Endowment Gives Boost to Student Research

Research doesn’t just happen. It takes money and it takes expertise. Herbert Longenecker wanted to make sure that students have access to both while enriching their undergraduate experience.

That’s why the Penn State alumnus and president emeritus of Tulane University established the Herbert E. Longenecker Student Research Endowment in the Agricultural Sciences. The goal is to involve undergraduate students in research by supporting their study with a faculty mentor on a research project. The first funds were awarded under the endowment in 1996.

A resident of Birmingham, Alabama, Longenecker earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in agricultural biochemistry from the College of Agricultural Sciences in the 1930s. Conducting research was an important component of his education. “What I experienced as a student at the university, I have always sought to make possible for other students,” he said when the endowment was announced. “My hope is that undergraduates will continue to have opportunities to initiate and conduct research projects.”

Longenecker’s interest in undergraduate research dovetails with the college’s goals for its students. “We have an extensive undergraduate research program, and from the very first day, we encourage our students to take full advantage of the many research opportunities available,” says J. Marcos Fernandez, associate dean for undergraduate education. “By participating in an undergraduate research experience, our students become active and engaged learners, as well as solution-providers, trying to make this world a better place for all. The Longenecker Endowment helps make that possible.”

Longenecker’s support for students is not limited to the research endowment. In 2006, he established a Trustee Matching Scholarship to benefit students in the College of Agricultural Sciences, with first preference given to food science majors. The Trustee Scholarship program is designed to keep a Penn State education accessible to all qualified students, regardless of their financial means. The university matches 5 percent of the principal of each gift annually and combines these funds with income from the endowment to effectively double the financial impact of the scholarship.

Penn State named Longenecker a Distinguished Alumnus—the highest honor the university bestows on graduates—in 1960. The Penn State Alumni Association honored him as an Alumni Fellow in 1997.

—Chuck Gill