Speeches

A More Holistic College Experience: Inauguration of Pasquerilla Spiritual Center

Good morning and welcome to another historic moment in the life of Penn State.

Today, we celebrate the creation of a home that will be open to all Penn Staters, a home that will allow us to come together in unity, in prayer and in a quest for guidance. It will be our spiritual home. A home where individuals can grow, heal and be transformed. A place that will provide students and others with a unique opportunity for not only worshipping in their own beliefs, but for learning about other faiths. At Penn State, there are nearly 40 religious groups registered.

The Frank and Sylvia Pasquerilla Spiritual Center will bear the name of a family that, through its extraordinary generosity, led the challenge to expand the faith life of Penn State students with the construction of this facility.

The Pasquerilla family's vision, along with the foresight of others who have contributed so much to this project, continues the University's longstanding commitment to the spiritual development of its students and our desire to provide a more holistic college experience. For 44 years, the Helen Eaken Eisenhower Chapel has been the cornerstone of spiritual activity on the University Park campus. Named for the wife of Milton Eisenhower, who served as Penn State's 11th president from 1950 to 1956, the all-faith Eisenhower Chapel was built to encourage students to explore and express their faith. The Eisenhower name will remain a part of this new center as a vital link to Penn State's laudable history of faith leadership.

The Eisenhowers believed that a University should nurture not only the cultural and intellectual activities of its students, but also should foster and cherish the spiritual life of those students. It is an idea that we still embrace today at Penn State and one that sets us apart from many other public institutions. At campuses across America, there is a resurgence of spirituality among college students -- an increasing desire to find meaning and purpose has emerged.

We must encourage our students' explorations of spirituality and recognize that faith has a role to play in the intellectual development of some of those students. As a public institution, Penn State cannot and should not require religious activity for its students. What we can do and have done, however, is respond to the religious concerns of those within our campus community by providing individuals with the opportunity to pursue religious activities while they are attending Penn State. We are distinctive in higher education for so successfully integrating a pluralistic religious element within our secular institution.

With this expansion project, Penn State will have the largest spiritual center of any public university in the United States. Private gifts have made this possible. To date more than $8 million has been raised toward the $9 million goal that was established for this project.

As I mentioned earlier, the Pasquerilla family of Johnstown provided the lead gift for this interfaith spiritual center and we are grateful for their kindness.

I would also like to acknowledge several other donors who have made this center possible. Two couples who have continually shown their support for Penn State students through their service and their giving, have again displayed their generosity. On behalf of the University, I would like to thank Joe and Sue Paterno and Bill and Joan Schreyer for their generous contributions to this project.

I would also like to thank Sam and Mimi Fredman, Paul Hagan, Ted and Tracy Winfree McCourtney, James and Barbara Palmer, David and Susan Siphron and Margaret Stine for their major gifts, as well. In addition, Penn State is grateful for the support provided by the Rosenwald Foundation of New York and Penn State Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. A list of all the donors to the project can be found in today's program and I would like to thank them all for their generosity.

I once heard a saying that people are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. This spiritual center will serve as a powerful, visual confirmation of Penn State's tradition of supporting those students who are searching for an inner light and believe religion is an important component in their personal growth.