Pennsylvania Ag Connection - Dowlers Create Penn State Ag Science Scholarship

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Dowlers Create Penn State Ag Science Scholarship
Pennsylvania Ag Connection - 02/10/2016

A gift from David Dowler, a longtime educator for Penn State Extension, and his wife, Lois, will create a new scholarship endowment to benefit students in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

A $50,000 bequest from the couple's future estate will establish the Dowler Family Scholarship, which will be given to full-time undergraduates enrolled or planning to enroll in the college who have achieved strong academic records or who show promise of outstanding academic success.

"It's gratifying to receive scholarship support from those who have worked in the college and as county-based educators for Penn State Extension, since they have seen firsthand the positive impact of our educational programs," said Tracy Hoover, associate dean for undergraduate education. "We're grateful to the Dowlers for helping to make an education in the agricultural sciences more accessible for future students."

After receiving a bachelor's degree in dairy science from Ohio State University in 1973, David Dowler served as an associate extension agent in Marshall County, W.V. He joined Penn State Extension as an educator in the Mercer County office in 1980 and later moved to Crawford County, retiring as extension district director for Erie, Crawford and Mercer counties in 2013. He earned a master's of business administration degree from Penn State Erie in 1993.

Dowler currently works as a consultant with a venture capitalist in several foreign countries, establishing and developing large-scale biomass renewable-energy programs.

Lois Dowler is a physical therapist. Residents of Meadville, the Dowlers breed and sell horses and grow biomass crops on one of their Crawford County farms. Their two daughters are both alumnae of the College of Agricultural Sciences: Lauren, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in animal science, and Jorden, who has a dual bachelor's degree in immunology and infectious disease and in toxicology.

Penn State's alumni and friends are invaluable partners in fulfilling the University's land-grant mission of education, research and service. Private gifts from alumni and friends enrich the experiences of students both in and out of the classroom; expand the research and teaching capacity of our faculty; enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain top students and faculty; and help to ensure that students from every economic background have access to a Penn State education.

The University's colleges and campuses are now enlisting the support of alumni and friends to advance a range of unit-specific initiatives.

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