UNIVERSITY PARK — As Penn State’s Renaissance Fund celebrates its 47th year of recognizing outstanding community members and helping students in need, the Renaissance Fund Committee has selected local community leaders and education pioneers Edgar and Barbara Farmer as its 2023 honorees. A reception in the Farmers’ honor will be held on Nov. 1.
“Barbara and Edgar Farmer’s passions for education, for equity and for service have propelled them to the highest levels of impact in both their local communities and at Penn State,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “I congratulate the Farmers on this well-deserved honor and thank them for leading with integrity and by example. Barbara and Edgar are exemplary ambassadors of the ‘We Are’ spirit and outstanding examples of what it means to be a Penn Stater.”
Each fall, the Renaissance Fund honors an individual or couple who, through a lifetime of service, has contributed greatly to the Penn State and State College communities. In its selection process, the Renaissance Fund Committee seeks to recognize individuals who have deep roots in the Centre Region, close relationships with civic and university leaders and a commitment to philanthropy. An endowed scholarship fund is created in the name of each year’s honoree(s), and gifts to the fund can be made by any Penn State supporter or member of the public.
Renaissance scholarships are directed to high-achieving students with great financial need. During the 2022-23 academic year, 709 undergraduates received nearly $1.4 million in support from Renaissance Fund scholarships created since the program began in 1969. The Renaissance Fund has already begun accepting contributions to the Drs. Edgar and Barbara Farmer Renaissance Fund. More information about the Renaissance Fund is available at raise.psu.edu/renaissance.
“The Farmers have generously given their time, talent and treasure to improve the quality of living for State College residents and to create new opportunities for Penn State students, faculty and staff from every background,” said Renaissance Fund Committee member Lydia Abdullah. “We are grateful to have the opportunity to honor Barbara and Edgar’s selfless contributions and their lifetime of achievements as this year’s Renaissance Fund honorees.”
Edgar Farmer is professor emeritus of education at Penn State. A U.S. Army and Vietnam War veteran, he came to the niversity in 1974 as a doctoral student in vocational industrial education, graduating in 1978. He subsequently moved on to academic and administrative posts at North Carolina A&T State University and North Carolina State University before returning to Penn State in 1996 as professor of education in Workforce Education and Development. During his second tenure at the university, he served in various administrative leaderships roles, including department head of Learning and Performance Systems and professor-in-charge of the Workforce Education and Development program, among others, before retiring in 2013. Today, he is an accomplished wood-carving artist, creating works inspired by his life experiences both inside and beyond the classroom.
Barbara Farmer is a retired schoolteacher, principal and adjunct assistant professor. From 1997 until 2008, she served as principal of Houserville and Lemont elementary schools, becoming the State College Area School District’s first Black principal. During her time with the district, she was honored as an EducationMaker by “The HistoryMakers,” the nation’s largest digital repository of African American oral histories, housed in the Library of Congress. Previously, she taught business education at various schools and community colleges throughout Virginia and North Carolina. After more than 40 years as an educator, she left the classroom to serve as director of multicultural affairs for the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State, where she retired in 2014. During her time at Penn State, she also served as host of “What Matters,” a WPSU production about issues in diversity. In the State College community, she has held positions on the boards of the Women’s Resource Center and Centre County United Way. She has also served as chairperson of the State College Borough’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza Committee.
Together, the Farmers have taken their expertise beyond the classroom as trusted voices on issues in labor, education and diversity. They are co-authors of the books “Diversity in America: Visions of the Future — Real Issues of Real People” (2002) and “Leading with Character” (2007), and both Edgar and Barbara have been regular opinion contributors to local news outlets, advocating for greater diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism in their community. In 2017, the couple served on Penn State’s Policing People of Color Task Force, and they are members of Community & Campus in Unity, which addresses issues of diversity in the Borough of State College. The Farmers are also long-time members of and leaders in the congregation at Unity Church of Jesus Christ in State College.
At Penn State, Edgar and Barbara have directed their philanthropy toward priorities in the colleges of Education and Information Sciences and Technology as well as Educational Equity in Student Affairs. In 2002, the couple established the Edwin Herr and Edgar Farmer Research Enhancement Fund in the College of Education to support the development of faculty and students in both the Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology program and the Workforce Education and Development program. The Farmers have also made generous gifts to support the Ed and Patricia Thompson Scholarship in Educational Equity, the Completion of Dreams Emergency Fund in the College of Information Sciences and Technology and the W. Terrell Jones Memorial Trustee Scholarship in Educational Equity. The couple have also endowed scholarships at Hampton University in Virginia, where Barbara earned her undergraduate degree and Edgar a master’s degree, as well as Norfolk State University, Edgar’s undergraduate alma mater.
The Farmers currently reside in Boalsburg. They are proud parents to three children, Rebecca, Eric and Edgar Jr., and grandparents to three granddaughters.
“We have been so blessed in this town,” said Barbara. “We are grateful to be recognized by the Renaissance Fund, but the greatest reward for our efforts has been seeing the impact on our community through the years.”
“Barbara and I are honored to join the long list of outstanding Renaissance Fund honorees who have come before us,” added Edgar. “We have built rewarding professional and personal lives here in central Pennsylvania, and this honor is as much testament to the collaboration and commitment of our neighbors as it is to our labors.”
To learn more about making a gift to the Drs. Edgar and Barbara Farmer Renaissance Fund, visit raise.psu.edu/Renaissance2023 or contact Kathy Kurtz, associate director of annual giving, at [email protected] or (814) 863-2052.
Gifts to Renaissance Fund scholarships 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.
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