As a longtime supporter of Penn State and the College of the Liberal Arts, a dedicated volunteer, and an advocate for various nonprofits, Sue Paterno ’62 LIB seemed like the perfect person to feature in the inaugural Inspiring Women Spotlight. She first came to Penn State as a student in 1958 and never left. She had plans to go to graduate school at Brown University on a scholarship but was persuaded to stay by her then-friend, Joe Paterno. “At that point, Joe and I were just friends. We met when I was a first-year student at the water fountain in the library, which is still there today.” Sue first became engaged as a Penn State volunteer while still an undergraduate. “As an upper-division student, I was asked to come back to school early during first-year orientation, to show the new students around campus and answer any of their questions. I was also in the Gamma Sigma Sigma service sorority.”
As a female Penn State student, Sue witnessed and experienced inequalities that are no longer in place today. Women were outnumbered four to one at the University and, at the time, there was a curfew in place for women to be in their dorms by 8:15 PM. She said, “I grew up in the country and I didn’t need to be tied down in a dorm. I almost went home because of it. We were treated like we were unable to take care of ourselves.” She spoke about how women had to wear dresses to the dining halls and how much this bothered her. “In the middle of winter, we wore slacks to class. We had to go home and change from our slacks into dresses before dinner. I didn’t think that was right and thought needing to change was a waste of time.” She believes that empowering women and inspiring others is important as we work to pave the way to a greater future for women, one without the restrictions she saw firsthand.
Sue prides herself on taking initiative and helping where there is a need. She shared, “I’m the type of person who sees something that needs to be done and just does it.” In the early years of her marriage to the late Joe Paterno, who was an assistant football coach at the time, she was asked to tutor a neighbor’s son. The coaching staff for the football team then asked her to tutor a few of the student-athletes. “It was important that they earned their degrees, as academics were the key to their future success.” She met one-on-one with the student-athletes, so she worked around her kids’ and the students’ schedules. This was an extremely meaningful and impactful experience for Sue. “All of the students graduated, so it was worthwhile. One even brought me flowers during our last tutoring session to show his gratitude. It was so unexpected, and I never forgot that.”
Sue shared many heartfelt stories about Penn State and the causes she cares deeply about. The Lion’s Pantry is one of those causes, and she has taken many strides in supporting it. “When I was in school, students paid for room and board prior to coming to campus, so I never thought about food insecurity and didn’t realize students were dealing with it. The stigma around food insecurity is disappearing because having enough food is imperative.”
Sue reflected on a favorite memory that inspired her philanthropy. “Years ago, if the University needed a new building or a building renovation, it had to request funding from the state. It could take years before the funding was approved. Joe and I would often walk around campus with our kids at night and spend time looking at the buildings and talking about what could be done to improve them. We often wondered how we could get funding faster, so we started hosting dinners and invited people who we thought had similar ideas. We all got to know each other as Penn Staters with the same drive to improve our University’s mission.” During those dinners, the pair would talk about the University’s needs and would encourage their guests to consider a philanthropic gift to Penn State. “The first step toward the dream of a football facility was a $25,000 gift, which was the first large gift received, and the groundwork was laid. It took about a year, but we were so excited and grateful! That gift proved to us that if you worked hard towards a goal, it could be accomplished.” After that initial gift, their initiative took off. When Penn State won the national football championship in 1982, Joe was asked to meet with the Board of Trustees. They assumed he would bring the championship trophy, but he didn’t. Instead, he came prepared to pitch the couple’s ideas to the board, expressing that the University needed to get more endowed professorships, buildings, and scholarships. “The Board of Trustees bought into the vision, and that got us started,” said Sue.
Sue’s vision for the future didn’t stop with Penn State’s buildings or scholarships for students. She had big plans for the school spirit at football games as well. “We weren’t allowed to stand up and cheer during the games. Fans would sit and stay silent throughout. In fact, if you stood up at any point, someone would yell, ‘Down in front!’ As a mother of young children, I had many sleepless nights. When you just sit there and you don’t understand the game, it is difficult to stay awake. I would almost fall asleep at the games because it wasn’t exciting. Especially since I didn’t understand the game–Joe never explained it.” Sue decided to take matters into her own hands and enlisted a few accomplices to help with her grand plan for the week of a football game against Syracuse. “I asked someone to get me a gallon of orange paint. When I explained that I was going to ‘paint the lion’, she said she’d get two gallons.”
On that fateful Thursday evening, Sue and two of the coaches’ wives left their weekly date night dinner and drove to the Lion Shrine. “As luck would have it, it was the birthday of one of the coaches. I baked a cake and ‘accidentally’ left it at home. That was our excuse to disappear for a while. Two of us dumped washable orange paint all over the shrine, in hopes of riling up Penn State’s fans. I thought that everyone would assume that Syracuse did it and they’d start cheering at the game.” The ladies went to dinner and acted as though nothing happened. “We were so proud! The next morning, Joe called to tell me that the police were planning to arrest whoever dumped paint on the shrine. He said, ‘What are you going to do with the kids?’ He knew! He had seen orange paint on my trench coat when we returned to dinner.” It turns out that fate had other plans for Sue. “After many stressful hours, we learned that a group of Syracuse fans threw oil-based orange paint on the shrine that same night. And so, we didn’t get arrested, and we got away with it. Mission accomplished. The Penn State fans were mad and started cheering at the game!”
Throughout her life and adventures at Penn State, though, Sue always focused on giving back. There have been many women in Sue’s life who have inspired her philanthropy and volunteerism, but her mother instilled the importance of giving back at a young age. “My mother volunteered at the American Red Cross. She was a secretary of their board and would do all the blood drives. Although I never met her, I’ve always looked up to Eunice Kennedy Shriver for founding the Special Olympics.” In 1985, Sue began working with the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania (SOPA). She has been serving on the board since 1992 and later helped establish the Paterno Family Beaver Stadium Run. She has also served as chair of the Centre County United Way and participates in their annual “Day of Caring.” On top of her community volunteerism, Sue has always been extremely involved at Penn State, serving on many different committees throughout the years. Most recently during the Greater Penn State campaign, she served on the College of the Liberal Arts development committee and as vice-chair of the University Libraries development committee. Currently, she serves as a Presidential Counselor.
Sue radiates Penn State pride and has a deep love for her alma mater. She sees the importance of supporting women and uplifting others. Sue strives to achieve this through her work at Penn State and throughout the Centre County community.
Inspired by Sue’s service to Penn State?
Give to the Paterno Family Student Fund in the Paterno Fellows Program
Give to the Paterno Libraries Endowment Fund in the University Libraries