F&M Stories

Beverly “Peggy” Steinman is a pillar of the Lancaster community, having served more than 50 years as a community leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist to guide the city’s successful revitalization. She currently serves as co-chair of the Steinman Foundation, which has contributed $90 million to more than 330 local organizations over the past 65 years. 

Steinman, a former member of Franklin & Marshall’s Board of Trustees, worked closely with the College to develop and fund a pilot program that provides paid, yearlong internships for F&M students partnered with local nonprofits. Now in its eighth year, this initiative has hired 178 students who have served tens of thousands of hours at 94 community organizations, including Bench Mark, ASSETS, Attollo, and the Partnership for Public Health. She served F&M with distinction for five years, helping the College to navigate a rapidly evolving national landscape for higher education institutions. 

She has contributed deeply to her family legacy of Steinman Enterprises, now Steinman Communications. In addition to her philanthropic leadership, Steinman forged a career as a successful businesswoman in an era when few women did so. She created her own business when she realized that there was a market in Lancaster for the latest trends and fashions that were typically found in New York. 

Steinman also served as a director of the School Lane Hills Corporation and as board chair for LNP Media Group Inc., Lancaster Farming Inc., and Lancaster County Weeklies Inc. She is beloved and deeply respected in Lancaster as a “no-nonsense” leader, entrepreneur, and shrewd strategist who always puts the best interests of the community first. 

Steinman’s leadership has extended well beyond Lancaster. In 1970, former President Richard Nixon invited her to serve as co-chair in the former U.S. Assay Commission, which supervised currency standards and specifications. She is a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and The Society of Cincinnati. A notable leader in the equine industry, Steinman has made extraordinary contributions to the development of her favorite sport, horse racing. She was a founding member and first female board member of the National Steeplechase Association and currently serves as board Chair. Steinman was a trustee of the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga and president of the Carolina Cup Racing Association in Camden, S.C. In 2010, the Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center at Virginia Tech honored her with its distinguished service award in recognition of her generosity and service. She continues to serve as president of the center’s council. 

Beverly Steinman, for your commitment to Lancaster as community leader, entrepreneur, and philanthropist; for your devotion to academic institutions such as Franklin & Marshall College and their students; and for your outstanding leadership and service locally and nationally, Franklin & Marshall College bestows upon you the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.