree in electrical engineering. A member of the first pledge class of Phi Sigma Delta fraternity, he was instrumental in helping the organization in the 1950s to locate and purchase a newer, larger house on Prospect Avenue in State College, and for the rest of his life generously provided both guidance and financial support to the fraternity. He worked for Pennsylvania Electric Co., retiring as vice president of operations, and was a prominent civic leader in the Altoona community. He died in 2003 at age 93.
“We wanted to name this gift after Mike to show our appreciation for all he did for us and for the fraternity,” said Jim Meister, class of 1959 and co-chair with Mark Taxel, class of 1968, of the foundation’s scholarship committee. “It’s the ideal way for us to honor his numerous accomplishments and contributions.”
Mike’s son Don Devorris is a 1956 Penn State graduate and also a Phi Sigma Delta brother. He and his wife, Nancy, are longtime volunteers and philanthropists to the University, having supported the College of Engineering, the Jewish Studies program and many other Penn State initiatives. Penn State Altoona’s Devorris Downtown Center is named in honor of the couple.
Phi Sigma Delta Sigma Educational Foundation was formed by the alumni members of the Penn State Sigma Chapter of Phi Sigma Delta fraternity. Although the fraternity ceased functioning in 2000, the foundation continues to exist. Originally formed to fund the fraternity’s activities, the foundation’s continuing mission is to provide academic scholarship support for Penn State students of good academic standing who have financial need. At annual reunions held at University Park since the 1950s, the brothers discuss fundraising and scholarship opportunities for the foundation — last year at least 150 people participated in the organization’s weekend events.
“Our principal goal today is to raise money for scholarships, and we hope to continue to do this for the foreseeable future,” said Meister. “We are unique at Penn State. No other Greek organization does this sort of thing the way we do it.
“We have such a feeling for our fraternity and for the University. I don’t know a better way to pass that on to other students, than to help them gain what we got from our education and from Penn State.”
Gifts to Penn State scholarships from the foundation total $317,550 since 1986 and include 20 annually funded awards, and the endowed Kleeblatt Scholarship Fund in Jewish Studies.
The Trustee Matching Scholarship Program is designed to keep a Penn State education accessible to all qualified students, regardless of their financial means. The program has a unique matching component — the University matches 5 percent of the principal of each gift annually and combines these funds with income from the endowment to effectively double the financial impact of the scholarship.
source: http://live.psu.edu/story/24837
