UNIVERSITY PARK – The Phi Sigma Delta Sigma Educational Foundation and the family of well-known Harrisburg business leader Morris “Morrie” Schwab have joined together to make a $100,000 gift to endow the Morrie Schwab/Phi Sigma Delta Sigma Educational Foundation Trustee Scholarship, which will benefit undergraduates attending Penn State Harrisburg.
The late Morris Schwab, who graduated from Penn State in 1940 with a bachelor’s degree in arts and letters, was CEO of Credential Leasing Corp., a commerical equipment leasing and financing company, and an officer and board member of D&H Distributing Co., a wholesale distributor of computer and peripheral products. He served 12 years on the Penn State Alumni Association Executive Board, much of that time as chair of the finance committee, and in 1994 received its first Outstanding Alumni Council Member award. He died in December 2006.
According to James Meister, Penn State class of 1959 and co-chair of the foundation’s scholarship committee, Schwab “was a pillar of our fraternity. Morrie was one of our Phi Sigma Delta ‘giants’ and as ‘true blue’ as they come in terms of leading philanthropic causes at Penn State.
“He was the one who suggested we hold annual reunions, and we have done so since the early 1970’s. His contributions to our fraternity far exceed our ability to enumerate.” More than 60 Phi Sigma Delta Sigma alumni made contributions to honor Schwab, said Meister.
In 2007 Schwab and his wife, Linda Schwab, established the Schwab Family Holocaust Reading Room in the Penn State Harrisburg library. In addition to supporting Penn State Harrisburg through their family foundation and personal giving, the Schwabs have been steadfast supporters of many other areas of the University, including the College of the Liberal Arts, Palmer Museum of Art, Bryce Jordan Center, Hintz Family Alumni Center, and athletics.
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 fund-raising and scholarship opportunities for the foundation. Last year at least 150 people participated in the organization’s weekend events.
Gifts to Penn State scholarships from the foundation total over $400,000 since 1986 and include 24 annually funded awards and the endowed Kleeblatt Scholarship Fund in Jewish Studies. In 2007, the fraternity endowed the Mike Devorris/Phi Sigma Delta Sigma Educational Foundation Trustee Scholarship in the Smeal College of Business, and made a $25,000 gift to the Nittany Lion Club.
Trustee Scholarships are designed to keep a Penn State education accessible to all qualified students, regardless of their financial means. Launched in 2002, the program has a unique matching component. The University matches 5 percent of each gift annually and combines these funds with income from the endowment to increase the financial impact of the scholarship. The matching funds become available almost immediately to scholarship recipients.