A recent gift to Slippery Rock University Foundation will provide generous support to future generations of students.
The $1.1 million donation made by Joseph McCandless is considered the largest gift by a private individual in the school’s history.
“We always knew there would be a gift coming but with Joe’s sense of humor, he’d tell you what he wanted you to know and that was it,” said Edward Bucha, executive director of the SRU Foundation, Inc. “He would just say, ‘Don’t worry about it; you’re going to like it.’ Well, we obviously do.”
The money will be used to establish an endowed scholarship in the name of McCandless’ mother Sylvia Cooper McCandless, Class of 1909, and his sister Sara Jane McCandless, Class of 1950. The scholarship will be awarded to one incoming student each year beginning in 2022 who is majoring in early childhood and elementary education.
Half of tuition will be paid as well as half of room and board if they choose to live on campus. Recipients of the scholarship can renew for up to three years.
McCandless was a veteran of WWII and worked as an engineer. He passed away on January of 2020 at the age of 98.
