Graduate School
Endowment to offer student support, with a focus on military members and families, and fund innovative programming
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.—Penn State’s Graduate School, which enrolls more than 13,000 students across 300 degree programs, will now bear the names of leading philanthropists who have committed $20 million to its future success and strength. The Board of Trustees today unanimously approved the naming of the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School in recognition of the couple and the endowment they have created to provide support, in perpetuity, for graduate students and faculty and for initiatives that enhance the academic caliber of graduate education at the University. The gift is the largest in the Graduate School’s century-long history, and it is expected to accelerate Penn State’s rise as one of the world’s top destinations for students pursuing advanced study in their fields.
“As Penn State continues our commitment to academic excellence, groundbreaking research and global impact as a 21st century land-grant institution, the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School will serve as the keystone of our work preparing future leaders who have dedicated themselves to advancing their fields at the highest levels of study,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “The Foxes’ visionary support speaks both to their tremendous generosity and the perennial importance of graduate-level studies in achieving the most noble aims of higher education: to elevate human knowledge and change our world for the better. This commitment from Jeff and Ann Marie represents the first college naming gift in Penn State’s new campaign, and their leadership stands as an example of what we can achieve through the combined power of philanthropy, education and partnership. I am tremendously grateful for their profound generosity and commitment to graduate education at Penn State.”
The Foxes are now among an elite group of Penn State donors who have attached their names to high-level academic units at the University. The J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School joins the Eberly College of Science, the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, the Schreyer Honors College and the Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal College of Business. Across Penn State’s peers in the Big Ten and the Ivy League, the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School is only the third graduate school to be named, along with the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan and the Frank J. Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies at Dartmouth.
“Named colleges and schools are among the most prestigious and valued commitments across higher education,” said Matthew W. Schuyler, Board of Trustees chair. “They communicate to our peer institutions, as well as to students, faculty, alumni and other supporters, that the donors believe in Penn State’s mission and our potential for future achievement. This gift from Jeff and Ann Marie Fox feels especially meaningful because, although they are not Penn State alumni themselves, they see the profound impact that our graduate alumni can achieve across every discipline and sector. We are honored to celebrate the transformative investment they have made by naming the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School in their honor.”
Since its founding a century ago, Penn State’s Graduate School has grown into one of the largest providers of advanced education in the United States, awarding approximately 4,500 degrees each year in partnership with the University’s academic colleges and campuses. Its offerings include some of the most highly ranked programs of their kind in the nation, including U.S. News and World Report top-ten degrees in supply chain and logistics, petroleum engineering, environmental science, higher education administration, cosmology, ceramics, international economics and more. Its online master’s degrees in engineering and in information sciences and technology are also ranked in the top ten of their kind.
Income from the endowment for the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School will be directed toward scholarships, fellowships and other direct aid to graduate students, with a special focus on military personnel and their families. The endowment will also help the Fox Graduate School dean to engage leading faculty and visiting scholars and support initiatives and programming intended to elevate Penn State as the preeminent academic graduate school in the country.
“I am proud to lead the vibrant community of scholars and scientists that is the Graduate School at Penn State, and it will be an even greater honor to take the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Penn State to the new level of national and international prominence made possible by the gift from Jeff and Ann Marie,” said Levon T. Esters, vice provost for graduate education and dean. “The resources and prestige of a naming gift will be invaluable to our institution and to the many future leaders who will earn their advanced degrees here and carry forward the Foxes’ legacy into the wider world. I am deeply grateful for the faith that they have shown in our institution and in our graduate students and faculty.”
Jeff and Ann Marie Fox share deep ties to Pennsylvania and have always valued education and academic scholarship. Both Ann Marie and Jeff have earned a master’s degree. They have also worked to enhance students’ educational experience. Ann Marie worked with children with special needs, and Jeff served with the Boys and Girls Club for over ten years and built a career focused on improving student education. Jeff is an entrepreneur whose career has primarily spanned the fields of finance, education and healthcare. Both Ann Marie and Jeff have served on corporate and not-for-profit boards of directors. They also share a passion for American history and the arts.
“We chose to name the Fox Graduate School because we believe that our shared future will be shaped by the scientists, scholars and leaders in every discipline who pursue advanced studies and prepare for successful careers at Penn State,” said the couple. “We see our gift as an investment in the world that they will create, and we will take the greatest pride in their professional achievements and the academic reputation of the Fox Graduate School that they will carry forward into their careers.”
Donors like the Foxes 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 strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s economic impact for families, businesses and communities across the Commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.
