Today, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $1 billion pledge to provide full college scholarships for minority students in the fields of education, math, science and engineering.  I applaud the Foundation for its leadership and foresight.  These landmark scholarships will help address important needs-the need to encourage young people to become teachers, the need to ensure that our children are well-prepared in math and science, and the need to open the doors of higher learning to all students.  The Gates Millennium  cholarships remind us what vital role philanthropies can play in American life and how urgent it is for all of us to invest now in our nation's young people.