Penn State’s 45th annual Renaissance Fund celebration set a new record and raised a record $3.6 million for a student food insecurity scholarship fund. The October 28 event was livestreamed from the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center with more than 200 in-person and online attendees.

The event honored President Eric Barron and his wife, Molly, who together donated $525,000 and created the Eric and Molly Barron Student Food Security Endowment, which will provide funds for students experiencing food insecurity.

First preference to this fund will be given to Renaissance Scholarship recipients. The award is presented to academically talented students in financial need.

“Our gift is focused on food security because we need to think about the whole package,” said Barron in a release. “The people in this room make an extraordinary difference because you give to scholarships that are truly helping students to be successful in significant ways. We help those people who are here today, but just as important, we also help those who are not yet even born.”

The Renaissance Fund endows scholarships in the names of contributors, with 753 Renaissance Fund scholarships awarded last year, totaling more than $1.1 million in financial support for Penn State students. The fund has accumulated more than $18 million since its creation in 1969.

To learn more about the Eric and Molly Renaissance Scholarship, click here.