Acting Dean Mary Beth Williams: Come for football. Stay for SCIENCE.

It has been invigorating to see our campus sidewalks and hallways once again filled with students, faculty, postdocs and staff—those returning from a summer break or vacation and many arriving in State College for the first time—as well as alumni, donors, parents and other visitors.

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with Jeanne Leslie-Hughes and Ginger and Steve Stalcup, family of Dorothy “Dottie” Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck, two longtime Penn State benefactors whose generosity has shaped our college and institution’s excellence in life science research.

During the visit, part of our conversation focused on the importance of continuing to drive forward—both within our college and well beyond our campus—with a clear focus on academic excellence and the relentless pursuit of research. Steve pointed out that football has been one vehicle for attracting people to Penn State, saying, individuals can “come for football and stay for science.”

Aha!

Our goal has been and should continue to be using the popularity and draw of football, which invariably draws a hundred thousand fans to University Park for each football game, to bring attention to our exemplary academic programs.?

This past weekend we hosted a tailgate for alumni and friends who were visiting State College for the football home opener. More than 100 of us came together to share memories and scientific passions, while hearing the talented students in the Glee Club—two of whom study in our college—and meeting the Nittany Lion. Borrowing from Steve Salcup, we also unveiled a new T-shirt that reads, “Come for football. Stay for SCIENCE.”

Penn State is a large, public institution with well-known athletics and well-known science. We are part of the Big10—now 18 universities strong—collectively known for athletics and for cutting-edge research and education. We are Pennsylvania’s sole land-grant University, with missions of research, education, and service to society. The Eberly College of Science is the scientific heart of those missions.

Eberly College of Science scientists—students, faculty, staff, postdocs and alumni—came to Penn State at different times and for different reasons. Most of us were attracted to research and scientific study and learning, some for football, and others from different paths. Once here, we’ve found a common goal: we pool our collective experiences toward advancing science knowledge, helping the leaders of tomorrow learn and flourish, and working together to drive discovery.?

In the Eberly College of Science, we teach at least one core math or science course to every single undergraduate student who steps onto the University Park campus. We are the educational entryway to the STEM disciplines, and we drive the University’s foundational areas of world-renowned research, leading the way or serving as the pivotal link in interdisciplinary work.

For us, “Stay for SCIENCE” speaks to the college passion and commitment for science, while also encouraging fun camaraderie around the fall weekend football season and inviting others to join—and stay with—us.

If you’d like to join in on the fun, you can purchase a “Come for football. Stay for SCIENCE” T-shirt or sweatshirt and other Penn State Eberly College of Science- and department-branded items at EberlyShop.com. Five dollars of the proceeds from the sale of each item will go to the college and help contribute to a student scholarship fund.