Alumnus Harold (Hal) Bernthal (’50, Chemistry) hopes his $2 million gift will unlock opportunities for others, just as his MSU education did for him. But he also hopes it will help researchers address a challenge he’s been aware of his whole life: how to keep people from going hungry.
His gift will create the Harold G. Bernthal Family Endowed Professorship in the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), which will support the college’s longstanding leadership in research and initiatives to end world hunger and promote global food security.
Growing up on a small family farm in Frankenmuth, Hal developed an enduring appreciation for the vital role farmers play in feeding a hungry world. He carried it with him through college and beyond, hitchhiking home from college on weekends to help his family on the farm, and, later, attributing his success in business to his roots in farming, combined with the education he received at Michigan State.
After a long career with the American Hospital Supply Corporation, where he started after college and worked his way up to role of president and chief operating officer, Hal and his business partner John Crotty started a new venture, founding CroBern, Inc., a management and investment firm that continues to thrive today.
“I’ve been fortunate, it's time to give back,” the 97-year-old Hal said, adding that MSU’s Uncommon Will, Far Better World campaign gave him all the motivation he needed. He also made especially meaningful use of an Individual Retirement Account. To have an immediate impact with his gift, he fully maximized the annual Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) allowed.
The impact is two-fold
As the nation’s premier land-grant university, MSU has built an international reputation for excellence in agriculture, and researchers are working every day to carry that reputation forward. Philanthropically funded professorships like Bernthal’s are a recruitment tool for even more great researchers, and a way to provide flexible financial support for the excellent work of researchers that are already here — enabling them to expand their work, explore new ideas, or respond quickly to emerging needs.
Great researchers are also, often, great teachers and mentors—feeding bright new minds and inspiring the next generation to find their own life's work.
“Education is the pathway to long-term success,” Hal says. “With a growing population, we need to maximize our food production. In my own small way, I want to help MSU discover ways to feed the world.”
Alex Dardas, a communications manager in CANR, contributed to this story.
LEARN MORE about support for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources by contacting Senior Associate Director of Development Brittany Lawrence at mill2849@msu.edu or calling (517) 355-9547.