Earlier this fall we were approached by Drs. Baik Hyun Kang and Sookja Kang, the parents of former Herricks' students, who indicated that they would like to donate $50,000 as an endowment for scholarships for Herricks graduates with interests in music and sports. We are deeply appreciative of this most generous gift as we are for the scholarship funds raised by many different individuals and organizations in the community.

American universities rank among the finest in the world. As evidence of this, one need only look at the large and rising number of young men and women coming to the United States from countries all over the world. Unfortunately, the cost of a university education has risen sharply over the past 25 years. This is as true of public institutions as it is for private universities. Although there are government grant programs to aid needy students and while many colleges have very generous scholarship and aid programs, the cost of a college education to students and their families is very high and seems to be growing higher every year. As evidence of this, we have noticed an increasing number of students who have been accepted into highly competitive colleges attend Nassau Community College or a SUNY college for the first two years of their college education in order to reduce the total cost.

On March 21, the Herricks Council of PTAs will hold its annual Scholarship Dinner. In recent years, this dinner has raised over $20,000 per year. Since 1960, it has distributed over $500,000 in scholarships. In light of the critical need for scholarship funds, we hope that as many people as possible will attend and that those who are approached for donations will give generously. Herricks' students have attained very admirable levels of academic achievement. We would like to see as many as possible avail themselves of the very best in American higher education.