The Geisler-Penquite Foundation awards more than $9 million to Central College, the largest single gift to Central in the college’s history.
“With deep appreciation, we celebrate the Geisler-Penquite Foundation for this transformative gift. We are grateful for the families and connections that have made this all possible. It is exciting to see the power of philanthropy open doors and foster a rich environment of learning for our students,” says Mark Putnam, Central College president. “This is an incredible investment in the future of the college and the legacy we share with the Geisler-Penquite Foundation.”
During the awards program, Central College along with the Geisler-Penquite Foundation announced the creation of the Timmer Family Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship in honor of Maurine and Gary Timmer, retired vice president for advancement at Central and 1955 Central graduate. Maurine served as Central’s first women’s golf coach. The Timmer family played a pivotal role in developing deep relationships with the Geislers and Penquites in the late 1970s.
“A gift like this is such a blessing. We are honored and humbled to be able to steward this gift and build on the legacy of the Geisler and Penquite families,” says Michelle Wilkie, director of development. “It will be exciting to share more details with our community on the direct impact of this gift as it comes together. In the meantime, we cannot thank the foundation enough. This is truly remarkable.”
The Geisler-Penquite Foundation has a long history supporting education programs at Central. Since the early years of Geisler and Penquite families’ support of Central, more than $5.2 million has been given to the college. In addition to funding programmatic work in education, the Geisler-Penquite scholarships have been awarded since 2011 to over 100 students seeking to pursue a career in teaching, creating a ripple effect across our state to develop highly qualified educators who can be found teaching in every county across the state of Iowa.
Geisler-Penquite Foundation board members include Dan Skokan, president and treasurer; Eric Sickler, vice president and a 1983 Central graduate; Sheri Timmer Roslien, secretary and class of 1988 Central graduate; Noreen Otto, John Roslien, associate professor of kinesiology, Eugene Knopf and Maurine Timmer. Gary Timmer, 1955 Central graduate, serves as advisor to the board.
Established in 2009, the Geisler-Penquite Foundation’s roots trace back to 1969 when the Geisler-Penquite Charitable Corporation was created with just $7,000 by the Jasper County farm family of John E. and Gertrude Setzer Geisler and their children, Harold and Cecil. Since then, distribution of the family’s farm holdings and investments have resulted in grants to Central and 16 Jasper County nonprofit organizations whose missions align closely with the family’s deeply held values of hard work, diligence, a love for learning and strong adherence to Christian principles.
In 1977, the family’s desire to invest in Christian higher education inspired Cecil Geisler Penquite and her husband, Loren, and Harold Geisler and his wife, Mavis, who resided in rural Mingo at the time, to donate $500,000 — then the largest single gift to Central in the school’s history — to fund educational materials, technologies and learning experiences available in the Geisler Learning Resource Center, now called Geiser Library.
