The Math Resource Center, housed within the Center for Student Success, encourages success and supports Cabrini’s students as they strive for academic excellence.
Thanks to the generosity of Arpi Hagopian, PhD, and her late partner Peter Knsikern, the Math Resource Center will support students’ successes in perpetuity.
In 2016, when Hagopian and Kniskern were considering where to assign their philanthropic efforts, they were reminded of Darla Nagy, Adjunct Instructor in Mathematics at Cabrini and Professional Tutor in the Math Resource Center, whom they had befriended 10 years earlier when Nagy began to prepare the couple’s taxes.
Inspired by the work Nagy and Cabrini students accomplished in the Math Resource Center, Hagopian and Kniskern initially made annual gifts in 2017 and 2018. But with the passing of Kniskern in 2018, Hagopian wanted to do more, honoring Kniskern’s legacy with a larger gift to the University.
With a $100,000 pledge to Cabrini University, Hagopian established The Peter J. Kniskern Endowed Fund for the Math Resource Center in honor of Kniskern and the advances made and knowledge gained through his research on vaccine development in his time at Merck, Sharp & Dohme (where he and Hagopian both worked).
The fund supports the Math Resource Center and math-related tutoring through the hiring and training of Classroom Coaches for developmental math courses to support academically at-risk students, especially those in their first year of college study, and through professional development opportunities for professional and peer math tutors and math faculty teaching in developmental math courses.
Hagopian hopes that these developmental math students will gain learning strategies that will stay with them through their educational path at Cabrini and enable them to move forward into rewarding careers.
Cabrini is grateful to Hagopian and her decision to honor Kniskern with a generous gift that paves the way for others to achieve success.