University Park, Pa. — In honor of longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and his wife, Sue, and to commemorate the coach's 400th win, Nike, Inc. has made a gift of $400,000 to the University Libraries.
The Paternos are longstanding supporters who have championed fundraising efforts for the Libraries since the 1980s. "Joe and I have always said that you can't have a great university without a great library," said Sue Paterno. “We are delighted that Nike, Inc. has acknowledged this milestone in Joe's career by supporting an institution so important to us.”
Barbara I. Dewey, dean of the University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, said, "This gift will help the Libraries keep pace with evolving student needs, by funding parts of the Tombros/McWhirter Knowledge Commons in Pattee and Paterno Libraries, slated for construction late spring 2011." As planned, the Knowledge Commons focuses on undergraduate students and is a collection of innovative and traditional services and repurposed physical spaces that facilitate information discovery, collaborative learning, and knowledge building. “Technology-rich and student-centered, the Knowledge Commons is designed to meet the needs of today's Penn State students, who create work in digital and multimedia formats,” said Dewey.
“Since it was founded in 1972, Nike has set the tone for defining human potential in sports and the notion that everyone could be an athlete," said Dewey. "In the same way, this gift will help our students define their academic potential and provide a catalyst for additional Knowledge Commons gifts."
More information and naming opportunities for the Knowledge Commons are available at http://publications.libraries.psu.edu/web/knowledgecommons
For questions, contact public relations and marketing, Penn State University Libraries. 814-863-4240 or cqg3@psu.edu