The Building's Name
Penn State philanthropists Gene and Roz Chaiken made the transformational gift that allowed the building to be named in honor of Susan Welch, who served as dean of the College of the Liberal Arts from 1991 until 2019 and passed away in March of 2022. Through their largest gift to date, a single commitment that dramatically increases the Chaiken Family Trustee Scholarship endowment in the College of the Liberal Arts and covers the balance of their pledges for other student-related funds including the Chaiken Center for Student Success endowment and the Chaiken Centennial Graduate Endowment, the Chaikens were able to name the new building in Susan's honor.
What's inside?
The Welch Building will bring several academic units, labs, centers, institutes, and other state-of-the-art learning spaces under one roof.
- Department of Anthropology
- Department of Political Science
- Department of Sociology and Criminology
- School of International Affairs
- School of Public Policy
- Criminal Justice Research Center
- Matson Museum of Anthropology
- McCourtney Institute for Democracy
- Population Research Institute
- general-purpose classrooms
Project Timeline
- December 2021 – Gene and Roz Chaiken made a transformational gift to the College of the Liberal Arts and were able to name the new building in Susan Welch's honor.
- July 22, 2022 – The Board of Trustees approved final plans for construction of the building.
- August 12, 2022 – The College of the Liberal Arts held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the construction of the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building.
- Fall 2024 – Anticipated completion