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Business department presents new scholarship to honor professor



Saint Vincent College’s business department is currently in the production stage for the creation of the Dr. Peter M. Hutchinson Scholarship, a need-based scholarship intended for a McKenna School student.

According to Michael Arabia, McKenna adjunct professor and mock trial coach, the purpose of the new scholarship is multi-faceted.

The scholarship was started by a group of members of the class of 2010, including Arabia, Mark D’Amico, Dan Hall, Dave Riehl, Ed Moss, Adam Zurawsky, Jason Brinker, Brian Bertig and Shane Simmons.

One of the scholarship’s prospective goals is to honor Dr. Hutchinson with a meaningful gift for the contributions he made in the classroom at Saint Vincent College and in the lives of students.

Dr. Peter M. Hutchinson, professor of economics, has taught at Saint Vincent since 2002, having also earned his bachelor’s degree from the school in 1968. He earned his masters and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and taught for 26 years at Bowling Green State University before returning to Saint Vincent College as dean of institutional advancement in 1997 and as a member of the faculty in 2002.

Dr. Hutchinson was given the Thoburn Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014.

Arabia said that the scholarship is a gift to Saint Vincent in Dr. Hutchinson’s honor that can make tuition more affordable by providing financial assistance.

“Knowing how much Saint Vincent, affordable education and helping students means to Dr. Hutchinson and his family, we couldn’t think of a more appropriate gift than this endowed scholarship, which accomplishes all three,” Arabia said.

The scholarship is still in the fundraising format. It has been publicized to raise additional funds to help work towards the endowment goal of $25,000, which must be completed before the scholarship can be awarded to any student.

Arabia anticipates that the $25,000 goal will be accomplished by the end of 2021 or sooner.

Once fundraising is completed, it will be an endowed scholarship awarded through the financial aid office.

Arabia hopes that the scholarship will continue to grow with additional donations from former students who were positively impacted by Dr. Hutchinson.

“Additionally, I hope that this group from the class of 2010 inspires other young alumni to join together to create additional scholarship opportunities for future SVC students,” Arabia said.

He also advises that anyone interested in creating an endowed scholarship or in donating to an already established scholarship should contact the SVC Institutional Advancement Office.

Photo: SVC Flickr

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