UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State's 39th annual Renaissance Fund dinner raised more than $200,000 to endow scholarships in honor of Steve Brown, the president and CEO of Mount Nittany Health and this year's Renaissance Fund honoree. Three hundred sixty-five guests attended the Nov. 19 dinner at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.
“Steve has done so much to enhance the quality of life in our community through his skilled leadership of Mount Nittany Health,” said Rodney P. Kirsch, senior vice president for development and alumni relations. “Now, the Steven E. Brown Renaissance Fund will honor his legacy of service by providing deserving students with the life-changing opportunities Penn State offers.”
The annual event raises funds for Renaissance Scholarships, which are awarded to academically talented Penn State students who have great financial need. The dinners honor community leaders, and contributions are used to endow scholarships in their names. Since the Renaissance Fund's inception in 1969, the total endowment has grown to more than $11.7 million. To date, 508 scholarships have been awarded for the 2015-16 academic year.
The Renaissance Fund announced Brown as this year’s honoree in July. A graduate of Penn State’s Master of Public Administration Program, Brown began his tenure at Mount Nittany Health in 2010. Under his leadership, the system has expanded to 15 sites in five counties and grown Mount Nittany Physician Group to more than 130 providers across 20 specialties. It has also seen the expansion of the Emergency Department and the establishment of the Lance and Ellen Shaner Cancer Pavilion. The organization has also developed meaningful relationships with partners like Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and their most recent collaboration created the region’s first full-time family and community medicine residency program.
Brown has engaged Mount Nittany Health in sponsoring a long roster of local nonprofit and community outreach efforts such as the Pennsylvania Pink Zone, Coaches for Cancer, and the Penn State Arboretum’s Music at the Gardens, to name only a few. Brown personally serves on the Penn State Master of Health Administration Program’s board of visitors, the board of the Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County, Centre Care board of directors, and the State College Downtown Rotary Club board of directors. Brown also remains connected with Penn State students, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, who are studying nursing, health administration, and health policy through lectures and mentoring opportunities.
Brown lives in State College with his wife, Mary, and they have two sons, Zach and Adam. The couple are members of the Penn State Alumni Association and the Nittany Lion Club and annual supporters of the Penn State College of Health and Human Development, the Pink Zone, THON, and the Palmer Museum of Art.
Supporters of the Renaissance Fund are invaluable partners in fulfilling the University's land-grant mission of education, research and service. Private gifts from alumni and friends enrich the experiences of students both in and out of the classroom; expand the research and teaching capacity of our faculty; enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain top students and faculty; and help to ensure that students from every economic background have access to a Penn State education. The University's colleges and campuses are now enlisting the support of alumni and friends to advance a range of unit-specific initiatives.
To learn more about the Renaissance Fund program, contact Kathy Kurtz in the Office of Annual Giving at 814-863-2052.