PSECU, Pennsylvania’s largest credit union, recently committed $100,000 to support the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center at Penn State. The funding is intended to help the center maintain and enhance its popular online self-study curriculum, which is designed to strengthen Penn State students’ financial capability.
“Students and recent graduates today face a wide range of financial challenges, from managing tuition and educational debt to renting an apartment and securing insurance,” said Sokolov-Miller Center Director Daad Adel Rizk. “So it’s increasingly crucial that we provide them with solid financial management education. This gift from PSECU will have an enormous impact on our ability to provide the best, most up-to-date online learning tools on this subject."
The Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center supports Penn State’s mission of access and affordability by giving students the tools and knowledge they need to responsibly manage their money and build sustainable financial practices in their personal lives. Housed in the Grange Building on the University Park campus, the center offers workshops, freshman seminars and webinars, as well as peer-to-peer mentoring and other in-person services. In 2018, the center was ranked 15th in the U.S. among similar university financial literacy programs by LendEDU, an online loan marketplace.
Among the center’s most widely used resources is the online curriculum offered through its outreach program MoneyCounts: A Financial Literacy Series. The curriculum is a series of self-study modules that helps users develop a core understanding of financial concepts and opportunities, including credit cards, student loans, debt management, and retirement planning. Designed to accommodate modern users with busy schedules, the modules are the most heavily viewed portion of the center’s website. They are presented free of charge and are available to anyone with an Internet connection, adding another global dimension to the University’s education and outreach efforts.
PSECU’s gift has created a program endowment that will provide permanent support for the center. This funding will primarily be used to periodically update the self-study modules, allowing the curriculum to adapt to changes in technology requirements and in such factors as tax laws and student loan regulations. The endowment may also fund the creation of new modules in the future or their adaptation to new delivery modes as they become available.
“At PSECU, we’re committed to providing people – members and non-members alike - with opportunities for living better lives, and we believe that a strong understanding of money and how to manage it is key to making that happen,” said PSECU President George Rudolph. “Through our support of the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center at Penn State, we hope to reach many young adults who can benefit from tools and resources aimed at helping them hone and build their financial savvy, and ultimately prepare them for future success. We thank the center for their collaboration and for the excellent work they do to serve Penn State’s students.”
Founded in 1934 and based in Harrisburg, PSECU is a full-service, digital-first credit union that serves more than 450,000 members throughout Pennsylvania and around the world using a global surcharge-free ATM network as well as online and mobile banking technology. As a not-for-profit financial institution, PSECU maintains a focus on supporting the financial well-being of its members and providing them with opportunities to keep their money where it belongs – with them – through unique Money Back Banking benefits. The credit union also recently established a 10-year partnership with the Penn State Alumni Association that recognizes PSECU as The Official Credit Card and The Official Financial Services Provider of the Penn State Alumni Association.
“Penn State is extremely grateful to PSECU for supporting the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center,” said Penn State Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education Rob Pangborn. “This gift reflects our organizations’ shared commitment to improving the lives of the people we serve, both within the University and throughout Pennsylvania and beyond. PSECU has been a generous partner to Penn State for many years, and we look forward to strengthening that relationship further in the years to come.”
Additionally, PSECU’s gift will advance "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hard-working students regardless of financial means; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by fueling discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship. To learn more about the campaign, visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.
About Penn State
Founded in 1855, Penn State is a world-class public research university with a broad mission of teaching, research and public service. Ranked as one of the world’s top universities, Penn State serves nearly 100,000 students through its 24 campuses, which include a medical college, two law schools, an online World Campus and a school of graduate professional studies. Penn State generates more than $11.6 billion to the state’s economy, has a research enterprise in excess of $920 million, and has created 21 innovation hubs across Pennsylvania, designed to bolster entrepreneurship and economic development in communities surrounding its campuses. Visit http://www.psu.edu for more information.
About PSECU
Opened in 1934, PSECU was founded by 22 ordinary people who made an extraordinary commitment to each other: To create a financial institution where pooled resources benefit all members. Today, we are a full-service credit union serving more than 450,000 members and have over $5 billion in assets. As a not-for-profit financial institution, our goal remains to help our members and their families achieve a better life. For more information about PSECU, visit psecu.com. View our Community Report Card to learn how we contribute to the greater good.
###