UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State community is mourning the loss of an alumnus and volunteer whose service and philanthropy spanned more than half a century and impacted units across the University. Bill Jaffe, a 1960 graduate of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications who rose through the ranks of the consulting industry to found his own firm, died on April 4 at his vacation home in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 83.

Jaffe made his first gift to the University — a modest $5 — in 1961, and across the ensuing six decades, he, along with his late wife, Honey, went on to direct significant philanthropic support to multiple areas of the University, including Intercollegiate Athletics, the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and the College of Arts and Architecture. He established nearly 20 scholarships and endowments in a coordinated effort to boost student success, often pairing his giving with hands-on volunteer service across the University. In recent years, he placed a particular emphasis on marshaling support with a lead gift to the new Palmer Museum of Art, complemented by leadership service on its National Advisory Council.

“Bill’s insatiable curiosity and passion for helping others manifested itself across the University at many different levels,” said President Eric J. Barron. “He and Honey provided visionary leadership that has made Penn State more affordable and accessible, more culturally vibrant and better equipped to support student artists and athletes. We’re fortunate that this extraordinary legacy will go on to inspire and enrich our community for many years into the future.”

Jaffe received much recognition and many awards from units across Penn State for his service on advisory boards, alumni societies and organizational councils. He served as chair of the Intercollegiate Athletics committee in the University's current fundraising campaign, “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” and he was involved as a volunteer in the Bellisario College of Communications Alumni Society, the All-Sports Museum, Penn State Hillel and many other activities. The Penn State Alumni Association named him an Alumni Fellow in 1996 and Volunteer of the Year in 2000. He also received the Lion's Paw medal in 2007 in recognition of his service to the University. He was appointed President’s Club Chair in 2008, and in 2013 he earned the Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor bestowed by the University upon an outstanding alumna or alumnus.

“Penn State meant the world to my father,” said Bill’s daughter, Robin Jaffe Goebel. “He was always stepping forward to mentor students, spearhead fundraising efforts, cheer on a team or sponsor the performing and fine arts. He used to say that he gave to Penn State and Penn State gave back to him, and that bond of trust meant everything to him, as it always will to my family.”

Jaffe and his wife were named the Penn State 2011 Fundraising Volunteers of the Year for their service during “For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students,” an award that highlights alumni and friends who built networks that secured philanthropic support for the University. The award recognizes an individual, couple or group who has served as fundraising volunteers, teachers or mentors while demonstrating exceptional commitment and leadership in building philanthropic support for the University. The couple was admitted as Laurel Circle members of the Mount Nittany Society.

Prior to the news of his sudden death, Jaffe was scheduled to be honored at the 2022 Palmer Museum of Art benefit gala and auction on May 21, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, an event that will mark the 50th anniversary of the museum’s founding in the buildup to the opening of the new Palmer Museum currently under construction at The Arboretum at Penn State. He had been slated to receive the Palmer Philanthropic Service award for his extensive philanthropy and personal engagement with the museum.

Part of what set Jaffe apart as a philanthropist was the breadth of his giving across the University. Beyond his marquee priorities, he also created endowments to support women’s volleyball, jazz musicians, musical theatre, interns, field hockey players, WPSU and Blue Band, among others.

Born June 21, 1938, in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, William A. Jaffe was part of a Penn State tradition that cut across three generations. His father, Reuben Jaffe, was a 1922 graduate in the College of Engineering. Bill’s son, Matthew H. Jaffe, studied film in the Bellisario College of Communications in the early 1990s, and his daughter, Robin, earned her degree in speech communication in the College of the Liberal Arts in 1995. His cousin, Simon Ziff, graduated in 1987 with a degree in finance and built a career in real estate.

Jaffe’s duties as a sports freelance writer in high school led him to study journalism at University Park from 1955 to 1960. While there, he became managing editor of the “Daily Collegian,” president of Sigma Delta Chi and a member of Lion’s Paw and Skull & Bones. He later served as an officer of each organization’s alumni group. After graduating, he leveraged his credentials in public relations to land a job at RCA Records, where he worked with legendary American record producer Don Cook.

Jaffe went on to earn a master’s degree in 1962 in business management from the University of Illinois. For the following three decades, Jaffe worked in Washington, D.C., in the consulting sector, including stints as vice president of Towers Perrin (now Willis Towers Watson), one of the world’s largest management consultant firms, and at Alexander & Alexander (now Aon), a major insurance brokerage. In 1995, he returned to State College to found the Jaffe Group, a human resources and leadership consulting firm.

Jaffe also sat on the national board of the Boy Scouts of America and was active at temple and in his Jewish Community Center, in addition to serving on the Arts Council in West Virginia, but it was his alma mater that garnered his most sustained service and attention.

“Bill brought Herculean energy and generosity to every project he was involved in, but the truly remarkable thing about him was that, without fail, he inspired those around him to roll up their sleeves and join the cause,” said O. Richard Bundy III, Penn State vice president for development and alumni relations. “His enthusiasm was an engine of inspiration, and it galvanized Penn Staters to strive after their best selves and have fun while doing it.”

In addition to his two children and cousin, Jaffe is survived by his sister, Elaine Altshuler, and his partner of recent years, Jane Zimmerman.

The Jaffe family is encouraging alumni and friends who were inspired by Bill and Honey Jaffe’s legacy of service to Penn State to consider contributing to any of several endowments that were established by the couple.

Gifts made in the Jaffes’ memory 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 hard-working 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.