Rob and Penni Roll, both of whom earned undergraduate accounting degrees from West Virginia University, have established the Facemire-Roll Scholarship through a gift of $105,000 to the College of Business and Economics. The endowment will provide scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students in accounting and finance.
“This gift is fantastic because it really fills an ongoing need at B&E,” said Jose “Zito” Sartarelli, Milan Puskar Dean. “Scholarships are necessary to attract highly credentialed students to our school, and this generous gift by Rob and Penni will certainly help do that.”
“We have a great reputation for the excellent students that graduate from our accounting and finance programs,” he added, “and scholarships are an important component in helping us earn that reputation.”
Penni, who serves as chief financial officer for Ares Capital Corporation, is a magna cum laude graduate from Summersville. Rob, who hails from Fairfax, Va., is a B&E alum as well.
“As a graduate and proud West Virginian, I am pleased that the foundation I gained at WVU has allowed me to be in a position to give back to the university that gave so much to me,” said Penni (Facemire) Roll. “I hope that this scholarship will afford future students similar opportunities to have meaningful careers.”
“I hope that this scholarship will allow bright students that might not otherwise be able to afford college the opportunity to gain a first rate education,” said Rob Roll.
Penni joined Ares, a global alternative asset manager, in April 2010 when Ares Capital acquired Allied Capital Corporation. Since that time, she has served as executive vice president of finance of Ares Capital Management, Ares Capital’s investment adviser. She previously served as the chief financial officer of Allied Capital Corporation after joining Allied Capital in 1995 as its controller. From 1988 to 1995, she was a part of KPMG LLP’s financial services practice, last serving as an audit manager.
Rob served as director of finance and controller with non-profit organizations prior to committing full-time to raising their two children.
This fund represents the Rolls’ second major gift to their alma mater. In 2007, the couple established an endowment to provide funding to offset travel expenses for graduate accounting students to travel internationally.
The contribution was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $750 million comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2015.
For further information on the comprehensive campaign, please visit www.astateofminds.com or www.be.wvu.edu.
