UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As Penn State’s Renaissance Fund celebrates its 49th year of recognizing outstanding community members and helping students with financial need, the Renaissance Fund Committee has announced philanthropists, business leaders and community volunteers William P. and Connie H. Hayes as its 2025 honorees. The couple will be celebrated at a reception in State College on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and they will be taking a leading role in securing support for the newly created William P. and Connie H. Hayes Renaissance Scholarship.
Since its creation in 1969, the Renaissance Fund has provided scholarship support to academically talented students with the greatest financial need. In the 2023–24 academic year, more than $1.7 million in scholarships was awarded to 891 Penn State students. The annual Renaissance Fund celebration, held each fall, honors volunteer and philanthropic leaders who have made a significant impact in the Penn State and Centre County communities and creates a new Renaissance Fund scholarship endowment in their name.
“Bill and Connie Hayes exemplify what it means to lead with purpose, generosity and heart,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “Through their extraordinary service and philanthropy, they have strengthened communities across the Centre County region and beyond. I am confident they will be inspiring champions for expanding scholarship support, and I am deeply grateful to them for advancing the proud legacy of the Renaissance Fund.”
That gratitude was echoed by Gina Ikenberry, chair of the Renaissance Fund committee.
“Bill and Connie are not only amazing volunteers, but their energy and enthusiasm is so infectious that it inspires others to get involved,” Ikenberry said. “Their willingness to serve as honorees of the Renaissance Fund in 2025 is a fitting tribute to a couple that embody the spirit of volunteerism in our community — and will provide an important boost, in future years, to help ease the financial burden carried by hardworking students.”
A native of Belleville, Pennsylvania, Bill Hayes grew up on a dairy farm in the Kishacoquillas Valley, where he participated in the 4-H Dairy Club and devoted almost a decade to establishing and maintaining the 4-H Horse and Pony Club, both of which were made possible by Penn State Extension. Bill graduated from Lafayette College with a bachelor’s degree in American Civilization — followed later by degrees and certificates from the Graduate School of Banking at Northwestern University, the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and the Advanced School of Banking at Bucknell University — and served four years of active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Bill said his plans to attend law school changed when he was recruited to join Kish Bank as a teller and management trainee in 1977. He rose quickly through the ranks, and in 1983 was elevated to serve as president, CEO and chairman of the board, positions he retained across four decades until stepping down in 2023. Throughout his career in finance, he contributed to strengthening the broader industry through leadership service with the American Bankers Association and Pennsylvania Bankers Association.
Alongside his professional achievements, Bill has made volunteerism and community service a top priority. In 1979, he closed his bank branch office and converted it into a makeshift clinic for administering polio inoculations following an outbreak in Mifflin County among the Amish. He later received national recognition in 1994 for successfully spearheading the fundraising campaign to support Amish victims when an arsonist destroyed six Amish barns and a former schoolhouse. In 2003, he was recognized by the New York Fire Department for mobilizing philanthropic support for the Victims and Families Relief Fund following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
His other service includes previously chairing the Pennsylvania Friends of 4-H, the Lewistown Hospital board and Team Mifflin County, and serving on the board of the United Way of Mifflin-Juniata, the Mifflin County Industrial Development Corporation and the YMCA. Today, his service continues as a trustee of Juniata College, the chair of the Mount Nittany Health Foundation Board and the president of Centre Hills Country Club.
Connie Hayes is a native of Burnham in Mifflin County and attended Elizabethtown College on her way to becoming a nationally recognized authority on antique quilts and textiles. She co-authored the definitive work on Old Order Amish quilts from the Kishacoquillas Valley and has frequently contributed to periodicals such as Country Living and Antiques and the Arts. Her expertise led her to consult for the Winterthur Museum and the American Folk Art Museum, which houses her collection of antique Amish quilts. Over the years, she has served as a longtime exhibitor and lecturer at the prestigious Philadelphia Hospital Antiques Show and Sale and the Museum of American Folk Art Show in New York, among others.
Connie said her commitment to community started as a child when she helped her father pick up trash along the streams of central Pennsylvania, helping to restore the grounds around the historic Lewistown train station. She has remained dedicated to service throughout her adult life, volunteering for many charitable organizations and serving on numerous boards and committees. These have included the Mifflin County Library, Lewistown Hospital’s Community Days, Easter Seals, the Palmer Museum of Art’s advisory board, the Pennsylvania Pink Zone, Centre Safe, Kish for the Cure and the Mount Nittany Health Foundation Charity Ball. In addition, throughout 54 years of marriage, she has been instrumental as a hostess and cook in numerous other fundraising efforts she has organized in the Hayes home or Kish Bank offices.
Beyond their volunteerism, Bill and Connie have also directed philanthropy toward many programs and priorities across the University, including the Palmer Museum of Art, the Center for the Performing Arts, WPSU and Penn State Athletics.
Their recognition as Renaissance Fund honorees is the next chapter in their decades-long story of service to their community and support of Penn State.
“Being selected as 2025 Renaissance Fund honorees is a deeply meaningful recognition that leaves us humbled and honored beyond measure,” Bill said. “We are ready to roll up our sleeves to contribute to this proud legacy of service, philanthropy and leadership, and in the coming months, we intend to do all we can to spread the message that contributing to this scholarship will lift up future generations of students for years to come.”
The Hayeses, who live in State College and maintain a seasonal home in the Kish Valley, have a close-knit family. Their daughter, Maggie, resides in Richmond, Virginia, with her son, Anderson, and her husband, Byron. Their son Greg resides in State College with his wife, Meghan, and their children, Aidan, Sarah and Declan. Bill and Connie lost their oldest son, Parker, at the age of 36, but his widow, Jennifer of Washington, DC, remains a close member of the family.
“For decades, we’ve lived and built relationships with friends all across Penn State, and we are so proud and blessed to be part of the fabric of this community,” Connie said. “It’s an honor to be leading the charge in this effort to ensure Penn State’s world-class education remains affordable for everyone, regardless of economic background.”
To learn more about making a gift to the William P. and Connie H. Hayes Renaissance Fund, visit raise.psu.edu/Renaissance2025, or contact Kathy Kurtz, associate director of annual giving, at klk13@psu.edu 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.