Rooted in Excellence

Rooted in Excellence tells an improbable Penn State success story: how an idea that failed for nearly a century finally took root and flourished, against all odds.

The Arboretum at Penn State is one of the University’s most cherished spaces. In this book, Kim Steiner, the Arboretum’s founding director, traces the long, uncertain path to its creation. Steiner documents early twentieth-century aspirations and repeated false starts up through the planning, design, and construction of the 370-acre arboretum now gracing the north side of the University Park campus. He follows a small, determined group of faculty and staff who, beginning in 1995, transformed a modest “white paper” proposal into a board-approved master plan, even as funding remained elusive and institutional priorities lay elsewhere. Central to this story is the remarkable eight-year quest for a single transformative gift—one that arrived unexpectedly from an alumnus whose generosity sparked nearly sixty million dollars in subsequent philanthropy, making The Arboretum at Penn State one of the largest privately funded projects in the University’s history.

More than an institutional history, Rooted in Excellence offers a compelling case study in grassroots leadership and philanthropy. It documents how patience and persistence in the pursuit of lofty ambitions can shape a community for generations. As both a tribute to what has been achieved and an invitation to invest in what comes next, this book underscores why the Arboretum matters and why its future depends on continued vision and generosity.