HARRISBURG — Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and his wife donated $100,000 last month to Penn State, money that was split between a library and an undergraduate fellows program that bear the family name.

Sue Paterno on Monday described the contributions to the Paterno Liberal Arts Undergraduate Fellows Program and the Paterno Library as an annual gift.

Joe Paterno, 85, is being treated for lung cancer two months after university trustees fired him in the wake of allegations that former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky molested children on school property.

Students in the fellows program receive $1,500 to $5,000 to help fund research, overseas study and internships.

English professor Jack Selzer, who runs it, said the $50,000 gift was the couple’s second contribution to the program.

“It helps students who otherwise would never have a chance to study abroad (to) have a chance,” Selzer said. “It really frees them up for experiences that they could otherwise never afford.”

The Paternos have long been major financial supporters of the university community, including millions to help build the library several years ago and at least $1 million for a campus interfaith spiritual center.

The former coach has not spoken publicly since his firing by the Board of Trustees less than a day after he announced his intention to retire at the end of the season. His retirement statement described the scandal as one of the great sorrows of his life, and said that in hindsight he wished he had done more.

In January 2011 testimony to an investigative grand jury, Joe Paterno described how a graduate assistant told him he saw Sandusky in the football team shower “fondling, whatever you might call it — I’m not sure what the term would be — a young boy.”

Paterno testified that he informed Athletic Director Tim Curley about the report and was confident Curley would handle the matter appropriately.

The Paternos’ son Jay told ESPN this weekend that his father is eager to tell his side of the story.

“He’s very anxious to get out there soon and start to tell his side of the story and start to express — get all the facts out,” Jay Paterno told ESPN. “What that timetable is, I don’t know exactly. But he definitely is champing at the bit.”