Stephen and Sandra Brower Make $240,000 Gift to Uplift Students in Need

by Luke Wilson '24

Steve ’84 and Sandy Brower have made an extraordinary gift of $240,000 towards scholarships for students in business, education, healthcare, science, technology, sociology, and criminal justice. Included in their gift is a pledge of $8,000 a year for 5 years (totaling $40,000), and a $200,000 gift in their will.

Coming from blue-collar backgrounds, both Steve and Sandy learned the value of an education firsthand, and this gift is their way of honoring the commitment and sacrifices made by their parents to fund their educations. By including Bloomsburg in their estate, the Browers are creating a generational impact for students of both the present and the future.

“The Browers are an outstanding example of those who give back because of what was given to them,” said Jerome Dvorak, Director of the Bloomsburg University Foundation. “We’re deeply appreciative that their generosity is making an impact today through student scholarships, and will continue to shape lives for generations to come through their decision to include Bloomsburg in their estate plans.”

Before attending Bloomsburg, Steve grew up in Chester County, PA, and like many high school students at that time, he did not have a clear idea of his future career plans. Fortunately, although his parents never went to college, they understood the value of an education and encouraged Steve and his two brothers to pursue higher education.

“To this day, I don’t know how they put the three of us through college,” Steve remarked, “It was my parents’ dream. I’m 100% sure I would not have gone without their help.”

Steve started at West Virginia University as a Forestry major, but quickly concluded that the industry at that time did not have many opportunities for good paying jobs. Unsure of what major to pursue he returned home and took any job he could find, which included a shoe polish factory and a dairy. It was then that he realized how valuable a degree was for someone in his position – a young, ambitious man with a desire for more than filling cans and bottles.

A friend recommended Bloomsburg, and after changing his area of study from forestry to business, he discovered where he belonged. “This is where it all began,” Steve said. “I had a long and rewarding career, and Bloom was a big part of that.”

Steve began his business career working for SKF Industries and worked for several other large companies, where he learned how to operate and build companies. While attending Drexel University where he earned an MBA in Finance, he became confident that he could own and operate his own company. Steve started building his own businesses, including a cabinet and millwork company, a custom race trailer manufacturer and culminated in starting All Fab LLC, a metal fabrication company which supplied electric utilities. Over a period of 12 years the company grew and was eventually sold to a large corporation which placed Steve in a position where he could give back to the place where he started his journey.

While Sandy didn’t attend Bloomsburg, she immediately fell in love with the campus while visiting with her and Steve’s youngest son, Logan. She too was instilled with the value of education from a young age, inspired by her father, whose early life was filled with economic hardship, responsibility and hard work and who was devoted to building a better life for his family. Her parents had a dream and worked tirelessly to start and raise a family on a dairy farm.

Sandy was raised on a dairy farm in Lancaster County where she showed and sold animals to help fund her education. After getting her bachelor’s at Alvernia and her MEd in School Counseling at West Chester University, she entered the world of education to make a positive impact on younger generations.

“Working in a high school – I see the students that struggle,” she explained. “There are kids who don’t have a lot of family support or don’t have access to the resources they need.” Sandy understands the importance of giving back since she grew up in a family where helping and giving to others was a way of life.

Sandy, whose father sadly passed away, always said “one of the things he was most proud of was me, my sisters and all of his grandchildren’s educations.” She stated, “This is a way for us to honor his legacy of giving back.”

While Steve notes that his decision to attend Bloomsburg was somewhat accidental, he is beyond grateful for every opportunity it provided for him and his family.

“Had I not immediately had many positive experiences with professors who genuinely cared, and who ignited a desire to learn all I could about business, I might have concluded that college just wasn't for me,” Steve said.

Sandy, too, expressed gratitude and positivity towards Bloomsburg, not just because of its affordability and value, but because of what it does for its students. “I’m so glad Logan, who is a sophomore majoring in Professional Sales and Marketing, chose to come here,” she added. “He could have gone anywhere but chose Bloom because of the Sales major which is not offered by many universities, and he loved the campus from the first visit. Every time we visit, it feels like home.”

Both she and Steve value the opportunity to meet the recipients of their scholarships and see their impact firsthand – allowing them to be a financial resource for young students, and a mentor and connection for those entering the workforce.

In reflecting on the transformative impact education has had on their lives, Steve, notes his other 3 children also have bachelor’s and master’s degrees and rewarding careers in their fields, stated “while it is impossible to know what would have happened, it is difficult to imagine that me or my family would be in this position without the opportunities provided by an education. “Sandy and I both feel very good about honoring the sacrifices made by our parents, by providing the opportunity for deserving students to obtain a college education, that has the power to transform their lives, like it did for us,” Steve said.

Steve and Sandy’s endowment will benefit decades of future students, but even small donations make a big difference. Visit giving.bloomu.edu/the-campaign-for-bloomsburg-it-starts-with-us to see how you can give back.