RESEARCH ON ADJUSTABLE, FIXED RATE MORTGAGES
Lenders may have another method to screen high-risk and low-risk borrowers, thanks to research from the Smeal College of Business Administration. Lisa Posey and Abdullah Yavas--both associate professors of business administration in the Department of Insurance and Real Estate -- co-authored a paper that studies how borrowers with different levels of default risk would self-select between Fixed Rate Mortgages (FRMs) and Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs). In the paper, the researchers suggest that the borrower's mortgage choice will serve as a signal of default risk. This will enable lenders to screen high-risk and low-risk borrowers. The paper will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Urban Economics. The Journal is online at http://www.apnet.com/www/journal/ue.htm. 

MITTE FOUNDATION TO GIVE $8.2 MILLION TO BUSINESS
An $8.2 million gift from the Austin, Texas-based Mitte Foundation to the Smeal College of Business Administration will provide scholarships to 60 undergraduate and 15 graduate students each year over the course of 20 years. Each Mitte Scholar will receive a $5,000 scholarship that may be renewed annually. "The Mitte Foundation’s primary mission is to enhance the future of the world through the development of outstanding business scholars," said Scott Mitte, executive director of the Foundation. "We are overjoyed to receive this special award, and privileged to be participating in the vision of the Mitte Foundation for development of the future leaders of America," said Judy Olian, Dean of the Smeal College. "This tremendously generous gift will enable us to support especially talented students and prepare them to become community and business role models. And, consistent with the admirable goals of the Mitte Foundation, this program will fit perfectly with our mission of reinforcing the values of academic excellence and civic involvement." Recipients of Mitte Scholarships must participate in community service and maintain superior academic records each semester that they receive the award. For more on this story, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/mitte.html 

QUESTION FOR DR. SPANIER:DICK MALLARY ON WOMEN’S SPORTS
Editor's Note: In each Beaver Stadium program this season, we will publish a conversation in which distinguished individuals pose questions about Penn State to President Graham Spanier. This week's conversation is with Dick Mallary ('64 Journ), senior vice president for Gannett Broadcasting and a member of the College of Communications Board of Directors.

Mallary: I believe the biggest change in Penn State athletics in the past 35 years has been the growth of women's athletics. Talk a bit about the influence these programs have had on the University and on university life.

Spanier: It has been exciting to watch the development of a really strong women's athletics program at Penn State. With 14 women's teams, Penn State has one of the most comprehensive women's athletic programs in the nation. With no hint of modesty, I have to say that Penn State has some of the best women's athletes and coaches in the country. Without the commitment of the University and the great performance of women athletes, Penn State would not have been named the nation's top athletic program by The Sporting News and we would not finish near the top of the Sears' Directors Cup Standings every year.

Some of the most exciting sporting events you can watch at Penn State involve competition by our women's teams, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, fencing, lacrosse, golf, swimming and diving, track, softball, tennis, cross country and field hockey. The coaches for the women's teams provide role models for their players, and the discipline and level of competition needed to perform at an institution such as Penn State give the women athletes another important dimension to their collegiate experience. College life for all our students is greatly enhanced by the women's athletic program. 

TRIAL GARDEN SITES EXPAND ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA
In the second year of an evaluation project, the Gardener Selects, experts in the College of Agricultural Sciences will plant the seeds for thousands of flower and vegetable varieties at 38 sites across Pennsylvania. "We're planting the best new cultivars from our Horticulture Trial Gardens in gardens at public parks or Penn State Cooperative Extension offices throughout Pennsylvania," says Robert Berghage, associate professor of horticulture. "These trials will give us valuable information on how varieties fare in different climates, soils and environments." The Trial Gardens at University Park, established in 1933, also will remain as a trial site. All the varieties will be evaluated by Master Gardeners. At the end of the season, the evaluations will be collated and analyzed to pick the 'Gardener Selects Plants,’ a program that will expand in coming years to include woody ornamentals, vegetables, cut flowers, herbs and specialty plants. Home gardeners can buy these plants or seeds and know that they've been proven to be superior ones for Pennsylvania. For more on this story and a list of trial gardens, go to http://www.aginfo.psu.edu/News/october00/trial.html 

HERSHEY MEDICAL CENTER OFFERS SAFE HALLOWEEN TIPS
The potential for unintentional injury increases when children trick or treat on Halloween. Sadly, the chance that a child may be killed in a car accident increases fourfold on this popular holiday. "Halloween may be a scary night for kids and parents in more than the traditional sense. It can be one of the most dangerous nights of the year due to a variety of factors," said Susan Rzucidlo, pediatric trauma coordinator and coordinator of the Dauphin County SAFE KIDS Coalition. "Most parents worry about candy tampering. They’re not aware that pedestrian injuries, burns and falls account for the majority of injuries, primarily because kids are walking in the dark with unwieldy costumes in the streets and around jack-o-lanterns and candles." Many of the risks children face can be avoided if parents follow safety precautions recommended by the Dauphin County SAFE KIDS Coalition the Pediatric Trauma Program at Penn State Children’s Hospital. For these tips, go to http://www.hmc.psu.edu/news/pr/oct/101300.htm

SMALL TALK: STATISTICS TO MAKE YOU SICK
Some facts on your health: Adults generally have two colds a year. Parents of young children can count on almost five. School-age children will suffer 6.8 respiratory infections each year, while kids in day care have up to 10. Eighty percent of all infectious diseases is transmitted by touch. Every day, the average child swallows the amount of dirt you'd find on about eight kitchen-floor tiles. Every day, the average adult swallows the amount of dirt you'd find on one kitchen-floor tile. Most kids will suffer two bouts of diarrhea a year; adults, one. 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 at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Please direct any comments or questions to Patricia Millner, director of nursing at the Penn State Children’s Hospital, at mailto: .

YEARBOOKS AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES, ON MICROFILM
Wondering what your mother looked like when she was a Penn State student? Then go to the Penn State University Archives' complete set of Penn State yearbooks (La Vie), including the first volume printed in 1890 through the 2000 edition. A paper set is available in The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library, and a microform version (1890-1995) is available in Microforms on the ground floor of Pattee Library, west. The Special Collections Library is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and will be open special hours for Homecoming tomorrow on Saturday, Oct. 21, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Microforms is open during regular Pattee Library and Paterno Library hours, which are posted on the Web at http://www.libraries.psu.edu