Scholarship honors late wife, memories at Abington

Hal and Randi Roloff Fair’s four-decade-plus love story started at Penn State Abington. She was a first-year student, he was a sophomore.

"We met in Spanish class in the Woodland Building. I still remember exactly where I was,” Hal said. “Abington is where we started our lives together.”

Hal, a 1978 communications graduate, said they enjoyed their time at Abington before they moved to University Park to complete their degrees. He was sports editor of the Abington campus newspaper and played intramurals and games of pinochle in the Lares Building while Randi, a 1979 education graduate, devoted herself to her studies. 

They married in 1980 and moved to Newtown Township, Bucks County, with Randi staying home with their children while Hal forged a career in sales. Randi later earned a nursing degree and worked as a school nurse, becoming a beloved resource for children at Herbert Hoover Elementary in the Neshaminy School District for 21 years. She retired several years ago after being diagnosed with a rare disease.

Now the Fairs' legacy of love will continue in perpetuity at Abington with a $25,000 scholarship Hal established just weeks after Randi died from amyloidosis.

“We discussed this scholarship and decided on it together,” Hal, regional vice president for Conair Corp., said. “This is a memory of her that will go on. Because we met at Abington, Penn State is an important place for both us.”

"We are very grateful to Hal Fair for establishing this scholarship in memory of his wife, Randi, which will be an everlasting legacy supporting the education of Penn State Abington students for years to come," Andrew August, interim chancellor, said.

The Randi Roloff Fair Memorial Educational Equity Scholarship at Penn State Abington will be matched 1:1 by the University as part of the new Educational Equity Matching Program. The program will match up to $10 million for new scholarships created by Penn State alumni and friends that enhance the University’s ability to recruit and retain students whose gender, race, ethnic, cultural, and/or national background contribute to the diversity of the student body.

Abington will first prioritize identifying a qualified student for the scholarship from Council Rock High School North or South in Newtown Township, where the Fairs children attended. 

“This scholarship is a way to give back and to memorialize Randi and a meaningful time in our lives. It's a way to keep it alive,” Hal said. “We had many happy times.” 

Besides her husband, Randi Roloff Fair is survived by son Steven and wife Lila, daughter Kimberly and husband Nick Renner, and four grandchildren: Blakely, Devyn, Gavin, and Isaac.

About the Educational Equity Matching Program
The Educational Equity Matching Program offers alumni and friends the opportunity to partner with the University in creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Penn State. Through June 30, 2022, or until the $10 million pool of matching support is expended, donors can multiply the impact of new scholarships for students whose gender, race, ethnic, cultural, and/or national background contribute to the diversity of the Penn State community. This support will help to fulfill Penn State’s historic land-grant mission—to reach all citizens of our Commonwealth through teaching, research, and service—and drive transformation across the institution and the larger world.  Learn more at raise.psu.edu/EEMP.

About “A Greater Penn State”
This scholarship 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 fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.    

About Penn State Abington
Penn State Abington provides an affordable, accessible and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. With nearly 4,000 students, Penn State Abington is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 22 majors, undergraduate research, the Schreyer Honors College, NCAA Division III athletics, and more.