Wilkes Scholarship Established in Honor of Late PennDOT Engineer

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Society of Highway Engineers has established an endowed scholarship at Wilkes University in memory of Charles "Chuck" Mattei, former district engineer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Society representatives presented a $50,000 check establishing the scholarship at a recent dinner at Wilkes.

Mattei, who died in 2003, was PennDOT's District 4-0 engineer from 1986 to 2003. He was responsible for many notable projects, including the Interstate 81 interchange at Montage Mountain that was dedicated in his name. Mattei also left behind significant legacies at Wilkes and in Pennsylvania's transportation system. He was an assistant professor of environmental science and head coach of the men's lacrosse team at Wilkes for many years. His wife Dwaine Mattei of Forty Fort, is a Wilkes alumna from the Class of 1974.

Dominic Yannuzzi, an engineer with the Alfred Benesch and Company office in Hazleton, has organized a golf tournament in Mattei's honor for a decade to raise funds for the scholarship. "In my involvement with the ASHE group for the last 15 years, their dream was always to help engineering students in northeastern Pennsylvania," Yannuzzi says. "Every June, other volunteers and I put our hearts into this annual event," he continues. "We know and respected Chuck. It is a wonderful tribute to Chuck's legacy and the dedication he had to northeastern Pennsylvania. It was perfectly clear that the scholarship in the name of Chuck Mattei represented the group's dream."

First established in 2005, The Charles Mattei Scholarship has provided two $1,250 scholarships annually to Wilkes students pursuing engineering degrees. Wilkes President Tim Gilmour said the endowed scholarship will benefit generations of students. "We are extremely grateful to the American Society of Highway Engineers for their commitment to Mr. Mattei's memory and to our students," Gilmour says.

Recipients of The Charles Mattei Scholarship must demonstrate strong academic performance with a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher and show evidence of service to the community and others. Students from northeastern Pennsylvania are given special consideration in awarding the scholarship.