MALVERN, Pa. — The demand for information security professionals far exceeds the supply of qualified workers, but Penn State Great Valley’s master’s degree in information science is working to meet that need.
Jeffrey Lipson, an alumnus of that program who went on to found the cybersecurity firm Layer 8 Security, worked with his company five years ago to establish a scholarship for information science students. This year, he endowed the Jeffrey P. Lipson Master of Science Scholarship in Information Science. Both scholarships offer students in the master’s program $2,500 each year, with a preference for active military service members and veterans, in a nod to Lipson’s experience as a retired Marine colonel.
“My Great Valley experience was life-changing to me. I was leaving active duty, and this was a great place to find my path forward,” he said.
While the Marine Corps funded his graduate education, he knew several classmates who had to rely on scholarships or tuition reimbursement from their employer. Even with that financial support, some could only afford one class per semester, delaying their degree completion.
“If you have the desire and you have the acumen, we should find ways to have you attend school without necessarily having to borrow your way into a difficult position,” Lipson said.
His father, David Lipson, a 1965 graduate of Penn State, gave generously to many areas of his alma mater, even making a lead gift to a classroom building at Penn State Brandywine that he named for a former chancellor.
“Given who he was, he didn’t name the building for himself,” Lipson pointed out.
His father also created multiple scholarships. “And so he was then able to affect more lives,” Lipson noted.
Lipson said he wants his new scholarship to empower future technologists in the community and perhaps also inspire them to give back to Penn State one day, creating a ripple effect through generations.
Gifts to Penn State Great Valley 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 C\commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.