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December 11, 2009

Seven-figure commitment leads Edinboro University to rename Meadville campus

By Ryan Smith

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

A “multiple seven-figure commitment.”

That’s what Edinboro University of Pennsylvania’s leaders are calling what is officially the largest-ever gift in the university’s 152-year history, announced Thursday at EUP’s Meadville facility.

To recognize the benefactors — Joseph and Eleonora Buba of Pittsburgh — the Bessemer Street campus has officially been re-named Edinboro University in Meadville-The Joseph T. Buba Center; and the largest computer lab at EUP’s main campus has been named The Eleonora C. Navari Buba Computer Laboratory.

The couple requested that the exact dollar amount of their multimillion-dollar gift not be released, and the university honored that request Thursday.

It’s safe to say, however, it’s “significantly in excess” of any other private donation the university’s ever received, according to EUP spokesperson Jeff Pinski.

“Words cannot express what it means to have this building dedicated in my honor,” Joseph Buba, who graduated from EUP in 1969, said Thursday. “Eleonora and I believe that engineering and technology programs” — such as those offered at the Meadville facility — “are the key to creating job opportunities of the future. It is our hope that our support will not only provide financial assistance to deserving students, but also encourage and motivate charitable responsibility in others.”

The Bubas have a history of supporting the university. In 2006, they established the Joe and Eleonora Buba Scholarship for Manufacturing Engineering & Technology, which is awarded each year to an incoming freshman pursuing an EUP degree in the fields of manufacturing engineering technology, industrial trade and leadership or physics.

“This latest act of generosity demonstrates the Bubas’ unwavering support of Edinboro University and their shared vision for our educational goals,” EUP President Jeremy Brown said Thursday. “We have record student numbers, record retention, and now, a record-breaking gift. Joe and Eleonora’s extraordinary act of philanthropy will have a far-reaching impact on Edinboro University and the people and communities it serves.”

Both Pittsburgh-area natives, the Bubas — who recently celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary — said they first met on a blind date in December 1969 at Edinboro, the same year Joseph graduated. Eleonora graduated from Ohio University in 1971 with a degree in Spanish and Latin American studies.

After teaching at North Braddock Junior High School for a period following graduation, Joseph set his career focuses on the manufacturing and engineering sector. He’s since worked for a variety of corporations including Boeing, Textron Aerostructures and McCulloch Corp., and retired as senior vice president of operations at Generac Power Systems, Inc.

Eleonora began her career in information technology in Seattle around the time computers were first were being introduced in the nation’s workplaces. She continued on to positions at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Deloitte & Touche, First Union National Bank and retired from Ingersoll-Rand after 13 years as an application analyst.

Plans are for her to tour the main-campus computer laboratory named in her honor with university officials today.

Tonight at Erie’s Bayfront Sheraton Hotel, the Bubas will also be honored during the 2nd Annual Presidential Scholarship Gala, the EUP fundraiser event that supports the President Jeremy D. Brown Millennium Leader Scholarship.

Officials said other major private gifts the university’s received in recent years include a roughly $2 million donation to related programs at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in Erie — the Porreco Center; and the main campus’ Mike S. Zafirovski Sports and Recreation Center, Louis C. Cole Auditorium and the Dr. William P. Alexander Music Center, all of which were in excess of $1 million.



Ryan Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at rsmith@meadvilletribune.com.

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