Chancellor Ron Darbeau (left), Jeane Singer and Richard Singer unveil the new sign during a naming ceremony held July 30. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

ALTOONA, Pa. — An area of Penn State Altoona’s Cypress Building has been named the Richard A. and Jeane V. Singer Engineering Suite to honor a $1 million gift commitment from the Singers, who are longtime supporters and volunteers for the University.

An unveiling ceremony took place on Thursday, July 30. Penn State Altoona faculty and staff were in attendance along with community leaders and friends and family members.

The couple’s gift commitment of $1 million established the Penn State Altoona Engineering Excellence Endowment.

The fund will provide scholarships for students, and resources will also benefit programs within all the college’s engineering degree programs, such as Motorheads in Germany, a study abroad program Richard Singer implemented, and the motorsports club’s Mini Baja competition. It will also help to fund research, travel and lab equipment.

The Cypress Building on the Ivyside campus houses faculty offices as well as classrooms and electro-mechanical engineering technology (EMET) labs.

“The naming of the engineering suite in the Cypress Building is especially meaningful to Jeane and me because it represents our gratitude for the opportunities that helped shape our lives and our hope that future students will find those same possibilities waiting for them,” Richard said.

Richard, now retired, was an instructor in engineering, computer science, entrepreneurship and security and risk analysis at Penn State Altoona. He taught for 18 years in the EMET program and was a student adviser.

Richard regularly encountered students who were struggling financially.

“Education opened doors for us, guided our paths and helped make our careers possible, and we are both deeply thankful to be able to give back,” he said. “As the cost of education continues to rise, we hope this gift will ease the way for Altoona-area students — particularly those who might otherwise think a university education is out of reach — and give them a place where they can learn, grow, dream, and build a future through a world-class engineering education.”

The Singers also created a scholarship through the Open Doors Scholarship Program, part of a comprehensive student success initiative addressing the financial, academic and personal challenges that undergraduates face in earning their degrees.

“Your kindness and generosity matter,” Penn State Altoona Chancellor Ron Darbeau told the Singers at the ceremony. “It matters to our faculty and staff who feel seen and supported. It matters to our students — past, present and those who will grace our halls. Dedication of this suite is but a small token of appreciation for your transformational gift to our engineering programs and your collective decades of impactful service to Penn State Altoona and our students.”

Jeane was on the alumni board for the College of Health and Human Development and serves on the Centre Stage Community Advisory Council for Penn State School of Theatre. Richard served as chair of Penn State Altoona’s Philanthropic Council, and both he and his wife have been recognized as members of the Ivyside Society, the Atherton Society and the Laurel Circle of the Mount Nittany Society.

“As a retired Penn State Altoona professor, I treasure my years teaching in the engineering program and the many students I was fortunate to know,” said Richard. “I hope this gift supports those who will study here in the years ahead.”

Donors like the Singers 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 shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.