A recent gift by Penn State benefactors Gene and Roz Chaiken made them the second-largest donors in Penn State history and extended their impact beyond the College of the Liberal Arts, where they established the Roz and Gene Chaiken Center for Student Success in 2021.

The new gift of an undisclosed amount establishes Chaiken Centers for Student Success elsewhere in the university, including Penn State Abington, the College of Information Sciences and Technology, and Penn State World Campus, as well as a universitywide student success center at University Park. “Roz and I felt that we could extend our impact and help even more students by establishing additional Chaiken centers,” Gene ’62 Bus said, noting that the four new centers were chosen because of their potential to reach new populations of students.

This gift comes on the heels of a significant gift in 2021, which cemented their legacy as the largest scholarship donors in Penn State history and resulted in the naming of the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building. The Chaiken Center for Student Success in the College of the Liberal Arts promotes academic, personal, and professional success through peer mentoring, community building, and more. The new Chaiken Centers will tailor their programs to the needs of specific student populations. For example, the Chaiken Center for Student Success within World Campus will assist adult learners, members of the military, and people around the world who rely on remote learning to earn their degrees.