Ira Riklis attended the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. His wife, Diana, got her degrees from Penn’s Graduate School of Education. Both are grateful for and have fond memories of their experiences there. So it’s only natural that they have chosen to offer their support in order that new generations of students can receive an equally high-quality education. They’ve directed most of their support to the GSE, since that’s where they perceive the greatest need lies.
The Graduate School of Education leads the nation as a premier research education schools and one of the few to offer doctoral degrees in education. Over the years, Diana and Ira Riklis have funded several scholarships, term professorships, a student lounge and other facilities, including the Dean’s office. And over the past fifteen years, they’ve watched the GSE excel in areas including quantitative research, policy studies, evaluation, higher education and psychology and human development.