Stanley J. Zontek Turfgrass Endowment Announced

November 12, 2012 in Alumni, Awards, Research, Teaching

Pennsylvania Turfgrass Research Inc. and Penn State create Stanley J. Zontek Turfgrass Endowment

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On Aug. 28, the USGA, the golf turfgrass industry and the Penn State Turfgrass Program lost a dear friend and colleague, Stanley Zontek. To honor his contributions to the golf turf industry and his love for Penn State, Pennsylvania Turfgrass Research Inc. (PTRI) and Penn State named a new endowment the Stanley J. Zontek Turfgrass Endowment.

Several years ago a dedicated group of volunteer turf professionals formed PTRI and launched a campaign to raise funds for turfgrass research at Penn State. This campaign culminated in 2011 with the creation of a $300,000 endowment at Penn State. Following the death of Zontek this year, the board of PTRI and Penn State faculty asked Penn State to name the new endowment the Stanley J. Zontek Turfgrass Endowment.

“No graduate from the Penn State Turfgrass Program had a bigger impact on our industry, and no one has been a better ambassador for the program around the world than Stanley Zontek,” said Jerred Golden, chair of PTRI. “We have all felt his loss, but honoring him through the naming of the endowment will keep his name forever associated with the school he loved.”

Golden noted that the endowment provides critical financial support for faculty and students to perform research and provide solutions to turf problems in Pennsylvania and in other areas of the United States. He stated, “Naming the endowment after Stanley will ensure that all of his contributions to the industry will live on through continued research and discovery.”

For more information about the Stanley J. Zontek Turfgrass Endowment, please contact Peter Landschoot at pjl1@psu.edu or 814.863.1017, or John Kaminski at jek156@psu.edu.

Tribute Video to Stanley J. Zontek