Philanthropist of the Year
This award recognizes an individual or family who has demonstrated exceptional generosity in the promotion and support of The Pennsylvania State University. The recipients of this award, through their philanthropy and service, have helped shape the University’s future and improve the quality of life for the student body, faculty, and staff.
Jason and Julie Borrelli
Jason and Julie Borrelli share a deep understanding of the real estate industry’s impact on every sector of our economy, and they know firsthand the tremendous opportunities that a career in real estate can offer to Penn State students. Their generosity named the Jason and Julie Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies in the Smeal College of Business in 2021. The landmark gift built upon both their past commitment to endow the Jason and Julie Borrelli Faculty Chair in Real Estate and a tradition of support for real estate studies in the college established by Julie’s parents, Jeff ’67 and Cindy King. The Borrellis’ philanthropy and Jason’s leadership as first the vice chair and then chair of the Penn State Real Estate Advisory Board were instrumental in reinstating real estate as a stand-alone major for the Smeal College of Business in 2022. In addition to their gifts to the real estate program, the couple has endowed five scholarships and supported many areas across the University. The Philanthropists of the Year award comes as the Borrellis mark thirty years since their 1994 Penn State graduations—Jason with a degree in aerospace engineering from the College of Engineering and Julie as a hotel, restaurant, and institutional management major in the College of Health and Human Development. After brief careers with Allied Signal and Marriott, they soon joined National Properties Inc., a real-estate investment, property management, and development business co-founded by Jeff King. In 2006, Jason earned an M.B.A. from Penn State Great Valley, with a focus in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial studies. Today he is senior principal for operations of EQT Exeter, a real estate investment manager. After leaving National Properties, Julie turned her attention to raising their children as well as volunteerism and has recently been named the chairperson of the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center Director’s Leadership Council. She is also an advocate for Lynch Syndrome awareness and research. Their son, Drew, is a current Penn State student, and their daughter, Sophie, is a student at the University of Florida. As current members of the Campaign Leadership Council, Jason and Julie Borrelli are now inspiring other Penn Staters to support their alma mater.
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.
David M. Rosenberg
As a full-time philanthropist and president of the David and Marjorie Rosenberg Family Foundation, David Rosenberg has been a deeply committed volunteer at Penn State Brandywine, where he has chaired committees, mentored University staff, and spearheaded initiatives to expand University services and resources for students. Born in New York and raised in Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Rosenberg was first drawn to University Park by the sense of University spirit and his interest in Penn State football. Once there, he became a volunteer at the Dance Marathon, now known as THON™, during its fledgling years and pledged Beta Sigma Rho (now Beta Sigma Beta). He earned his bachelor’s degree in community development from the College of Health and Human Development in 1974, followed by his juris doctorate from Howard University in 1977. After building an executive-level insurance career as a partner and owner of Environmental Compliance Services, Rosenberg pivoted to devoting all his energy to service, philanthropy, and volunteerism. Along with his wife of thirty-five years, Marjorie, Rosenberg was the driving force behind the creation of Penn State Brandywine’s Center for Social Impact, which engages students in nonprofit internships, community-based learning assignments, volunteer opportunities with community partners, and campus civic engagement. The Rosenbergs also endowed multiple scholarships at both Penn State Brandywine and University Park. Beyond their own giving, Rosenberg served as chair of Penn State Brandywine’s development committee in the University’s most recent fundraising campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, where his efforts to spur donor engagement played a critical role in helping Brandywine exceed its goal three months ahead of schedule. Rosenberg continues to serve on the campus advisory board and will chair Brandywine’s development committee for the next fundraising campaign. Apart from his volunteerism at Penn State, Rosenberg has served on many regional organizations’ boards and committees, including the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation Board of Advisors and Special Olympics of Pennsylvania, among others. Rosenberg continues to inspire alumni and friends of Penn State Brandywine with his energy, passion, and hands-on commitment to expanding student engagement and opportunities.
The Moyer family (left to right): Elizabeth Moyer, Greg Moyer, Grace Moyer, Roger Moyer, Jennifer Moyer, and Lance Tavana.
The Moyer Family
The Moyer family’s giving and service across generations has earned them the distinction of being the first family in Penn State’s history to be recognized as Fundraising Volunteers of the Year. Roger and Grace Moyer, along with their daughters, Jennifer and Elizabeth, and sons-in-law, Greg Moyer and Lance Tavana, have played a crucial role in building a culture of philanthropy at the University. Roger, the first in his family to attend college, traces his family’s dedication to service and volunteerism to his parents, both Navy veterans who served during World War II. Roger himself served in the Air Force ROTC while enrolled at Penn State and spent two years after his graduation in 1970 on active duty as a squadron commander. He went on to parlay his degree in finance into a successful career in banking and retired from PNC Financial Services. Since his retirement, Roger has held numerous volunteer positions, including as a member of the campaign executive committee for A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, and as chair of the Volunteer Engagement Committee. Most recently, he accepted a role as chair for Penn State Health and the College of Medicine in the University’s new fundraising campaign, now in its quiet phase. Grace, Roger’s wife of fifty-four years, spent her career as a registered nurse in coronary intensive care and as a supervisor at a nursing home, experiences that deepened her commitment to supporting medical research. Their daughters—Jennifer, a 1996 graduate of the College of Health and Human Development, and Elizabeth, a 2000 graduate from Penn State who majored in business management—both danced in THON™ as undergraduates to raise money to benefit Four Diamonds. Jennifer has built a career as a leadership development consultant, while her husband, Lance, is a physician at the Medical University of South Carolina. Elizabeth, now a managing director for a retirement services provider, is married to Greg, a graduate of West Chester University who holds a staff role at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Together, the family has channeled major philanthropic support to Four Diamonds and endowed three scholarships at Penn State College of Medicine to advance educational equity and support future physicians, as well as giving to the Levi Lamb Fund, the Palmer Museum of Art, an educational equity scholarship at University Park, and the Happy Valley LaunchBox, among other priorities. The Moyer family’s energetic volunteerism has had a profound impact on research and student success and promises to go on being a powerful engine of growth in the years ahead.
Corporate Partner of the Year
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.
Morgan Advanced Materials
Through robust investments in research, academic programs, and student success, Morgan Advanced Materials has become an exemplar of corporate engagement at Penn State. Morgan is a global leader in ceramics and carbon materials. Its Performance Carbon division specializes in creating cutting-edge carbon, graphite, and silicon carbide products for the semiconductor, transportation, energy, and industrial processes sectors. The development of carbon materials has been a primary focus of Morgan’s partnership with Penn State dating back to the 1990s, when Morgan became a member of the University’s Carbon Research Center. In 2016, Morgan established the Carbon Science Centre of Excellence, a global research and development center based at Innovation Park, and has invested $25 million in collaborative carbon-based research in a wide range of industries and engineering applications. This year, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Penn State to catalyze research and development of silicon carbide, known as SiC, a cutting-edge semiconductor material. The agreement includes a new five-year, multimillion-dollar initiative and a commitment by Morgan to become a founding member of the recently launched Penn State Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance, as well as to supply the graphite materials and solutions needed for SiC development to Penn State for use by internal and external partners. Morgan’s support has also strengthened student experiences at Penn State through generous gifts to programming across multiple disciplines that have sought to build student community and diversity, including funding for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Morgan has hired many Penn State students and is working with Penn State to build a pipeline of future female leaders in materials science. We are proud to honor Morgan Advanced Materials and the many ways in which they have supported a shared vision of excellence in materials science and engineering at Penn State.
Foundation Partner of the Year
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.
Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation
For over forty years, the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation has helped Penn State students across multiple campuses to pursue their academic ambitions, regardless of their financial backgrounds or personal challenges. The foundation, based in Princeton, New Jersey, was established in 1979 as the result of a bequest from the estate of Charlotte W. Newcombe, a Philadelphia philanthropist. Charlotte’s father, Dr. Matthew J. Wilson, was a physician and a pharmacist who maintained an interest in pharmaceuticals and, beginning in the 1890s, invested in Philadelphia drug company Smith Kline, creating the wealth that would eventually fund the foundation. Charlotte never attended college because her vision was impaired from childhood, and she could not read for long enough periods to make serious study possible. But she greatly valued higher education: during her lifetime she sent the children of several friends to college, and in her will, she established her namesake foundation to continue her scholarship gifts. The Newcombe Foundation has since distributed more than $70 million to 120 partner institutions, funding more than 48,000 Newcombe Scholarships, and an additional $28 million supporting over 1,400 Newcombe Fellowships. It has created multiple scholarships for students with financial need at Penn State University Park; Penn State Abington; Penn State Harrisburg; Penn State Erie, The Behrend College; and the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Several of these scholarships have supported mature students—those over the age of twenty-five, who often face different financial and life challenges from traditional college students. Others have supported students with disabilities, whose circumstances often create additional financial burdens. Scholarship endowments created by the foundation have also provided matching funds that have spurred the generosity of other donors. All of these commitments have furthered the goals of accessibility, diversity, and equity that are central to Penn State’s mission, and this award is a celebration of our powerful ongoing partnership with the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation.