Beaver College Alumna Establishes the Margaret W. Steele Endowed Scholarship

By McLaughlinE | August 17, 2020
Headshot of Margaret Steele

Arcadia University is pleased to announce the inaugural Margaret W. Steele Endowed Scholarship award will be made in the Fall of 2020.

Established through the generosity of Beaver College alumna, Margaret “Peggy” W. Steele ’80, the scholarship is designed to strengthen the University’s ability to recruit and retain talented students by reducing the financial burden that often is associated with the pursuit of higher education. Specifically, to maximize its impact, the Margaret W. Steele Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to and focused on Physical Therapy students in Arcadia’s College of Health Sciences.

Enrolling in Beaver College as a transfer student, Steele graduated in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. We honor and celebrate her legacy at Beaver College through her meaningful service and support of Arcadia University. 

In 1999, Steele began what would become 14 years of service on the Arcadia University Board of Trustees, culminating in a three-year term as Board Chair from 2010 to 2013. “It was Dr. Rebecca Craik and the Physical Therapy Department faculty who inspired me to increase my involvement with my alma mater,” said Steele. “I was impressed by their thoughtful, creative ideas and their research. My confidence in Arcadia grew as I watched the PT Department adapt to the demands of the marketplace and the environment—they were always focused on keeping current and moving forward.”

Her years of dedication, leadership, and loyalty garnered recognition from her fellow alumni and peers, and in 2010, the Arcadia University Alumni Association presented Steele with the Golden Disc Award for Meritorious Service. In 2017, she was granted emerita status to the Arcadia Board of Trustees.

With more than two decades of faithful support to the University, Steele is no stranger to the joy of giving. In addition to the establishment of the Margaret W. Steele Endowed Scholarship Fund, Steele recently stepped forward to help support a renewed era and spirit of philanthropy among the University community by becoming an inaugural donor of Arcadia’s new Jones Poundstone Society. To ensure that her loyalty serves the University well beyond her lifetime, she also joined Arcadia’s Covenant Society by including Arcadia in her estate plans.

Steele recognizes that the success she has had in life began in the classroom, and this sentiment strongly informs her philanthropy. “I give to Arcadia because I believe in recognizing the opportunities that have formed us into the people that we have become,” said Steele. “I give so that as many students as possible have the opportunity of an Arcadia education.”

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