Thomas W. Wylonis
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. — Scientist, educator and entrepreneur Thomas W. Wylonis has long been a champion of innovation, mentorship and experiential learning at Penn State Schuylkill. A Frackville native and Penn State alumnus, Wylonis has dedicated his career to advancing high-tech entrepreneurship, both in the United States and abroad.
His support for Penn State Schuylkill has made him the largest individual donor in the campus’ history, and he has now made a new commitment to endow the Wylonis STEM Internship Fund, designed to support internship experiences for Penn State Schuylkill students pursuing STEM careers in the greater Schuylkill County area. This fund will provide students with opportunities to gain hands-on experience with companies and nonprofit organizations that generate jobs and drive economic growth in STEM fields.
“Through his mentorship, philanthropy and leadership, Wylonis continues to shape the future of Penn State Schuylkill, ensuring that students have access to transformative learning experiences that prepare them for success in STEM and beyond,” said Cory Scherer, interim chancellor of Penn State Schuylkill. “His unwavering support has inspired us to aim higher for our campus, and his new gift to create the Wylonis STEM Internship Fund will help future technology leaders to follow in his footsteps.”
Wylonis’s journey began at Penn State Schuylkill, where he studied before transferring to University Park. He later earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering and operations research from MIT and a doctoral degree in operations research from New York University. His professional career took off at Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he contributed to the development of network optimization tools, Picturephone technology and economic models for evaluating new products. He later refocused his career path from engineering to business management consulting at McKinsey & Company, where he served as director of its Scandinavian office.
After spending 26 years in Denmark, where he served as an angel investor and board leader for numerous high-tech startups, Wylonis returned to the U.S. in 2007. He re-engaged with Penn State and MIT, serving as a mentor for electrical engineering students and instructing MIT sophomores in leadership and interpersonal skills. At Penn State Schuylkill, he was an advisory board member and has played a pivotal role in introducing experiential learning programs in entrepreneurship and interpersonal skills.
His philanthropic impact at Penn State Schuylkill is significant: To date, 24 students have benefited from the Wylonis Scholarship and Wylonis STEM Scholarship. Wylonis has mentored many of his scholarship recipients, fostering their academic and professional growth.
His philanthropy has earned him recognition in the Laurel Circle of the Mount Nittany Society, an honor reserved for generous University benefactors.
In addition to his generous contributions, Wylonis has been a featured speaker at the 2012 and 2016 Blue and White Dinners at the Schuylkill Country Club and received the Penn State Alumni Association’s Alumni Fellow Award for his distinguished career and commitment to the University.
Donors like Wylonis advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.
