Exploring How to Give

The $400,000 Gregory Roszyk and Marnie Salisbury Scholarship in the College of Information Sciences and Technology will provide a general endowed scholarship for students who maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

While it may be the largest, it’s certainly not the first gift the couple has made. Their giving journey has been a progression, and they learned a lot along the way.

Starting Small

Roszyk began giving immediately after earning his computer science degree. Taking advantage of the discounted membership price for new graduates, he became a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association and made his first donation: $25.

Roszyk continued giving, gradually increasing as he advanced in his career. He is now a partner at EMF Industries, providing business and engineering leadership to programs in the defense and intelligence communities. Salisbury, who holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in systems engineering from George Mason University, also moved steadily up the career ladder. She joined The MITRE Corporation in 1988 and currently serves as the managing director of its Strategic Intelligence division.

Finding IST

By the early 2010s, the couple was committing $1,500 a year to Penn State. Through the process of giving, they were introduced to the College of IST.

“I majored in computer science, but if there had been an IST back then, it would have been the right fit for me,” Roszyk said. “IST’s curriculum is well aligned with the work I do today, and as someone who’s hired IST graduates, I’ve been very impressed by the college.”

With their philanthropy now directed toward IST, they worked closely with development staff and learned about the option of creating an annually funded scholarship, resulting in a gift of $2,500 per year for five years.

“I think many potential donors are unaware of the many giving options,” Roszyk said. “They may be scared away by the prospect of funding a student’s entire college education. But it’s not all or none. Each contribution, no matter how small, can benefit students and help meet the needs of a college.”

The annual scholarship was an important step for the couple as they saw a meaningful impact connected to a person.

“We could have lunch or dinner with these amazing students, get to know them, and see how our gifts were helping,” Salisbury said.

Those positive interactions inspired Roszyk and Salisbury to take the next step in their journey of giving, from an annually funded scholarship to an endowed scholarship.

In 2019, Roszyk and Salisbury endowed a $50,000 scholarship with a five-year funding strategy, meaning they could contribute to the endowment over the course of five years, at which time the scholarship could then be awarded to students. In the meantime, they used the strategy of early activation—making funds available through annual gifts—to start seeing an impact as they built their endowment to its minimum level.

“Early activation covered the period until the endowed scholarship was fully paid for,” Roszyk said. “This enabled us to fund a scholarship from the time we committed, even though the endowed portion was not yet complete.”

In 2024, Roszyk joined IST’s Dean’s Advisory Board. Learning firsthand about the needs of the college and its students, Roszyk and Salisbury became even more motivated to support the college.

“At a board meeting, I learned that many IST students suffer from food insecurity,” Roszyk said. “It’s just one example of how we can remove barriers so students in need can attend classes, earn a degree, and start their career.”

Salisbury believes that understanding how their money is applied can motivate donors.

“For example, a $100 donation might fill IST’s food pantry for a week,” she said. “You don’t have to add up too many individual donations to keep the pantry stocked for a semester.”

Roszyk hopes his giving journey will inspire other donors to explore the many ways to support Penn State.

“It’s been a progression for us, beginning with an annually funded scholarship, then an endowed scholarship and now this estate gift,” he said. “For anyone who’s considered giving back, there’s a path to do it. And the more you see how your gift is applied, the more you want to give.