James Pierson ’48 attributes many of his life’s accomplishments and joys to his early career in the Army, his Penn State education and his time at Alpha Zeta. The experience meant so much to Pierson that he established a $50,000 need-based scholarship for agricultural students in the name of he and his late wife, with preference being given to Alpha Zeta members.
Jim Pierson, right, and son Doug Pierson, left, chat with Harvey Brown, middle, at the 2013 Alpha Zeta Reunion.
Pierson grew up on a farm outside of Altoona, Pa. He graduated high school in 1942 and was drafted once he turned 18. He served his country in World War II in Patton’s 3rd Army in Europe. He began his Penn State education shortly thereafter, majoring in agronomy. His plans were to return to his family’s farm upon graduation in 1948.
Best Blind Date Ever
In March of 1948, Pierson was invited back to campus for a military ball. The only problem was that he didn’t have a date. The girlfriend of his Alpha Zeta roommate asked around her dorm. It turned out that a lovely young lady named Dolores, a Penn State sophomore, had just broken up with the gentleman she had been seeing. “And he was a football player!” laughed Pierson.
The pair hit it off so well that within the year, they were making plans to wed.
“When I approached Dolores’s father to ask for her hand, he told me, ‘I’ll allow it, but you’ll have to take on her college debts and make sure she graduates!” Pierson said.
Dolores graduated with a degree in business education in 1950, after the couple had married in 1949. Bill Mayer, a 1949 graduate who now lives in Albany, N.Y., served as Pierson’s best man.
A Lengthy Agricultural Career
After his tour of duty with the Army during the Korean War, Pierson went to work for the Oliver Corporation in York, Pa., in 1952. After seven years at Oliver, Pierson transitioned to the agricultural chemical business. Then, he began a long career with Rohm and Haas. During his 20-year career with Rohm and Haas, Pierson particularly enjoyed an opportunity to do tropical research in Honduras.
He was offered early retirement; though not one to remain still for long, Pierson obtained his realtor’s license. He worked out of Morgantown, focusing mostly on farmers and helping them to obtain their dream operations.
Keeping Focus on the Family
During his busy career, Pierson remained dedicated to his wife and children. He and Dolores welcomed three daughters and a son into their lives.
Son, Doug, followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating from Penn State in 1978 and even served as chancellor like his father had 30 years before. Doug is now a professor at Alfred State University, and he and his wife, Debbie, take several students each year on Christian veterinary mission trips.
“They actually met through 4-H,” Pierson adds. “They were both attending a conference in Washington, D.C.”
Through his many grandchildren, Pierson has had the opportunity to visit several college campuses, including Iowa State University and the University of Maryland.
“I’ve also been to Cornell and Ohio State and saw the [Alpha Zeta] houses,” Pierson said. “I think ours is much nicer!”
Unfortunately, Dolores passed in 2007, just shy of 58 years of marriage.
Alpha Zeta Memories
Though he led a busy life, Pierson made sure to keep in touch with his friends from Alpha Zeta. Many of those bonds remain strong to this day including members of the class of 1950, Don Seipt and Emory Brown.
“They’re good friends and have been ever since our time at Alpha Zeta,” he said. “I’ve kept in touch with an awful lot of friends, and that means a lot.”
Reunions throughout the years have helped to maintain those relationships and enabled plenty of “remember when” moments.
One in particular for Pierson goes like this: “Of course when I was at Alpha Zeta, it was dry; no beer or liquor. But six fraternities on campus had a softball tournament each year, and the loser of the tournament had to host a beer party. Well, we lost, and ended up hosting the party on the Alpha Zeta lawn during Finals Week. Some of the boys wandered over to the girls’ dormitory to sing songs. As the chancellor, I had to have a sit down with the girls’ dean. Pearl Westin. I can still remember her name! She gave us a break because it was Finals Week, but I was nervous about it.”
Pierson enjoys the opportunity to relive such memories each time he visits. “Every time I go back to Penn State, I try to visit the house. I’ve met a lot of the members over the years, and I think it continues to be a really great place,” he said.
Establishing the Scholarship
Because of his own positive experience and the outlook he continues to see from current Penn Staters, Pierson jumped at an opportunity to establish a scholarship.
Through Penn State’s Trustee Matching Scholarship program, Pierson contributed scholarship funds, and the university matches it, up to a total of $50,000. The fund is called the James L. and Dolores J. Pierson Memorial Scholarship, and it will be awarded to students in the College of Agricultural Sciences, with preference given to Alpha Zeta members.
“I think it’s a really great program,” Pierson said. “So many students — especially those who come from farms — find it tough to come up with the money for college and to avoid leaving without a lot of debt.”
Along with his generosity, Pierson is encouraging fellow alumni to also contribute scholarship funds by serving as the honorary chair for Alpha Zeta’s Scholarship Drive.
“Alpha Zeta has been great to us,” he said. “We need to help support its future.”