Welcome
The Richards Center’s Board of Visitors play an important role in shaping the Center’s future goals and supporting its mission of training graduate students, encouraging cutting-edge scholarship, and promoting research into the central historical themes of the long nineteenth century.
Board of Visitors
The following individuals have graciously agreed to serve on the Richards Center’s Board of Visitors. We wish to recognize them for their guidance and financial support which helps make possible the Richards Center’s many programs.
Steve Brose ’69
Steve Brose retired in June 2025 as a partner with Steptoe LLP in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in federal regulation of oil and gas pipelines. He earned a J.D. from Columbia University and a master’s degree in history from George Washington University. Brose has chaired the ABA Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section, served in the ABA House of Delegates, and sat on the ABA Standing Committee for the Law Library of Congress. He has served on the Penn State Society of Distinguished Alumni Executive Board and mentored for the Schreyer Honors College and the College of the Liberal Arts. With his wife, Janice, he has generously supported the Richards Civil War Era Center.
Larry Brown ’71
Larry Brown is a partner at Brookman, Rosenberg, Brown & Sandler in Philadelphia, specializing in asbestos exposure litigation. A Penn State graduate (B.A. in history, 1971), he earned his J.D. from Villanova University (1975). Earlier in his career, he served as chief of the Economic Crime Unit in Philadelphia under then-District Attorney Ed Rendell before becoming one of the most sought-after mesothelioma attorneys in Pennsylvania. Brown has served on the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and is president of the Lawyers Club of Philadelphia. Philadelphia Magazine has recognized him as a Super Lawyer every year since 2005. He is also a member of the Liberal Arts Development Council and the Richards Civil War Era Center Board of Visitors.
Phil Kocher ’75
Phil Kocher enjoyed a distinguished career in financial services spanning more than four decades. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and insurance managing director at BNY Mellon Corporation, where he was responsible for the operations of the company’s insurance agency, including product management, insurance company relationships, sales support, and licensing and compliance activities associated with annuity and insurance distribution across the corporation. He also oversaw the development and support of the broker dealer’s mutual fund wrap products. Prior to joining BNY Mellon in 1997, Kocher spent more than two decades at Aetna Life & Casualty, holding various positions across the property/casualty, human resources, and group health divisions. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts from Penn State in 1975, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity and the Parma Nu Society. Kocher is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Gretchen A. McCabe, Honorary Alumna
Gretchen A. McCabe is a dedicated benefactor and longtime supporter of Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts. A graduate of Chatham University, she has committed her time, talent, and resources to advancing the college’s mission alongside her late husband, Lawrence McCabe (Class of 1957, History and Political Science). Together, and through his estate, they have established the McCabe-Greer Professorship in the American Civil War Era, currently held by Dr. Christina Snyder, professor of history; the Gretchen McCabe Family Director’s Fund in the Paterno Liberal Arts Undergraduate Fellows Program; the Lawrence J. and Gretchen McCabe Graduate Scholarship in the Richards Civil War Era Center; the Susan Welch Scholarship Fund; and the Lawrence J. McCabe Scholarship in the College of the Liberal Arts. McCabe has served on the Board of Visitors of the Richards Civil War Era Center since its inception. She resides in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania.
Charles W. Mitchell ’77
Charles W. Mitchell is the author or editor of three books: The Civil War in Maryland Reconsidered (co-edited with Jean H. Baker), Maryland Voices of the Civil War, winner of the Founders Award from the American Civil War Museum, and Travels Through American History in the Mid-Atlantic: A Guide for All Ages, winner of a Lowell Thomas Gold Award from the Society of American Travel Writers. He is currently at work on a book about Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth. Mitchell chairs the Publications Committee at the Maryland Center for History and Culture, where he serves as a trustee. He serves on the Advisory Council of the National Civil War Museum and on the board of the Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation. Mitchell holds degrees from Penn State and the University of Maryland.
Donna Oliver ’67
Donna Oliver is a retired attorney from Duane Morris LLP, an international law firm where she built a distinguished career in legal practice. She earned a J.D. from Temple University (1984) and has extensive experience guiding clients through complex legal matters. Oliver is an active member of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center Board of Visitors and the Penn State Liberal Arts Development Council.
Howell K. Rosenberg ’71 | Chair
Howell “Hal” Rosenberg is a founding partner at Brookman, Rosenberg, Brown & Sandler in Philadelphia, where he has represented victims in complex personal injury cases — including asbestos exposure, medical malpractice, toxic torts, and pharmaceutical litigation — since entering private practice in 1982. He served as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia from 1974 to 1982 under District Attorneys Fitzpatrick and Rendell, eventually becoming chief of the special investigations unit. Rosenberg earned his B.A. from Penn State (1971) and his J.D. cum laude from Villanova University School of Law (1974). A fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since 2004, he also served as chairman of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and is president of the Board of Trustees of the Library Company of Philadelphia. A long-time benefactor of the Richards Civil War Era Center, he chairs its Board of Visitors.
John Taylor ’87
John Taylor graduated from Penn State with a B.A. in history and began his legal career at the Food and Drug Administration in 1991 following law school at the College of William & Mary. For more than thirty years, he has made significant contributions to public health, serving in senior leadership positions at the FDA, Abbott, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, and in consulting. Taylor joined Greenleaf Health and became principal and president following two stints and more than twenty years at the FDA, including roles as associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, acting deputy commissioner for global operations and policy, and principal deputy commissioner. ELIQUENT Life Sciences purchased Greenleaf Health in 2021, where Taylor continues as head of the Quality and Compliance practice. He also serves on the boards of the American Battlefield Trust and the United States Pharmacopeia.