Fulton Bank honors former CEO Wenger with scholarship gift to Penn State Smeal

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When longtime Fulton Financial Corporation CEO and Penn State alum Philip "Phil" Wenger announced his retirement at the end of 2022, leadership at the corporation and its subsidiary, Fulton Bank, chose to honor his legacy by establishing the E. Philip Wenger Finance Scholarship in the Penn State Smeal College of Business with a $50,000 gift.

Wenger earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Penn State in 1979 and earned an MBA from Penn State Harrisburg in 1987. He is also a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

Wenger joined Fulton Financial Corporation’s Management Training Program in 1979 and held numerous positions of increasing responsibility during his more than 40-year career with the company.

He was promoted to president and chief operating officer of the corporation in December 2008 and was named chairman and chief executive officer of the corporation in 2013. Wenger will continue to serve as a director of the corporation and its banking subsidiary, Fulton Bank.

As a subsidiary of Fulton Financial Corporation, a $26 billion financial services holding company, Fulton Bank offers a broad array of products and services at more than 200 financial centers across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.

Charles H. Whiteman, John and Karen Arnold Dean of Smeal, said he commends Fulton Financial Corporation for such a meaningful gift.

“Phil Wenger is deeply committed to Penn State and to creating opportunities for students both here at University Park and at the Harrisburg campus. Fulton Bank’s gift to establish the E. Philip Wenger Finance Scholarship honors that commitment and will make it easier for students to afford a world-class finance education at Penn State. That is a wonderful legacy,” he said.

According to Fulton Bank CEO Curt Myers, Wenger was instrumental in significantly increasing both ethnic and gender diversity within the company’s senior management team during his tenure. He also led the company in creating the Fulton Forward initiative, which supports the corporation’s purpose of ‘Changing Lives for the Better’ in the communities they serve.

Fulton Forward focuses on advancing economic empowerment — particularly in underserved communities — in the areas of affordable housing and home ownership, job training and workforce development, financial education and economic empowerment and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Myers said that economic empowerment is one of the four pillars on which the corporation focuses their volunteerism and philanthropy.

“A scholarship is a great way to honor Phil and stay within our Fulton Forward pillars, but it also helps us continue to meet our purpose of ‘Changing Lives for the Better.’ By establishing this scholarship, we are uniting Fulton and Penn State with the goal of building on Phil’s legacy by providing opportunities for students to develop themselves into future leaders of the financial services industry,” Myers said.

Wenger said he was surprised and overjoyed to learn of this scholarship.

“I just want to thank Penn State and the team at Fulton Bank for continuing to prioritize education, particularly financial education, for today’s young people. Education is critically important to changing lives for the better,” Wenger said.

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.