Renaissance Fund Scholarships

The Renaissance Fund, created in 1969, provides scholarship support to academically talented students with the greatest financial need, regardless of academic major or other criteria. Scholarship recipients receive an annual award of $2,000 for up to four years if they maintain a 3.0 grade point average and demonstrate financial need. During the 2021–2022 academic year, more than 838 undergraduates across the University received more than $1,218,250 in support from the Renaissance Fund scholarships.

Make a Difference—Support the Renaissance FundGifts of any amount are pooled into the general Renaissance Fund endowment to provide scholarships. A contribution of $2,000 can support a Renaissance Fund Scholar for one year, while $30,000 can endow a named scholarship, providing support in perpetuity. Donors may establish Renaissance Fund Scholarships as University-wide or for a particular campus. Every gift, regardless of amount, aids these talented Renaissance Fund Scholars who will become tomorrow’s leaders in the sciences, business and industry, government, and the humanities.

Drs. Edgar and Barbara Farmer Renaissance Scholarship

The 2023 Renaissance Fund honorees are local community leaders and education pioneers Edgar and Barbara Farmer. Through more than fifty years of service at institutions along the east coast, the Farmers have built a legacy of support for students and community members from every background.

Edgar Farmer is professor emeritus of education at Penn State. A U.S. Army and Vietnam War veteran, Edgar came to the University in 1974 as a doctoral student in vocational industrial education, graduating in 1978. After serving in academic and administrative roles at North Carolina A&T State University and North Carolina State University, he returned to Penn State in 1996 as professor of education in Workforce Education & Development. Edgar would go on to hold various administrative leaderships posts before retiring from the University in 2013. Today, he is an accomplished wood-carving artist, creating works inspired by experiences inside and beyond the classroom.

Barbara Farmer is a retired schoolteacher, principal, and adjunct assistant professor. From 1997 until 2008, she served as principal of Houserville and Lemont Elementary Schools, becoming the State College Area School District’s first-ever Black principal. After more than forty years as an educator, Barbara left the classroom to serve as director of multicultural affairs for the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State, where she retired in 2014. In the State College community, she has served on the boards of the Women’s Resource Center and Centre County United Way and as chairperson of the State College Borough’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza Committee.

Together, the Farmers have taken their expertise beyond the classroom as experts and trusted advisors on issues in labor, education, and diversity. They are co-authors of the books Diversity in America: Visions of the Future—Real Issues of Real People and Leading with Character. In 2017, the couple served on Penn State’s “Policing People of Color Task Force,” and they are members of Community and Campus in Unity, which addresses issues of diversity in the Borough of State College. The Farmers are also long-time members of and active leaders at Unity Church of Jesus Christ in State College.

At Penn State, the Farmers established the Edwin Herr and Edgar Farmer Research Enhancement Fund to support student and faculty development in the College of Education. They have made generous gifts to support student emergency funds in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, as well as scholarships in Educational Equity. The couple have also endowed scholarships at Hampton University and Norfolk State University, Barbara’s and Edgar’s undergraduate alma mater, respectively.

Today, the Farmers reside in Boalsburg. They are proud parents to three children, Rebecca, Eric, and Edgar, Jr., and grandparents to three granddaughters.

Make a gift to the Drs. Edgar and Barbara Farmer Renaissance Scholarship 

Previous Years’ Honorees

2022

Nancy and Paul Silvis

2021

Molly and Eric Barron

2020

Penn State Alumni Association

2019

Franklin Family

2018

Tom and Sara Songer

2017

Joel N. Myers

2016

Rod Kirsch

2015

Steve Brown

2014

Dan Hawbaker

2013

Kay Kustanbauter

2012

Ed* and Charlene Friedman

2011

Graham and Sandra Spanier

2010

Lance Shaner

2009

Patricia L. Best

2008

J. Lloyd* and Dorothy* Huck

2007

Jonathan Dranov

2006

Linda and Blake Gall

2005

Rene Portland*

2004

Robert W. Potter

2003

Herschel W.* and Eileen Wirtshafter Leibowitz

2002

Bill Welch*

2001

Martha Lewis Starling

2000

Ralph J. Papa

1999

D. Patrick Daugherty*

1998

Patricia Farrell*

1997

David Lee

1996

Suzanne Pohland Paterno

1995

Donald W. Hamer*

1994

Charles W. Rohrbeck

1993

Galen E. Dreibelbis

1992

Arnold Addison*

1991

Sidney Friedman*

1990

Mimi Barash Coppersmith

1989

Jonelle* and Bryce* Jordan

1988

Milton J. Bergstein*

1987

Eugene Lee*

1986

Marjorie W. Dunaway*

1985

John R. Miller, Jr.*

1984

Joseph V. Paterno*

1983

O.W. Houts*

1982

Barbara R. Palmer*

1981

Roy Wilkinson, Jr.*

1980

Eric A. Walker*

1979

William K. Ulerich*

1978

John H. Light*

1977

Jo Hays*

*Deceased

Board Members

Each year, the Renaissance Fund Board Members select the Fund’s honoree, who is recognized at an annual dinner dedicated to raising money for the fund. In the selection process, the board selects an honoree with a commitment to Centre County region, with civic and University engagement, and history of philanthropy.

Current Board Members

• Lydia Abudullah
• Mary Lou Bennett
• Sam Bernstine
• Jason Browne
• Mary Anne Cahir
• Mimi Barash Coppersmith
• Blake Gall
• Gina Ikenberry
• John M. Infield
• Benson M. Lichtig
• Elizabeth Susman
• Lauren Packer Webster

Honorary Board Members

• Anne Riley
• Helen Dickerson Wise