First Mitte Scholarships Awarded

Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte have a vision to help colleges and universities build future leaders, not just academically, but in the community as well. That was the primary motivation behind the couple's establishment of the Mitte Foundation in 1997 and their recent gift of $8.2 million to Penn State's Smeal College of Business Administration.

Fifty-two current MBA and undergraduate students enrolled in Smeal College were notified this month that they are the first students at Penn State to each receive a $5,000 annual scholarship-that may be renewed-from the Texas-based Mitte Foundation. Twenty-three additional scholarships will be awarded to incoming undergraduate and MBA students over the next few weeks.

"The scholarships are very special because the Mitte Foundation is recognizing and encouraging outstanding academic, as well as engaged community leadership. We expect to graduate more than 1,500 Mitte Scholars in the next 20 years and their collective community leadership should improve the quality of living in our communities, as well as among corporate America," says Judy Olian, Dean of Smeal College.

The gift will provide scholarships to 60 undergraduate and 15 MBA students each year over the course of 20 years.

"The Mitte Foundation's primary mission is to enhance the future of the world through the development of outstanding business scholars," said Scott Mitte, executive director of the Mitte Foundation. "This means giving to students who excel in academics and community leadership. Penn State's outstanding Smeal College attracted our attention for those reasons."

Nationally, the Mitte Foundation expects to have 15,000 Mitte Scholars in the next 20 years.

"Their collective community involvement could eradicate some of our nation's social ills," says Scott.

The Mitte Foundation, based in Austin, Texas, has committed $45.1 million to cultural and educational programs since 1997, including gifts to universities such as Southwest Texas State University, Texas A&M University, and Ohio State University, and community programs such as Leadership Austin, Habitat for Humanity, the Rotary Club of Austin and the Lone Star Girl Scout Council.

Scott notes that Penn State was the first school the Mitte Foundation visited outside of Texas.

"We were just blown away by the people we met, the quality of the students, and the beauty of the University Park campus. We also saw a lot of community work already underway that is having a statewide impact and we were impressed by that," says Scott. "Smeal College is a first-rate business school but it needs more resources to compete with institutions that have larger endowments. We are convinced that the Mitte Foundation and Smeal College can make a major difference in our nation through our combined emphasis on community service."

The tremendously generous gift enables Smeal to support especially talented students and prepare them to become community and business role models. And, consistent with the admirable goals of the Mitte Foundation, Olian notes the program fits perfectly with the college's mission of reinforcing the values of academic excellence and civic involvement.

Recipients of Mitte Scholarships must participate in community service and maintain superior academic records each semester that they receive the award.

Both Mitte Undergraduate Scholars and Graduate Fellows may have their scholarships renewed each year if they continue to meet the academic and leadership criteria, explains Augustus Colangelo, Mitte Scholarship Program Manager in Smeal College.