Margaret McAloon and the friends and family of C. Penn Wettlaufer

C. Penn Wettlaufer Scholarship

In memory of C. Penn Wettlaufer
1936-2000

“In recognition of the fullness of your service as mentor, counselor and friend … ”
~ The Empire State College Foundation Award for Excellence in Student Advising

Presented to Penn in 1982

The C. Penn Wettlaufer Endowed Scholarship was created to honor the life and work of Dr. C. Penn Wettlaufer, a pioneering mentor at SUNY Empire State College and a longtime faculty member at the Niagara Frontier Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

Born in Buffalo, Penn was a descendent of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, and John Penn, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. After earning an honors degree in psychology at Princeton University, Penn returned to his hometown and joined the family business, H.D. Taylor Co., where he served as president until it ceased operation. Soon after, Penn began teaching business management and economics at Empire State College.

Penn was a part of the Empire State College community for 22 years. During that time, he was involved in many firsts for the college, including the development of learning contracts for the Center for Distance Learning at its inception, the creation of the Cyprus program (one of the college’s first international engagements), and the development of the college’s presence in correctional facilities. Perhaps his greatest achievement at the college was the establishment and management of the FORUM West program in Buffalo. Without Penn, this important program never would have existed. He served the college with passion and integrity. His students, and certainly the college, were the better for that.

Penn also was a devoted Buffalonian who gave back to his community through his time, energy, talent and financial resources. He served on numerous boards and committees throughout his lifetime, including Buffalo’s Emergency Medical Services Board, the alumni board of managers for the Nichols School, Erie County Management Advisory Committee, Buffalo Squash Racquets Association, Buffalo Tennis and Squash Club, Hope Inc., Buffalo Zoological Society, Planned Parenthood, and Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services.

It was with great sadness that the college community and Penn’s family lost him on Jan. 11, 2000. In memory of his devotion to the students of Empire State College and to the Buffalo community, his family, friends, colleagues and students made contributions to create the C. Penn Wettlaufer Endowed Scholarship. It annually supports an Empire State College student studying through the Niagara Frontier Center.