Penny Allyn, a longtime supporter of Syracuse University and the city, died Thursday, Nov. 28, at the age of 81.

Allyn and her husband, Bill, were graduates of SU’s classes of 1960 and 1959, respectively. Allyn served alongside Bill on the board of the Allyn Family Foundation, a private foundation that provides grants to charitable organizations in central New York.

The Allyns donated $2.28 million to the College of Engineering and Computer Science in 2018, which funded the Bill and Penny Allyn Innovation Center at Link Hall. Their gift also funded an Invent@SU invention accelerator program that aimed to provide a platform for students to bring their inventions to life, according to Syracuse University News.

The Invent@SU program is a collaboration between the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Visual and Performing Arts, according to Syracuse University News. The six-week immersive experience teaches students how to design, prototype and pitch original ideas to help them develop their entrepreneurial and inventive skills.

Penny Allyn was heavily involved in local organizations in central New York, including the Central New York Community Foundation, American Red Cross and Planned Parenthood. She was the largest donor for apheresis-style blood giving in Syracuse for many years, according to her obituary.

Penny Allyn was born in Syracuse and attended Nottingham High School before attending SU, according to Syracuse.com. Penny Allyn and her husband married and moved to Portland, Oregon, before returning to Bill’s hometown of Skaneateles in 1963.

She and Bill moved to Naples, Florida in 2000. In the mid-1970s, Penny Allyn served on the Skaneateles Town Council. She spent decades teaching Sunday school at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles, and was the girls’ tennis coach for Skaneateles High School for more than 20 years.