Faculty, alumni gifts establish flexible fund for sociology and criminology

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Michelle Frisco, who earned a degree in administration of justice from the College of the Liberal Arts in 1994, became head of Penn State's Department of Sociology and Criminology in 2022, she saw a need and opportunity to build something the department didn't have — a flexible fund that could be used wherever it was needed most as the needs of students and faculty changed in an evolving higher education landscape.

Even during her short time as head, needs in the department have varied annually. For example, in one year several students sought resources to attend conferences that neither her budget nor endowments could cover. Then this year, federal funding priorities shifted, leading faculty to lose research grants aimed at improving people's health and well-being.

"When I reflected on how much department needs changed over three years, and then on other changes like reduced funding for higher education and dramatic changes in job markets and workforce preparation for students, I wanted to do my part. I wanted to make sure that the department could help Penn Staters navigate the future of higher education and the opportunities it offered people," Frisco, who is also a professor of sociology and demography.

Frisco and her husband, Steve Savitski, a 1994 Penn State graduate in physics, endowed the Department of Sociology and Criminology Flexible Leadership Fund. Their $50,000 commitment creates a lasting legacy for the department, and their goal is ultimately to secure support from other donors to bring the fund to $250,000.

Frisco shared her vision with Doug Barbin, a Penn State alumnus who earned dual degrees in accounting and administration of justice in 1997 and serves on the college's Department of Sociology and Criminology board of visitors. Barbin contributed an accompanying $25,000 gift to seed the fund's spending account — a board-led example of giving he hopes will inspire fellow board members and alumni to add their own support through fiscal year 2027.

A first-generation legacy

For Frisco, she said, the gift is rooted in something personal, not just institutional strategy. Her father was a first-generation college student from central Pennsylvania who paid for his education by earning a baseball scholarship and working in coal mining during the summers. A lifelong Penn State fan, he instilled the values of hard work and education in Frisco that she carries with her today.

"This gift was really made possible because of my dad's legacy. It was seeded in what higher education did for him and the life it allowed my parents to build together," Frisco said. "It's really important for me to continue their legacy and values."

She made the decision to give back to Penn State with Savitski, who also strongly values higher education and its mission.

"We hope that our gift is a seed that will foster growth in the fund," Frisco said, "so that future department leaders can continue to have the flexibility to use this fund however it is needed at the moment."

Flexibility in action

Frisco said she is grateful that her department has had so many donors step up to support specialized needs of undergraduates, graduate students and faculty, and she sees this flexible fund as complementary to those other, targeted sources of support.

For example, during one year, more students may need funds to support internship expenses than are available in the department's donor funds for intern support. Then, the following year, more students may need funds to support research and travel than is designated by donors to support those costs. Flexible funds like the gift Frisco, Savitski and Barbin worked together to create can help smooth over these mismatches between need and available funding.

Flexible funds can also help with unanticipated needs.

"This year, we had a faculty member whose NIH-funded research was canceled mid-project. That project was studying how social networks influence living donor kidney transplantation," Frisco said. "It had real implications for real people."

A flexible fund can help ensure that important research can continue when federal and state funding priorities change, she added.

"Higher education has always been entrepreneurial," Frisco said. "What's changed is how fast teaching, workforce and research landscapes shift. The more flexibility we have, the better we can serve everyone in this department — students, faculty and communities their work touches."

Giving with purpose

Barbin, president and national managing principal at Schellman, a top 50 CPA firm focused on cybersecurity, said the fund's flexibility was precisely what drew him in. As a business leader who has spent more than 27 years navigating rapid technological change, he understood immediately why a department head needed room to maneuver.

"I didn't want conditions attached to this gift," Barbin said. "Michelle always had a plan. The best thing I could do was make sure she had the room to carry it out."

For Barbin, the decision to give came down to something more fundamental than a tax strategy or a named gift. It came down to people.

"When it comes to giving and support, it's about making that personal connection," Barbin said. "Understanding what you do and what you give has impact. There's got to be a human connection to it. You've got to be able to see that it's purposeful."

A second-generation Penn Stater, Barbin said his own career is a testament to what a liberal arts education can produce — especially as the workforce continues to evolve.

"The critical thinking that comes from a liberal arts education is a skill we don't see as often as we should. The ability to think critically and communicate effectively is what allows people to be successful in the long run."

The power of many

Barbin's challenge gift was designed not just to contribute, but to inspire others to follow. Frisco said she hopes fellow alumni will see the fund as an open invitation to join something larger than any single gift.

"This is just the power of three," Frisco said. "You can do so much more together than alone — and this is just the beginning."

For Barbin, the invitation to join was never really a question.

"Philanthropy isn't just about writing a check," Barbin said. "It's about believing in what someone is building and wanting to help them build it. When you see that kind of vision, you show up."

"Gifts like this one represent an important model of philanthropic thinking — one that trusts department leadership to respond to emerging needs in real time," said Clarence Lang, Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts. "Michelle, Steve and Doug have given the college something valuable — the freedom to act. That kind of flexibility is what allows us to keep pace with a changing world and never lose sight of who we're here to serve."

That vision — and gifts like the Department of Sociology and Criminology Flexible Leadership Fund — advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.