Aug. 13, 2014 UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State alumnus and longtime donor Paul T. Stecko has committed to give Penn State $1 million to support the Football Excellence Fund. The team locker room in the Lasch Building will bear the name of the Paul T. Stecko family.
"The Stecko family has a long-standing relationship with Penn State athletics and we are thankful that they have made this gift to Penn State football," Director of Athletics Dr. David Joyner said. "This gift will help give Coach James Franklin the resources to develop outstanding football student-athletes on and off the field."
The Football Excellence Fund provides discretionary funding to support costs such as facilities improvements, equipment purchases, travel, and other needs that arise throughout the season.
"We are very grateful to Paul Stecko and his family for this very generous gift to our football program," Penn State Head Football Coach James Franklin said. "The support from the Stecko family will provide us with the resources to give our football student-athletes an unrivaled experience here at Penn State."
"Our family is proud to support the efforts of Penn State and Coach Franklin in advancing our tradition of academic and athletic excellence," Stecko said. "We are enthusiastic about Coach Franklin's leadership, and we want to give him the resources to realize his ambitious vision for Penn State Football."
Paul Stecko is currently the chairman of the board of Packaging Corporation of America in Lake Forest, Ill., having retired as chairman and CEO. Stecko also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Tenneco, Inc.
Stecko graduated in 1966 from Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences with a bachelor of science degree in metallurgy He also holds a master of science degree in metallurgical engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
Stecko's giving to Penn State spans more than thirty years and has benefited Penn State Tennis, the Levi Lamb Fund, and the College of Earth and Mineral Science, among other areas.
He and his wife, Maurice Ann, have three children Todd, a 2004 graduate of the Smeal College of Business, Brian, a 2006 graduate of the Smeal College of Business, and Tracy, a 2006 graduate of George Washington University. Todd was a four-year letter winner for the Nittany Lion tennis team. Paul and Maurice Ann reside in Lake Forest, Ill.
The Stecko's gift contributed to For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, which officially concluded on June 30 and raised a grand total of $2.188 billion. This effort was directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America. The University engaged Penn State's alumni and friends as partners in achieving six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University's tradition of quality. The campaign's top priority was keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families.