Source: Michelle Fryling, IUP Media Relations
FirstEnergy Foundation has made a $20,000 contribution to the Foundation for IUP for the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.
The donation will be used for construction costs for the facility, a 150,000-square foot building that will offer a 4,000- to 6,000-seat arena; athletic department administration offices, and state-of-the-art conferencing facilities.
While owned and managed by IUP, the Kovalchick Complex will serve as a resource for the regional community. It will be constructed on land along Wayne Avenue, adjacent to the university. Groundbreaking for the building will take place this year, and the facility will be completed in 2011.
The complex is named in honor of the Kovalchick family of Indiana in recognition of the family's $2 million donation to the project.
IUP has raised more than $10 million in charitable contributions and federal funding for the Kovalchick Complex while striving to meet a $20 million goal. The funds will be used to match a $20 million commitment from former Governor Tom Ridge to support construction of the $44 million facility.
“We will be actively working to not only meet the required match for construction of the complex but also to go beyond expectations of our fundraising goal in order to create the outstanding kind of facility that our students, our community, and the Commonwealth need and deserve,” said IUP Vice President for University Relations Robert Davies.
FirstEnergy Foundation is established to ensure the safety and health of the community, to promote economic development, to advance professional development, and to support employee involvement.