UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The life of Ryan Russell, Penn State professor of graphic design in the Stuckeman School of the College of Arts and Architecture, was cut tragically short on Oct. 23, 2023, following a courageous 17-month battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer. His legacy as a talented designer, dedicated teacher and passionate advocate of design education continues to be carried on by his former students, colleagues and all those who knew him during his more than 16 years at the University.
In honor of Russell’s tremendous impact on graphic design students and his commitment to enhancing design education at the University, Bob Kiernan and Mary Murphy Kiernan endowed the Ryan Russell Award for Design Excellence in Graphic Design. The Kiernans are partners of the Pittsburgh-based creative firm Actual Size, founded in 1999.
Raising additional support for the fund, toward the goal of transforming it into a scholarship, is a priority for the Stuckeman School in Penn State's 10th annual GivingTuesday effort, taking place on Dec. 3.
Bob, a 1989 graphic design alumnus, and his wife Mary, a 1989 College of the Liberal Arts alumna, funded the award in collaboration with Eric Yeamans, Actual Size director of digital operations and a 2010 graphic design alumnus, in the hopes of growing it into a scholarship.
Shortly after Russell’s death, Yeamans and Karin Satrom, then-president of the Graphic Design Alumni Affiliate Program Group and a 2001 alumna, started exploring ways to honor the teacher’s legacy. They decided that a scholarship to support students in the design program to which Russell had dedicated so much was the way to go and reached out to the University with their idea.
“As we worked through the logistics — discussing dollar amounts, award structures and scholarship types — I recognized an opportunity for our company, Actual Size, to contribute,” said Yeamans.
Bob and Mary Kiernan, alums who met during their time at Penn State, hired Yeamans to join their company in 2010 shortly after he graduated. Since then, according to Mary, he has been a steadfast and invaluable member of the firm.
It was through Yeamans that the Kiernans came to learn about Russell, discovering that his influence on students was often likened to that of the late Distinguished Professor Emeritus Lanny Sommese, who led the Penn State Graphic Design program from 1970 to 2014.
“Lanny was a monumental figure for the Penn State program and in the development of his students, including myself,” Bob said. “Ryan was part of the new generation [of faculty] that helped the program move beyond its foundational standing that was started by Lanny and into a new era. We were greatly saddened to learn that the life of a person of such spirit and promise was cut short.”