BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The $1.1 billion Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union has repeated last year's donation of $100,000 to Columbia University to endow a chair in Polish Studies. The CU has also made a point of urging Polish American students to strive not only to attend a university, but also to graduate from an Ivy League school.

"Some may question why we devote so much time, money and energy to encouraging higher education, especially concerning Ivy League schools, but we realized long ago that our children need to have their dreams nurtured, and if we are going to be an integral part of our community, we have to push our members and neighbors to reach for the highest rung," said Agnieszka Poslednik, the credit union's chief operating officer, who was on hand during a recent event to encourage those youngsters who were not credit union members to join its ranks. "Our education commitment doesn't stop with scholarships, though we've given away $1 million over the past 5 years. This is just one of the ways in which we want to emphasize the 'credit union difference'."