Former trustee’s name will be on Beaver Stadium’s welcome center after $10M gift
Another eight-figure donation toward the Beaver Stadium renovation project has been announced.
The Penn State athletic department announced a $10 million gift on Thursday from former university trustee Ira Lubert and his wife Pam Estadt that will go toward the project. The department will name the welcome center at the stadium — which will also serve as the university’s welcome center — the Lubert Family Welcome Center.
“Ira and Pam are community leaders and philanthropists of extraordinary generosity. This latest commitment also continues their long history of support for our University and Ira’s service to Penn State, including as the former chair of our Board of Trustees,” Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said in a press release. “Ira and Pam understand that the Penn State journey begins the moment that a student visits our campus for the first time, and that Beaver Stadium represents the strength and scale of the University they are joining. Through this gift, they are not only supporting vital renovations at the home of Nittany Nation, but also ensuring that new generations of Penn Staters will discover connection, community and their path to success from their earliest moments on campus.”
Lubert is a trustee emertius and graduated from Penn State in 1973 after he was a member of the school’s wrestling team.
“As a former student-athlete, Ira Lubert has represented Penn State Athletics and the University with distinction throughout his life and career, and his achievements reflect the kind of excellence that competition at the highest levels can foster,” athletic director Pat Kraft said.
The gift is the fourth the department has announced that has reached eight figures, joining two anonymous $10 million donations and a $25 million donation from the Misitano family and PAM Health. There’s a $135 million fundraising goal for the renovation project.
The $700 million Beaver Stadium project was approved by Penn State’s board of trustees in May. It is the first major renovation of the facility in the last quarter century.
