WWII vet gifts $1.1M to SRU
Joseph McCandless' mother, Sylvia Cooper McCandless, graduated from Slippery Rock State Normal School in 1909, and his sister, Sara Jane McCandless, graduated from Slippery Rock University in 1950.
When the World War II veteran passed away Jan. 14, 2020, at 98, McCandless left a gift of more than $1.1 million to SRU, which is the largest gift from a private individual in the university's history, according to a news release from Slippery Rock.The gift will be used to establish an endowed scholarship named in honor of McCandless' mother and sister.McCandless himself did not attend the university, but he was born in Slippery Rock, and purchased a one-room schoolhouse, the Hickory Corner Schoolhouse, with his sister for the university in 1988.McCandless was a civil engineer who lived in Ellwood City most of his life. He served as a bombardier in dozens of missions in the Asiatic Pacific Theater, including the Mandated Islands Campaign and the air offensive over Japan during World War II.He later served with the Company A 807th Engineer Aviation Battalion, providing air support for the building of the Alaska-Canadian Highway, and was discharged with the rank of captain in October 1947 after five-and-a-half years of service.McCandless earned several military awards, including two Bronze Stars and the Distinguished Flying Cross, which is awarded to those for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight while serving in any capacity with the Air Corps.A graduate of Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University, McCandless worked as an engineer and construction inspector for his father's business, B.J. McCandless Architect.The Sylvia Cooper McCandless, Class of 1909, and Sara Jane McCandless, Class of 1950, Scholarship is intended for an incoming SRU student majoring in early childhood and elementary education each year beginning in fall 2022, paying half of the recipients' tuition and half of their room and board if they choose to live on campus. The scholarship will be renewable for each recipient for up to three additional years.
