UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Keiko Miwa Ross, a State College resident and Penn State’s 2020 Philanthropist of the Year, has made new gifts that will fuel innovation and entrepreneurship among Penn State students and citizens of the region.

In celebration of her $850,000 commitment for economic development initiatives and programming, which will receive a 1:1 match from Penn State’s Economic Development Incentive Matching Program, the University has named, in her honor, the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Green Roof and Gathering Space, the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Entry Plaza and Garden, and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Coworking Commons in the Innovation Hub located in downtown State College. Her $1.04 million gift to support the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications will be celebrated in the naming of the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Open Newsroom and Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Lounge, both key spaces in the new, state-of-the-art Bellisario Media Center.

“Dr. Ross has truly become Penn State’s partner in our mission to serve both our region and the larger world through programs, resources and spaces that drive economic development, public dialogue and other initiatives with wide and profound impact,” said University President Eric Barron. “The entrepreneurs who launch their businesses in the Innovation Hub and the students who launch their journalism and communications careers in the Bellisario Media Center will carry forward her vision and her legacy for many generations to come. We are profoundly grateful for her support, and we are delighted to name these prominent spaces, which are integral to cultivating communities of innovation at Penn State, in her honor.”

The Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Entry Plaza and Garden, the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Green Roof and Gathering Space, and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Coworking Commons

With her $850,000 commitment, Ross has secured a 1:1 match from the University and established the $1.7 million Innovation Program Endowment to fuel economic development efforts led by Invent Penn State, the commonwealth-wide initiative launched in 2015 to inspire new business and job creation. The Innovation Program Endowment will support activities that may include artists-in-residence; social and environmental entrepreneurship programs supporting ventures that aim to serve communities and create change; and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) opportunities for K-12 students.

“We are grateful for Dr. Ross’s generous support and her understanding that entrepreneurship in the 21st century can take many forms and reach many communities not traditionally associated with ‘business,’” said James Delattre, associate vice president for research and director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Commercialization, who leads the Invent Penn State initiative. “Through her gift to establish the Innovation Program Endowment, she has provided us with important resources for pioneering new ways of engaging everyone, from our youngest citizens to those who want to have an impact on the larger world, in entrepreneurial innovation.”

Ross’ support has been honored with the naming of three prominent spaces in the Innovation Hub, which opened in downtown State College last fall.

This newly constructed six-story, 85,000-square-foot building on South Burrowes Street is home to Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank, part of the Invent Penn State LaunchBox and Innovation Hub Network comprising entrepreneurship education centers across the commonwealth. The facility hosts state-of-the-art entrepreneurial and innovation resources, including makerspaces, a virtual-reality/immersive technology laboratory, and the spaces named by Ross:

• The Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Entry Plaza and Garden welcomes visitors from both the University and local community with a lush green space in the heart of downtown State College.
• The Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Green Roof and Gathering Space offers 360-degree views of Happy Valley, and it is a key factor in the Innovation Hub’s LEED certification, underscoring Penn State’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
• The Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Coworking Commons is an open, spacious area on the Innovation Hub’s first floor, offering a space for the community-building essential to  Invent Penn State’s mission.

The Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Open Newsroom and Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Lounge

Ross also has committed $1.04 million to the Bellisario College of Communications, which will assist the college in capitalizing on the momentum created by the 2017 naming gift from Donald P. and Vivienne Bellisario and by the official opening last fall of the Bellisario Media Center. The state-of-the-art facility, created through a $43.5 million renovation in the Willard Building on the University Park campus, offers spaces and opportunities for collaboration among students pursuing studies in both traditional and new media.

The Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Open Newsroom is at the heart of the Bellisario Media Center, with technology essential to the production of video journalism, media course projects, and more. Large-scale television monitors stream news updates as student organizations and academic groups gather in the facility. Nearby, the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Lounge offers space for informal interactions, one-on-one meetings, and community-building among the more than 2,500 students enrolled in the college’s programs, which include degrees in advertising/public relations, film production and media studies, journalism, and telecommunications and media industries.

“The communications industries depend upon professionals who have both the collaborative and technological skills to thrive in a fast-paced, interconnected, and ever-changing world,” said Bellisario College Dean Marie Hardin. “The resources that Dr. Ross has offered to our college will allow us to evolve our programs and anticipate exciting changes in communications and media, and the spaces she has named will be the site where our students come to understand and embrace their full potential as contributors and collaborators in their fields. We are deeply appreciative of her support as we prepare our students for challenging and rewarding careers.”

Philanthropy across the University from an educational pioneer

In 2020, Ross was honored for her transformational philanthropy with Penn State’s Philanthropist of the Year award. Her support to areas across the University Park campus includes a $7.5 million gift to the new landmark Palmer Museum of Art building, which pushed the project to its initial $13.9 million fundraising goal. Currently slated to open in 2023, the building will feature three spaces named for Ross: the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Gateway to the Arboretum and Museum, the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Lobby, and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Education Lounge.

In the Arboretum, Ross has named the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Pond and Observation Steps. Within the University Libraries, she has named the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Study Center and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Global News Center; outside Pattee Library, she has named the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Garden Terrace. Through her philanthropy, she also has named the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm and the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross WPSU Production Studio. To date, her philanthropy to the University totals more than $15 million.

Born and raised in Japan, Ross was an educational pioneer in her native country. In 1952, Japanese college education was opened for women for the first time in history, and Ross was among the nation’s first female undergraduates. She completed her education in the United States, however, first receiving her bachelor of arts degree and, later, her master’s and doctoral degrees in education, from universities in Washington State.

Back in Japan, while she was teaching college in Kobe and living in Nishinomiya, Ross worked for a sister-city affiliate program between Nishinomiya and the city of Spokane, Washington, where she had lived during school, and in 1965 she received honorary citizenship from the mayor of Spokane. In 1974, she worked for former U.S. President Gerald Ford during his visit to Japan, receiving a Presidential Certificate of Appreciation.

During one of these special assignments — as an official hostess for foreign dignitaries at Expo ’70, the world’s fair in Osaka — she met S. Thomas Ross, director of an American-Japanese joint venture company. They were married the following year and lived in Japan until 1977, when Thomas was assigned to New York. Keiko subsequently became an American citizen and, while working for the U.S. Department of State, was able to visit all 50 states. The Rosses ultimately settled at the Village at Penn State, and Thomas passed away in 2013.

“I am proud to be both a citizen of the world and a citizen of the Centre region,” said Ross. “With these gifts, I hope to encourage the informed, innovative media and exciting new entrepreneurial ventures, which are so essential to global understanding and local economies. Penn State has given me a sense of community here in State College, and I am so glad that I can help to make that community stronger than ever.”

Ross’s philanthropy will advance "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by serving communities and fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.

Gifts to support Invent Penn State’s LaunchBox and Innovation Hub Network, as well as select economic development initiatives across the commonwealth, are a priority of the campaign, and two opportunities to leverage University funds — the LaunchBox Matching Program and the Economic Development Matching Program — are available through the end of “A Greater Penn State” on June 30, 2022, or until the pool of support is exhausted. To learn more about how to make a gift and secure a match, contact Heather Winfield at hbw11@psu.edu.