Philanthropy Awards
Philanthropists of the Year
Ross and Carol Nese
Ross and Carol Nese, whose landmark commitment in 2021 named the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, are among the most generous donors in the history of the University. Their support will have a profound and enduring impact on the communities Penn State serves. Ross Nese is a founder and board member of Grane Healthcare, which manages long-term care facilities throughout Pennsylvania, and the couple’s philanthropy reflects their understanding of the Commonwealth’s healthcare needs. With their gift of $27.125 million—the largest ever for the college and the second-largest single commitment to any Penn State academic unit—the Neses have built upon their past support for the College of Nursing and dramatically enhanced Penn State’s capacity to meet the urgent demand for nurses across the Commonwealth and beyond. This prior support, nearing $10 million, provided funding for scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students and endowed a professorship within the nursing faculty. Additionally, in recognition of the unique health needs of our country’s aging population, the Neses named the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, which aims to improve health care and quality of life for older adults. The Neses’ support has an intended impact to grow the number of Penn State nursing graduates by 20 percent over the next decade. This growth potential extends to nursing programs at University Park, Hershey, Commonwealth campuses, and the World Campus. Coming at the height of the pandemic, the Neses’ gift was an affirmation of their belief in the importance of frontline nursing professionals. They have also invested in Penn State College of Medicine to grow health care for rural communities. The Neses share the University’s belief that patients and families deserve exceptional health care at every stage of life.
Fundraising Volunteers of the Year
The award recognizes an individual, couple, or group who has served as fundraising volunteers, teachers, or mentors while demonstrating exceptional commitment and leadership in building philanthropic support for The Pennsylvania State University. The University celebrates honorees who represent both University Park and the Commonwealth campuses.
William C. Lane
Bill Lane’s extraordinary efforts to galvanize support at Penn State have been informed by his long career in advocating for strong and mutually beneficial relationships between the U.S. and the international community. Raised in Miami, Florida, he relocated to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to finish high school and went on to attend Penn State at University Park, where he participated in student government and entered the fraternity Phi Kappa Phi. He also took advantage of one of Penn State’s fledgling foreign study programs in Cologne, Germany, which laid the foundation for his interest in multinational engagement and cooperation. With his bachelor’s degree in accounting earned from the Smeal College of Business in 1975 and a master of administration degree completed at Penn State Harrisburg in 1979, he built a successful career that has spanned global industries and organizations, from his first roles at construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar through his leadership as chairman emeritus of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and as a Wall Street Journal editorial contributor. He shares a commitment to service with Jan, his wife of nearly five decades and a graduate of Elizabethtown College. Together, the couple have led with endowed initiatives to power global learning, with a special emphasis on emerging markets and industries in Latin America and Africa. They established the William C. and Janet P. Lane Global Perspectives Endowment, followed in 2021 by the Lane Global Engagement Leadership Fund, which supports the Office of International Programs faculty and staff at Smeal in developing global initiatives in Southern Africa. These initiatives include international travel to develop curricula, meet with industry partners and alumni, and discover cultural opportunities. The University Provost selected Lane to serve as the inaugural chair of the Penn State Global Advisory Council, and his more than fifteen years of service have included positions on Smeal’s advisory board and on its campaign committee in For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. Lane earned the Alumni Fellow Award in 2011 and the Service to Smeal Award in 2020. Lane’s passion, humor, and commitment to student success have made him a sought-after volunteer and a trusted source of leadership and inspiration.
Richard M. Barger
While working a summer job in the sweltering heat of Armco Steel’s furnace in 1968, Rick Barger heard about an opportunity to attend Penn State Harrisburg. The idea took root, and he went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in business in 1971. He built a long and successful career at the accounting firm Ernst and Young, and later as the executive vice president and CFO at Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Barger’s wife, Patty, is a now-retired registered nurse who enjoyed a long career at UPMC Harrisburg. Together, the Bargers have distinguished themselves as extraordinary leaders at Penn State Harrisburg, where they have established endowments to advance economic development, award scholarships, and power priorities at the discretion of the chancellor. Their initiatives have channeled resources to fund international travel and enriched the business program with seed grants to innovators and programs that engage entrepreneurs throughout the region. Just as importantly, their tireless volunteerism has rallied philanthropic support from other alumni and friends. Most recently, Barger served as the chair for Penn State Harrisburg’s campaign committee throughout the most recently completed fundraising campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence. Under his volunteer leadership, the college raised a record-setting total of $44.9 million. Barger’s service has earned him numerous awards, including the 1982 Penn State Harrisburg Alumni Achievement Award, the 1989 Penn State Alumni Association Alumni Fellow Award, and the 2018 Penn State Alumni Association Philip Philip Mitchell Alumni Service Award. Widely recognized for his acumen in accounting and business, Barger continues to mentor and advise undergraduates as well as to build momentum among alumni and friends for supporting new growth and initiatives.
Corporate Partner of the Year
Wabtec Corporation
This award celebrates corporate partners that have demonstrated exceptional commitment in promotion and support of Penn State, excellent track records of philanthropy and research, and active engagement of students and alumni in the workplace and the classroom.
Wabtec Corporation has been a remarkable supporter of engineering education and research at Penn State, helping to realize a shared vision of excellently prepared graduates, a continuously adapting workforce, and a culture of innovation in multiple engineering fields. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Wabtec is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions, and value-added services for freight and transit rail, as well as mining, marine, and industrial solutions. In 2020, Wabtec helped Penn State take corporate engagement to a new level, becoming the first corporation to adopt the University’s new strategic partnership model. Encompassing energy management, battery technology, and machine learning research, as well as professional and talent development, this $1.5 million philanthropic and research agreement spans three physical campuses and the online World Campus and unites them under one strategic vision. Through the strategic partnership, Wabtec has become a major supporter of Penn State Altoona’s Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) program, donating locomotive and engine components along with other gifts-in-kind of laboratory equipment and providing funding for RTE students to visit Wabtec’s manufacturing facility in Erie. At University Park, Wabtec has funded battery storage research in the College of Engineering and has engaged with the Engineering Leadership Development Program. At Penn State Behrend, Wabtec’s partnership includes K–12 STEAM outreach programming and engineering design coursework. Wabtec has elected to utilize World Campus and the Engineering Leadership Development Program for the continued professional development of their workforce. The company is an Education Alliance Partner of World Campus, and 238 employees to date have enrolled in online programs. Wabtec is also a career destination for Penn Staters, with nearly 350 alumni employed at the company. Through their remarkable holistic partnership, Wabtec is strengthening Penn State’s position of leadership in engineering education and research, and we are proud to honor their continued generosity and vision.
Foundation Partner of the Year
The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation
This award recognizes a foundation that has demonstrated extraordinary generosity in promotion and support of The Pennsylvania State University. Recipients are chosen on the basis of consistency of giving, support to areas of greatest need, and impact across Penn State.
In 2020, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation launched a transformational partnership with Penn State that will empower countless engineering students to follow their dreams to a world-class college education and fulfilling careers beyond. With a commitment of $15.5 million—which also secured $10 million in University matching funds—the Clark Foundation established the A. James Clark Scholars Program in the College of Engineering, which leverages the college’s signature strengths to support talented engineering students with significant financial need. The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation was established in 1987 to enact the philanthropic vision of A. James Clark, who built Maryland-based Clark Construction Group into one of the nation’s largest construction companies. The foundation supports a range of educational and community initiatives, especially those that build practical and immediate connections between effort and opportunity. The national Clark Scholars Program, the foundation’s signature initiative in engineering education, is currently established at 11 U.S. universities. Penn State’s Clark Scholars Program is a multifaceted initiative that provides both endowed financial and curricular support, allowing its cohort of 40 students each year to focus on their education without taking on loans or outside work commitments that do not align with their academic pursuits. The program also supports the College of Engineering’s ambitious equity and inclusion goals. In addition, the Clark Foundation made a commitment of $150,000 in 2023 to support the pilot of a micro-credentialing program in engineering design entrepreneurship in the College of Engineering, which will offer shorter and more flexible course options as part of a new master’s degree program currently under development. While the Clark Foundation plans to sunset in 2025 after spending down its assets, the Clark Scholars Program will continue in perpetuity, and the Clark Foundation’s impact will live on far into the future through their tremendous investment in Penn State.
