IF EDUCATION is the gift that keeps on giving, there must be a special place in heaven for those who give to education. One example is the $7.6 million from Sis and Herman Dupre, their family and friends to St. Vincent College. Because of the generosity of the Dupres, he the former CEO of Seven Springs ski resort and she who taught in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the Catholic institution in Latrobe will embark on its largest building project ever, an expansion of its science buildings. Among the things St. Vincent would like to accomplish is the renovation of 60,000 square feet in the Science Complex and the construction of a 45,000 square-foot addition. Part of the gift will also be used to help a $40 million campaign for science scholarships, professorships and research take off.

A DIFFERENT kind of take-off will soon be seen at a higher altitude at a different school of higher learning. Last week three peregrine falcon chicks hatched in their nest atop the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. Their much-anticipated arrival is notable for several reasons. First, peregrines are listed as endangered in Pennsylvania. Second, you can keep an eye on them (and some other peregrines on the Gulf Tower) with the FalconCam at www.aviary.org. And, third, who would have thought the Oakland campus, that great incubator of academic prowess, could also be the launching pad for this rare, feathery brood? So growth-minded Pitt needn't think about adding a flight school. It already has one, thanks to that other gift -- the gift of life.