MILESTONES of 2018-2019

A RECORD YEAR IN FUNDRAISING

$4,648,606 in total gifts and pledges

Thanks to your generosity, the East Stroudsburg University Foundation surpassed its annual fundraising goal by 155 percent with milestone campaigns coming to a successful close. Your contributions are making a difference in the classroom, in the lab, on the athletics ﬁeld, and in the overall student experience.

125th anniversary event raises $175K for scholarships

Festivities for East Stroudsburg University’s 125th Anniversary culminated with the 125th Anniversary Celebration held Oct. 25, 2018, at Terraview at Stroudsmoor Country Inn in Stroudsburg, Pa.

Hosted by ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., and the ESU Foundation, the celebration raised $175,365 for student scholarships and provided a memorable backdrop to honor Robert M. Moses, William B. Cramer, Esq., and the R. Dale and Frances M. Hughes Foundation with inaugural President’s Distinguished Medals. The President’s Distinguished Medal is the highest honor the university can award to an individual or organization and is presented at the discretion of the president. Honorees are selected based on their commitment and work that has exempliﬁed the values of ESU.

Honorary Chairs for the event were Pat ’67 and Joan M. ’64 Ross with Pat Ross presenting the unique awards designed by Darlene Farris-LaBar, professor of Art + Design. They were produced using using a metal 3D printer from ExONE, the metal printing facility in Pittsburgh, similar to the printer recently acquired at ESU.

Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute dedicated

The Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute was dedicated on April 24, 2019, honoring its founder and visionary and celebrating a $150,000 fundraising campaign by the East Stroudsburg University Foundation.

The Foundation began the campaign to rename the lab in early 2017 following the passing of former Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences, Jane Huffman, Ph.D., M’07. Huffman was a member of the ESU family for 29 years, retiring in 2015. She began her career at ESU in 1986 and from the start was a powerful inﬂuence on students studying biological sciences, particularly those in wildlife microbiology and parasitology.

In 2005, Huffman supported ESU’s efforts to develop The Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory which played a signiﬁcant role in the establishment of Pennsylvania’s Lyme Disease Task Force, established by then-Governor Tom Corbett. Huffman’s work in the lab with ESU graduate Melissa Shaw ’11 resulted in development of Lyme Aid (now known as CutterTM Lyme Disease Tick Test), the ﬁrst-ever faculty/student commercialization agreement at ESU and within Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

Located in ESU’s Innovation Center, the Institute is an extension of the Department of Biological Sciences, providing training for undergraduate and graduate students. The lab also provides invaluable research to physicians, a number of state wildlife agencies, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

$1.8 million campaign results in ﬁelds of our dreams

East Stroudsburg University’s new baseball and softball ﬁelds were dedicated on April 5, 2019, at the ESSA and Hughes Field and Creekview Park Complex in Stroudsburg, Pa.

The ribbon cutting followed the ESU Foundation’s $1.8 million fundraising campaign that provided for the installation of artiﬁcial turf on two ﬁelds, two sets of bullpen areas for each ﬁeld, construction of home and away dugouts at both ﬁelds, permanent and accessible bleacher seating for fans, designated hitting cages for each ﬁeld, and overhead netting to protect fans from foul balls. Construction was completed in March.

East Stroudsburg University, the Stroud Township Board of Supervisors, and the Stroudsburg Little League announced a partnership in June 2016 for the enhancement project. On May 3, 2018, ground was broken for construction to begin. The three ballﬁelds at the complex are now named the R. Clinton Hughes Jr. Field (baseball), Vigon International Field (softball), and the ESSA Bank & Trust Field (Little League).