HEARD ON CAMPUS: "I have begun to appreciate what it takes to teach,"
- Charles Bierbauer, senior Washington correspondent for CNN and lecturer for the University's College of Communications' Washington program. "Even though we can't go back in time, we can go back to school. The Supreme Court is my law school, the legal briefs are my textbooks and the lawyers and justices are my teachers." .He spoke at the Penn State Faculty Staff Club Forum on Friday, Sept. 8. 

PENN STATE’S ENDOWMENT REACHES $1 BILLION
Penn State senior Zarna Dalal can focus on her studies this fall with less worry about how she’ll meet college expenses, thanks to the Alvin and Jean Snowiss Scholarship that she’s just been awarded. The scholarship is one of about 2,300 privately endowed scholarship funds that benefit nearly 10,000 Penn State students. Even more students are likely to benefit in the future, because the University’s total endowment has just surpassed the billion-dollar mark, said President Graham B. Spanier in his annual State of the University message on Friday.

Penn State’s endowed funds totaled $1.003 billion as of June 30 -- a 27 percent increase from fiscal 1999, when the endowment totaled $724.9 million. Increasing the endowment is a top priority for Penn State’s Grand Destiny campaign, which aims to raise a billion dollars in private gifts for endowed and non-endowed programs over a seven-year period beginning July 1, 1996. Penn State’s endowment does not include state appropriations or other public funds. Go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/8sept00endowment.html 

NEWSWIRE PLUS: PATERNO LIBRARY DEDICATION
Speaking at dedication ceremonies for the new Paterno Library held Friday at University Park, Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno said the new facility should really be called the "Home of Dreams." The new library, he told an audience of faculty, students and invited guests, "doesn’t have much to do with Sue and me. It has everything to do with you–and with your dreams." Paterno then recalled his early visits as a youth to the New York Public Library, "which created dreams for me, dreams of what might be possible in my life. Libraries are a place for dreams."

Sue Paterno, who with her husband led a campaign that raised $14.8 million in private gifts to help build the new library and renovate Pattee Library, described the new facility as "a work in progress," because learning and the creation of new knowledge never cease.

More than 3,000 donors contributed to the building of Paterno Library and the renovation of Pattee Library, according to Nancy Eaton, dean of the University Libraries. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania appropriated $17.5 million for the project. Gary Crowell, secretary of the state Department of General Services, also spoke at the ceremonies, noting "at any other university, we would most likely be gathered today to dedicate an athletic facility to Coach Paterno. But not here, because Penn State is unique, and the Paternos are unique." The comment drew a standing ovation for the Paterno family.

President Graham Spanier, Board of Trustees Chairman Edward P. Junker III and graduate student Erin Rehrig also spoke at the ceremonies. For video highlights, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/stories/LibraryDedication/index.html. For an in-depth look at the new Paterno and renovated Pattee libraries, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/INTERCOM/library.html.

Schreyers Honored at Dedication of New Facility
Penn State celebrated the dedication of the Schreyer Honors College facility on Sunday, Sept. 10. The ceremony featured remarks by President Graham B. Spanier; Cheryl Achterberg, dean of Schreyer Honors College; Edward P. Junker III, chairman of Penn State's Board of Trustees; and William A. Schreyer. In 1997, Schreyer and his wife Joan presented Penn State with a $30 million gift to create the Schreyer Honors College, which is home to 1,750 students. The gift is the largest personal gift in the University's history.

At the dedication, a portrait of the Schreyers, which will be on display in the new facility, was unveiled. In addition, Achterberg presented the Schreyers with a hand-stenciled Hitchcock chair on behalf of the college. The stenciling includes "Schreyer Honors College" and a sketch of the honors medallion. The Schreyers also received a book featuring pictures and quotations from ten Schreyer Scholars who studied abroad and benefited from the Schreyer Travel Ambassador Grant. The book was designed by Scholars and published in New York."Everyone works hard to try to accumulate some assets during a full lifetime, but then you spend the last part of it trying to give it back," said William Schreyer. For more on the Schreyer Honors College, go to http://www.scholars.psu.edu/ 

RALPH PAPA NAMED RENAISSANCE MAN OF THE YEAR
The Renaissance Fund will honor Ralph J. Papa of State College, senior vice president and head of community banks for Mellon Bank N.A., at its annual dinner this fall. The dinner, which aims to raise scholarship funds for academically talented Penn State students who have great financial need, will be held Nov. 16 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, starting with a 6 p.m. reception. Renaissance Fund scholarship dinners, honoring prominent community leaders, have been held since 1977. Last year, 431 Penn State students received Renaissance scholarships. "Ralph Papa is a wonderful example of a person who makes things happen in his community," said Renaissance Fund President Jack Infield of State College. For the full story, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_2000/Sept7/renaissance.html. 

DIVORCE IS TOPIC OF SPANIER RADIO SHOW
Marital conflict and divorce will be the topic of the next edition of "To the Best of My Knowledge," Penn State President Graham Spanier's monthly radio call-in show airing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19, on WPSU-FM. Joining Dr. Spanier to discuss current causes and consequences of divorce will be Paul Amato, Penn State Professor of Sociology and co-editor of The Postdivorce Family. Pepper Schwartz, Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington and author of Love Between Equals: How Peer Marriage Really Works, will also join Dr. Spanier.

Listeners with questions or comments are encouraged to join the discussion by calling 1-800-543-8242 during the one-hour broadcast. Internet users worldwide can join the program at http://www.psu.edu/ur/tech/tech.html/ They will be able to contact the President during the program via e-mail to . 

SMALL TALK: CHEERS FOR CHOCOLATE MILK
Nutritionally speaking, many parents probably rank chocolate milk only a notch or two above candy and cookies. But believe it or not, this favorite drink — at least the kind that's made with low-fat milk — may occupy an important place in the diet of some children, particularly those who don't care for the taste of regular milk. Several years ago, researchers at New York University in New York City measured the amount of food that 60 sixth-graders ate and drank during nine lunch periods. To no one's great surprise, they found that the students were more likely to drink greater quantities of milk when it was chocolate flavored.

The children drank nearly twice as much 1%-fat chocolate milk as 1%-fat plain milk, and 1/3 more low-fat chocolate milk than plain whole milk. To be sure, it would be preferable to youngsters to do without the 50-odd calories of sugar the chocolate provides in every cup. But at least they're also downing calcium, as well as other important nutrients, such as protein, phosphorus and vitamins A and D. Plus, by drinking low-fat chocolate milk instead of white milk, they take in 70 percent less fat.

"Small Talk" is a weekly column of safety and health information for parents and other caregivers for children. It is a community service of the Penn State Children’s Hospital, located at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa. Please direct any comments or questions to Patricia Millner, director of nursing at the Penn State Children’s Hospital, at .