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WEVISIONARY ARE


Big ideas: Our Chancellor, Dr. Sandler, helps students pursue innovation and vision.


You know that Four Seasons song, “December 1963”? That month was a very special time for me, too, because I had saved enough from working to go to college. I had to finance most of my education myself and couldn’t afford most of the region’s private colleges. Penn State Abington (then Ogontz) enabled me to continue working part time and avoid room and board costs.


As the first in my family to attend college, I learned how to learn at Penn State. They made it possible for me to experience the career I’ve had. During my senior year, I met my future wife, Suzanne, who earned her honorary “Ph.T” – putting hubby through college – and also worked at University Park and Abington. So our involvement has personal meaning.


Ultimately, giving money doesn’t get a lot done if it doesn’t offer someone the opportunity to accomplish something they wouldn’t have otherwise. We feel it’s up to us to provide those opportunities to people like me who might have missed out. It’s important to push boundaries – and we enjoy working with Karen Sandler to try to make Penn State Abington all it can be for others.


– Albert Lord, ’67, Accounting


Being the only chancellor in our system to hold an endowed chair is a special opportunity. It’s a partnership which allows us to dream big; one that has opened doors and opened our minds in a way that wasn’t possible before.


Al and Suzanne Lord are visionaries who always want the well- being of our students to come first. The Lords’ endowment has been like seed money – an innovation fund that comes with the strong requirement to enhance student opportunities here. The endowment has twice spurred a “big ideas” contest. We call it the Vision Fund and ask faculty and staff to collaborate in submitting ideas to move us closer to our vision. The Vision Fund competition has yielded such successes as “The Dialectics,” our student-edited online journal that now has national reach. From intercollegiate athletics and our thriving undergraduate research program to learning communities and the opportunity to create off-campus housing for our students, these ideas would have been difficult to pursue without the Lords’ support.


That’s the big impact of philanthropy. It’s always about more than just money; it’s a real tool to drive improvement.


– Karen Wiley Sandler, Ph.D., ’65, Albert and Suzanne Lord Chancellor


Albert Lord worked his way through college – and remembers where he came from.


CONV E R SAT IONS I N C A R I N G


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