Penn State’s Greater Allegheny campus has received a $200,000 endowment supporting LaunchBox, the innovation hub assisting early stage entrepreneurs in McKeesport and the surrounding community.
Robert and Cynthia Van Druff pledged $100,000 in memory of their parents. The amount is being matched by the university. The couple said in a release that they became familiar with the work of the Mon Valley LaunchBox and its role in “McKeesport Rising,” an initiative to improve neighborhoods and create economic opportunities, through a virtual event hosted in February by Penn State President Eric Barron.
“Since its inception, people have remarked that the Mon Valley LaunchBox brings hope to our region,” Jacqueline Edmondson, chancellor and chief academic officer at Penn State Greater Allegheny, said in a prepared statement. “We are humbled and grateful that the Van Druffs chose to keep hope eternal for the people who have innovative ideas they aspire to make a reality.”
The endowment advances "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” a $2.1 billion campaign to support Invent Penn State’s LaunchBox and Innovation Hub Network, as well as select economic development initiatives across the commonwealth. Opportunities to leverage university funds through two matching programs for LaunchBox and for economic development are available through the end of “A Greater Penn State” on June 30, 2022, or until the pool of support is exhausted. As of Aug. 31, more than $1.8 billion has been raised.
