PHILADELPHIA -- Spruce College House in the University of Pennsylvania's Quadrangle is being renamed Riepe College House.  

The naming recognizes a $10 million pledge to support the college house made by James and Gail Petty Riepe of Baltimore and honors their longstanding dedication to strengthening student life at Penn.  

James Riepe is chairman of Penn's Board of Trustees and Gail Petty Riepe is a member of the Board of Overseers for Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine.

"We are absolutely delighted to attach the Riepe name to this campus landmark," Amy Gutmann, Penn's president, said.  "For years, Jim and Gail have been exemplary Penn alumni, possessing the vision to see what is possible and the energy to make it happen.  I can think of no better way to honor their many contributions to Penn and to acknowledge their steadfast commitment to undergraduate life."

The Riepes' gift will support the ongoing maintenance, activities and services of the house, which is home to 462 students.  House amenities include two libraries, a computer lab, two music practice rooms, a fitness center and two seminar rooms.  Activities for which the house is known range from a faculty-led dinner discussion series to computing and academic skills workshops.  

Three unique residential programs, which allow students and faculty with particular interests to live in close proximity, are based in Riepe College House: Spruce Mentors, a tutoring project that brings residents into one of Philadelphia's most challenged elementary schools; Living Cultures, which  provides residents with a multicultural and multinational living environment; and Health and Fitness, designed for students eager to investigate and adopt healthy lifestyles.

"Our family is excited about the opportunity to support undergraduate life at Penn," James Riepe said, "while, at the same time, be associated with a facility like the Quad which has had such a long and storied history at Penn and, in fact, has housed members from three generations of our family."

James Riepe, who earned degrees in 1965 and 1967 from Penn's Wharton School, is vice chairman of T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., a Baltimore-based investment management company.  He is a member of the Penn Medicine Board.  

Gail Petty Riepe, a 1968 graduate of the College for Women at Penn, is the daughter of Orville A. Petty and sister of O. Anderson Petty III, both Penn alums.  

The Riepes have two children, a son, Jamie, who graduated in 1998 from Penn's College of Arts and Sciences, and Christa, a 1994 graduate of Colby College.