Juniata College Class of 1968 Gives Record Donation

NEWS RELEASE

DATE: July 12, 2018
FOR RELEASE: Immediately
CONTACT: Dr. George M. Zlupko, Altoona Lung Specialists
814.946.2845
Email:allung@aol.com

Huntingdon, PA: The kick off of alumni Weekend at Juniata College on Sunday, June 10, 2018, included a surprise record 50th class gift donation of $7,130,468.68 by the Class of 1968. The overall gift represented money raised for the reunion from the class including cash and planned gifts to support Brumbaugh Academic Center, scholarships, programs endowments, and capital projects at Juniata College.

Ruth McDowell, overall chair of the Juniata College Class of 1968 reunion committee, and George Zlupko, legacy gift chair of the Juniata College Class of 1968 presented James Troha, President of Juniata College, with an overall reunion gift of $7,130,468.68, a record 50th reunion class gift for Juniata College, at the All Class Dinner at Baker Refectory at Ellis Hall.

According to Dr. George M. Zlupko, a member of the Class of 1968 and Chair of the Legacy Gift Committee, “It is traditional for the 50th reunion class to give a gift to the college in their remembrance. As chairman of the Legacy Committee, I was proud to present President Troha with the largest class gift ever in the history of Juniata College. The class gift of over $7.1 million dollars puts the Class of ’68 miles ahead of previous classes and sets the bar very high for future classes. This gift was the result of hard work by the Reunion Committee, the Legacy Committee and the college staff.”

“No one knew the exact amount until the unveiling,” said Dr. Zlupko. “It surprised not only our class members in attendance at the All Class Night dinner, but the rest of the classes in attendance as well. I feel happy and proud to be part of this Juniata College tradition and even more proud of the support the Class of ’68 has given our alma mater.”

According to the Juniata College President’s Newsletter – June 2018, Juniata College President James Troha was speechless and blown away by the generosity of the overall class gift. “I wasn’t anticipating this,” he said. “But the students here at Juniata College are the recipients of your generosity.”

The class’s collective project was to raise funds in support of the Brumbaugh Academic Center Enhancements, specifically so that the terrace on the upper level in front of the main entrance would be named for the class. Clearly, they exceeded their initial goal.

First built in 1965 as the College’s science center, the Brumbaugh Academic Center has a distinctive central hub with an auditorium from which flow three wings that house classrooms, laboratories, and other study and instructional spaces. The building is home to the Departments of Accounting, Business, and Economics; Computer Science and Information Technology; Communications; Physics; Geology; and Environmental Science and Studies.

The Class of 1968 Committee Members included; Dr. George M. Zlupko, Chair of the Legacy Gift Committee, Partner of the Altoona Lung Specialists and Lung Disease Center of Central PA; Ruth McDowell, Overall Class of 1968 Committee Chair of Huntingdon, PA; Sue Esch, former Juniata College faculty member and alumna; Phil Thompson, former controller at Juniata; Alice Sayler and Sally Unger.

For more information, please contact Dr. George M. Zlupko, Altoona Lung Specialists at 814-946-2845 or Mat Stoudnour, Director of Major Gifts Juniata College at 814-329-8320.

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