CARLISLE, Pa. — When Hershey residents Jane and Joseph Cottonaro began discussing ways to give back in retirement, they kept returning to their roots. Both are Pennsylvania natives. They love the commonwealth where they grew up and raised their family. And they wanted whatever they did to impact as many Pennsylvanians as possible, they said.
They decided on a $1 million gift to Penn State that will benefit students, faculty and staff as well as people seeking legal counsel and medical care. Half will be designated to create the Joseph and Jane Cottonaro Dean’s Excellence Fund at Penn State Dickinson Law, where Joseph Cottonaro earned his juris doctorate in 1974. The other half will be designated to support the Penn State Health Congenital Heart Disease Center.
“This gift supports a broad swath of Pennsylvanians, which is how we approached the decision,” said Joseph Cottonaro. “We are delighted with the people this gift will touch, the direction it took, its meaning, and how many people it will help.”
Supporting strong leadership at Penn State Dickinson Law
The Cottonaros have been impressed and excited by the leadership demonstrated by Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway since her arrival at Penn State Dickinson Law in 2019. Under her leadership, Penn State Dickinson Law has become a national leader in antiracist legal education. The Cottonaro Dean’s Excellence Fund will provide Conway and her successors with resources to support their vision for the Law School.
“We have attended the Penn State Dickinson Law annual donor dinner in recent years and spent time with Dean Conway. We are very confident in her and her vision for the future of Penn State Dickinson Law,” said Joseph Cottonaro.
Endowed funds are invested and produce an annual spending amount in perpetuity, and the spendable income from this endowment will be available for the Law School dean to direct to whatever initiatives they feel are most pressing each year. This flexible funding allows the dean to meet the school’s needs and take advantage of opportunities that arise.
Initially, the fund will likely support a series of leadership roundtables bringing together leaders, faculty and staff from across the nation to Penn State Dickinson Law to connect, share ideas and ultimately help participants from other schools develop similar programs in their communities.
Additional uses for the Cottonaro Dean’s Excellence Fund could include encouraging other law schools to pursue their own efforts to dismantle structures of systemic racial inequality in the legal profession — efforts like the Antiracist Development Institute — or pipeline programming that could help guide Penn State and Pennsylvania State System of Higher Ed (PASSHE) students from historically underrepresented groups on a path to successful careers in law.
“The generosity shown by the Cottonaros to Penn State, and particularly to Penn State Dickinson Law, means so much to me as a leader. Their gift recognizes how important it is to lead with principles, values, and a shared commitment to community,” said Conway. “This gift affirms their support for the Law School as a place that embeds equality and justice in the teaching and learning, service, and knowledge creation that defines our praxis ethos. I am humbled by their belief in my leadership and my commitment to Penn State Dickinson Law.”
Conway’s vision will determine how the funds impact the Law School in the near term. Because the Cottonaro Dean’s Excellence Fund will generate spendable funding in perpetuity, its use may change annually and as new deans take over in the future.
Cottonaro said he fondly recalls memories from his days in Carlisle and has kept in touch with many classmates. He encountered Penn State Dickinson Law alumni throughout his career with The Hershey Company, largely as vice president of global taxes.
“It was a small class. It still is today, and you get to interact with everyone, which I thought was positive,” said Cottonaro. “Occasionally, someone will come up to me, and after a few moments, I realize, ‘Oh yes, that is this person from the Law School.’ Some change a lot, some change a little, but it is always nice to see them. I enjoyed my time with them in Carlisle.”
Creating community in Hershey
Like her husband, Jane Cottonaro worked many years with The Hershey Company in various positions in the Science and Technology Center. When the couple retired in 2016 and began considering philanthropic endeavors, they decided their gift should benefit the Hershey community, too.
“Helping the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center became an immediate focus. We use the facilities, and Penn State Health is part of the Hershey tradition, which was so important to our careers,” said Joseph Cottonaro.
As with the gift to Penn State Dickinson Law, the Cottonaros said they wanted to impact many people. They toured Penn State Health Children’s Hospital in Hershey and loved the idea of aiding pediatric patients as they grew. Supporting the new Penn State Health Congenital Heart Disease Center, established in fall 2023, offered a way to do that.
The health system’s Adult Congenital Heart Disease program is the oldest and largest in Pennsylvania, and Penn State Health Children’s Hospital houses the only pediatric program in central Pennsylvania to provide comprehensive care for children with all forms of congenital heart disease and arrhythmias.
Supporting the center’s priorities
Many children with congenital heart disease leave their pediatric care teams when they become adults. If cardiac problems resurface, they may not recall their childhood diagnoses, have the benefit of their parents’ recollections or have access to their medical records. The new center offers lifelong care for patients with congenital heart conditions through an integrated team with regional outreach, inpatient services and access to subspecialty care in one location.
The Cottonaros’ gift will support the center’s priorities. To recognize the gift, a patient room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital and the registration and waiting area for heart and vascular patients at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center will be named for the Cottonaros.
Dr. Elisa A. Bradley, medical director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease program, said the Cottonaros’ gift will help her team reach more patients.
“Their generous gift will have a huge impact, and we hope to focus on expanding and providing specialized congenital heart disease care in central Pennsylvania for years to come,” said Bradley.
She hopes to use some of the funds to educate and train more cardiologists specializing in congenital heart conditions.
“There is a significant regional and national need for those with expertise in this area,” said Bradley.
Dr. John Breinholt, division chief of pediatric cardiology at Penn State Health, said gifts like this one from the Cottonaros create infrastructure for better patient care.
“It always surprises people how many children are born with potentially fatal or life-shortening heart disease. With gifts like this, we can help provide normal lives for these children,” said Breinholt. “News of the Cottonaros’ gift has generated a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. We want to express our deep gratitude for the support the Cottonaros have shown.”
Inspiring future gifts
The Cottonaros said they hope others consider making gifts as their means allow to Penn State Dickinson Law and Penn State Health in the future.
“As we looked to find the right place for our gift, it really mattered that we met Dean Conway and Penn State College of Medicine Dean Karen Kim and believed in their visions,” said the Cottonaros. “We feel we have positively impacted many different interests, and that sits well with us. It is a positive way to approach giving back. Try doing what you feel comfortable with to start and build from there. You can find great satisfaction from helping others.”
Donors like the Cottonaros advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.