In 2002, George and Ann Richards made a groundbreaking $3 million contribution to advance the scholarly study of the Civil War era. In addition to providing Penn State’s Civil War Era Center with a permanent source of income to fund graduate and faculty research, it allowed the center to greatly expand outreach programs that influence students and educators around the country. To officially recognize the magnitude of the their gift, the Penn State Board of Trustees soon after officially approved renaming the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center in their honor.

George Richards received his bachelor’s degree in commerce from Penn State in 1954 and served in the U.S. Army before attending and graduating from the Harvard Business School in 1958. He eventually became owner and CEO of Vitex Packaging – a manufacturer of materials for the tea industry that had several plants in the United States and penetrated the Asian markets, which helped to make tea the world’s most popular beverage. He sold Vitex in 1998 and was serving on the Board of Directors for Stoffel Seals Corporation at the time of his passing in 2020.

Ann Richards grew up in Manhasset on Long Island and attended Colby College in Maine, where she was a member of Sigma Kappa sorority and Cap and Gown. She was employed as a dress buyer for Filene’s department store in Boston after graduating from Colby in 1956. Ann passed away in 2013.

George and Ann’s gift to the Civil War Era Center stemmed from their commitment to a liberal arts education and to honor George’s family history – both of his great-grandfathers served in the Union Army during the Civil War, one in the California Volunteer Infantry and the other in the First Missouri Light Artillery. Their Penn State philanthropy extends to the Bellisario College of Communications as well, where they endowed the Bart Richards Award in Media Criticism in memory of George’s father. George also served on the Richards Civil War Era Center’s Board of Visitors and received Penn State’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011 – one of the most prestigious awards bestowed upon alumni of the University.