California University of Pennsylvania will announce plans to rename itself today after Fayette County philanthropist Robert Eberly, who has given the school millions of dollars. While a school spokeswoman said she could not comment, the university sent out a notification of a news conference Thursday, telling media outlets there will be a ‘history-making announcement.’ State Sen. J. Barry Stout, a Bentleyville Democrat, confirmed that today’s announcement is intended to rally the community around a proposed name change. Stout had some questions about the plan’s impact on alumni, current students and California Borough. ‘You go to a school and you pay a lot of money to get a degree, and suddenly it’s called a name that you never heard of. I’m interested to see what they think about this. The town also identified itself with the school. ‘This is not to take anything away from Mr. Eberly, who has been an outstanding supporter of education both here and elsewhere,’ Stout said. According to Stout, the proposed name change will need approval from the Legislature and Gov. Tom Ridge. Eberly, 83, refused to comment through the staff at his Uniontown foundation’s office. Patricia Miller, vice president of the Eberly Foundation, also declined to give details of the foundation’s contributions for last year. ‘I understand why you want this information, but we’re not giving out any information today,’ she said. In 1999, the foundation gave more than $9 million in 129 grants. The 2000 information has not yet been published. In addition to several other grants, Eberly gave $1.2 million to the university for construction of a $17 million science center. In return, the completed building and the science college were both named after Eberly. Eberly also has financed several scholarships and teaching positions at the Washington County school, which has an enrollment of 6,200. The university, originally known as the California Normal School, will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year. It is one of 14 state universities that are all named after the town in which they are located. While most officials were tight-lipped about the announcement, a former employee of Eberly’s said he thought the honor is appropriate. ‘I’d be very happy to see that because his focus has always been on education,’ Fayette County Commissioner Ron Nehls said. Nehls once worked for the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, an organization supported primarily by Eberly. Eberly was honored last month by the International Economic Development Council when he was given the 2001 annual Economic Development Citizen Leadership Award. The 2000 award-winner was Verizon Co-chairman Charles Lee. Eberly sold much of his portfolio of producing gas wells for $25 million earlier this year. The two foundations headed by Eberly were worth nearly $100 million in 1999, prior to the $25 million sale. The son of prominent businessman and philanthropist Orville S. Eberly, Robert Eberly graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 1939 with a degree in chemistry. Robert Eberly retired as chairman of the former Gallatin National Bank in 1990.

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