Pennsylvania State University said today it has received a $100,000 donation from a Westport couple whose daughter graduated from the school in 2006.
Mary Ellen and Jim Marpe. Penn State photo
In a news release, the university said Jim and Mary Ellen Marpe, parents of Samantha Marpe, a 2006 graduate of the College of Communications, donated $100,000 to Penn State’s Division of Student Affairs.
The university said the gift will support the Roundtable Project, an initiative to bring together student leaders from across the University and encourage their engagement with each other, the surrounding community and the world.
“The Westport, Conn., couple said they were impressed with the opportunities the University offered their daughter inside and outside of the classroom,” the school said.
It quoted Jim Marpe as saying: “In addition to providing the highest quality academic environment, Penn State offers students an enormous variety of extracurricular opportunities to assume leadership roles.
“That leadership experience of organizing, motivating and directing others is valuable preparation for whatever opportunities may present themselves in the future.”
Jim Marpe is vice chair of the Westport Board of Education.
Once again another list of school rankings. Just to be clear, the Washington Post stated that they simply ask for the number of students in the senior class, the number of students taking Advanced Placement tests and other such tests and simply divide those two numbers. What about the results? If 100% of the seniors take an A.P. test the Washington Post score is very high compared to a school where only 50% take the test. But what if all of those seniors score a 1 or 2 on the test? That is a failing grade. How silly and meaningless. If a school wanted to be #1 in the nation, according to the Washington Post, simply pay for all seniors to take 2 A.P. tests and submit the numbers.