UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has named Ross and Carol Nese, whose landmark commitment in 2021 named the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, as its 2023 Philanthropists of the Year. The award recognizes individuals, couples or families who have demonstrated exceptional generosity in the promotion and support of the University. The Neses’ support has an intended impact to grow the number of Penn State nursing graduates by 20% over the next decade. This growth potential extends to nursing programs at University Park, Hershey, campuses throughout Pennsylvania and the online World Campus.
“Ross and Carol Nese share the University’s belief that patients and families deserve exceptional health care at every stage of life,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “By helping Penn State to accelerate the growth of our nursing programs and provide the very best in education and training, the Neses have become our partners in preparing the nursing professionals who will deliver that care. Their support for programs and campuses across the commonwealth, as well as their commitment to growing the ranks of rural health-care providers, will have a profound and enduring impact on the communities Penn State serves — reflecting our University's land-grant mission in action.”
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. Their naming gift of $27.125 million — the largest ever for the College of Nursing and the second-largest single commitment to any Penn State academic unit — is spurring growth and enhancing programming across nearly every aspect of the college’s operations:
- Undergraduate and graduate scholarships to help attract the most promising students, enable them to focus on their studies with fewer external work commitments and leave them with less debt upon graduation
- Infrastructure and technology support to increase the college’s physical space and acquire new equipment, especially high-tech equipment in the classroom and for simulation, allowing students to extend clinical learning in novel ways
- Innovation funds to provide seed funding for new ideas in teaching, research, outreach and entrepreneurial endeavors for both faculty- and student-driven ideas
- A program endowment that can be directed by the dean, as needed, to a wide range of priorities for both faculty and students, in areas such as professorships and fellowships, teaching awards, recruitment, research start-up funding, conferences, study abroad and student leadership programs
The naming gift built upon the Neses’ past support for the college, nearing $10 million, which provided funding for scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students and endowed a professorship within the nursing faculty. In recognition of the unique health needs of the aging U.S. population, the Neses also 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 have extended their philanthropy to Penn State College of Medicine to grow health care for rural communities.
“The national shortage of nurses and other medical professionals has had a disproportionate impact on Pennsylvania and Pennsylvanians, and the Neses have positioned our college and Penn State to be in the forefront of addressing this urgent need,” said Laurie Badzek, dean of the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. “Our ambition is to create nurse leaders, and the example of leadership set by Ross and Carol Nese continues to be inspirational for our students, our faculty and our institution as a whole. I am deeply grateful and profoundly honored by the trust that the Neses have placed in us to fulfill their vision and extend their legacy to students, patients and communities across the commonwealth.”
With more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students on 13 campuses, the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing is one of the largest educators of pre-licensure students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since its founding in 1964, Penn State Nursing has grown into a nationally recognized flagship program and now awards more than 500 bachelor’s degrees annually, as well as many other certificates and advanced degrees. The college was recently designated a Center of Excellence by the National League for Nursing, highlighting the college’s investment in its nurse educators and their professional growth.
With the record-breaking success of “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” which raised $2.2 billion from 2016 to 2022, philanthropy is helping to sustain the University’s tradition of education, research and service to communities across the commonwealth and around the globe. Scholarships enable our institution to open doors and welcome students from every background, support for transformative experiences allows our students and faculty to fulfill their vast potential for leadership, and gifts toward discovery and excellence help us to serve and impact the world we share. To learn more about the impact of giving and the continuing need for support, please visit raise.psu.edu.