Winter-Spring, 2021

Confronting Reality Together

As a member of the IUP family, you are probably aware of the challenges we face.

IUP is enduring its most difficult time in the past 100 years. Because of a decline in enrollment linked to a decreasing Pennsylvania population, stagnant state appropriations, and increasing staffing costs, we were already facing a tough economic reality. Add in the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the situation has only gotten worse.

If we continue spending from our reserves, IUP will be insolvent in four years. It’s the truth.

Despite this reality, I am hopeful.

We have a plan to confront our problems. It’s our vision for the future, and it’s called IUP NextGen.

We will commit to academic areas of focus based on student and employer demand and on our demonstrated strengths. We will focus on areas where we can be the best and provide our students with unique experiences.

It’s part of a culture shift at IUP, as we are becoming a truly student-centered university. We are putting our resources toward ensuring all our students have what they need to succeed both while they are here and after they graduate.

The plan includes restructuring some of our programs and reducing the number of faculty and staff members. Those conclusions were not easy to reach, and they have raised some concern.

I’ve heard from many members of the IUP family through emails, letters, and phone calls. Students and faculty members have protested. Letters to the editor have been published, and social media posts have amplified opinions.

The common thread in all of this is a passion for IUP. With words and actions, people are voicing their opinions on how the university can be better. That so many people care about IUP gives me hope that if we can work together, the next generation of IUP will be great, like the ones before it.

Addressing our problems is hard for everyone. Change is hard work. But if we don’t act now, we will be placing our future into the hands of others. That’s not something we can allow.

We are rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. 

I am confident in a bright future for IUP. I hope you are, too. 

Michael Driscoll

President

Starting the Dialogue

Veronica Watson, professor of English and convener of the Frederick Douglass Institute Collaborative, secured funding from the 400 Years of African American History Commission to offer two programs across the State System. One, “Let Me Read You Your Rights,” aims to improve students’ understanding of their constitutional rights and increase their positive interactions with law enforcement. The other, “I Fear for My Life,” pairs students with faculty mentors to collect materials about the deaths of unarmed African Americans at the hands of police for a book of the same name.

Pivoting Prize

At the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s 2020 Tech 50 Awards in November, IUP received the “Top COVID Pivot” award. With coronavirus cases on the rise in March 2020, IUP—in 10 days—moved 1,500 courses taught by nearly 650 faculty members from in-person to remote delivery.

At the Eagles’ Helm

An IUP assistant more than a decade ago, Nick Sirianni was named head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in January. He’s the third member of the IUP football family to earn an NFL head coaching position, after Jim Haslett ’91 (New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams) and Ben McAdoo ’00 (New York Giants).

Faculty Awards

• NACADA, the Global Community for Academic Advising, recognized Kalani Palmer, a faculty member in the Human Development and Family Science program, with its Region 2 Excellence in Advising award for 2021.
• In September, art faculty member Sean Derry won first prize in sculpture at Art of the State, an annual exhibition at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. His winning piece, to borrow breath, was an intricate kinetic installation that mimicked breathing.
• The Pennsylvania Principals Association gave Susan Sibert, Professional Studies in Education, the Frank S. Manchester Award for journalistic excellence for her work on Pennsylvania Administrator magazine.
• For her service to Region 2 of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Nancy Pipkin-Hutchinson, Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance, received the Gold Medallion, the highest regional award. This spring, she concludes her three-year term as chair of design, technology, and management for the regional festival.
  New Partnerships
• IUP and Westmoreland County Community College recently signed a dual admissions agreement, streamlining the process for students who earn an associate degree at the community college to complete a bachelor’s degree at IUP.
• IUP and Point Park University recently enabled students to receive a BS in human resources management from Point Park and an MA in human resources and employee relations from IUP in five years. Students accepted into this “4+1” program begin taking graduate classes during their senior year at Point Park.

Coveted Coverage

Last year, the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nominated Gail Wilson’s Digital Sports Production class for a College Production Award in the student production, live sports category. The nomination was for the class’s coverage of the 2019 Coal Bowl, in which IUP defeated Cal U.

Gone Platinum

IUP’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi honor society was one of only 21 chapters to receive a Circle of Excellence Platinum Distinction Award from the national organization. Founded in 1993, the chapter has 393 members, including alumni.

Constitution in Crisis

In January, political science faculty members David Chambers and Gwen Torges lent their expertise to an IUP Q&A series, Constitution in Crisis. Topics included free speech, impeachment, and sedition. The series is available at IUP.edu/news-events/constitution-in-crisis.

New Trustee

Anne White of Indiana has been appointed to the IUP Council of Trustees and will serve through 2026. She is a vice president in human resources at S&T Bank.

Marketing Results

IUP’s Marketing and Communications Division recently won six Education Digital Marketing Awards and three CASE District II Accolades Awards for projects including IUP’s Flexible Identity System, the 2019 President’s Report, the 2018-19 Report to Donors, and several videos.

Rankings

• Princeton Review’s Best Colleges guidebook, 20th consecutive year
• Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education’s College 2021 Rankings
• U.S. News & World Report’s Best National Universities and the Top Performers in Social Mobility
• Money Magazine’s Best Colleges for Your Money 2020
• College Magazine, top 10 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania
• MA in Criminology, MEd in Mathematics Education, and MS in Nursing online programs, U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Best Online Programs
• Master of Business Administration program, the Princeton Review’s Best Business Schools for 2021: On-Campus MBA Programs

Solo Suite

BA Harrington at work on “Hope” Chest, a sculptural piece that references 18th-century Pennsylvania German wedding chests

A solo exhibition called Suite Américaine at the Asheville, North Carolina, Center for Craft will conclude the 18-month center fellowship of IUP art faculty member BA Harrington. Opening in June, it will reference historical American furniture designed and built specifically for women’s use. Harrington reinterprets the objects as proto-feminist forms.

The director of IUP’s Wood Center, Harrington was also part of a December Zoom event with Mary Savig, curator of Craft at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Their conversation was part of In the Making, a series produced by Boston’s North Bennet Street School. A recording of the conversation is available on the school’s website.

Long Gone

Paleontologist and IUP biology faculty member Shundong Bi and his collaborators recently made a one-of-a-kind find in southern China’s Jiangxi Province. Some 70 million years ago, an oviraptorosaur, a bird-like dinosaur, was sitting atop a nest of eggs with babies inside. Disaster struck, and the dinosaur and her babies were not seen again until Bi and his group discovered their fossils in Cretaceous Period rocks. Details subsequently appeared in Science Bulletin.

According to Matthew Lamanna of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, “This kind of discovery [eggs with embryos inside] is the rarest of the rare in dinosaurs. This dinosaur was a caring parent that ultimately gave its life while nurturing its young.”

Colorful Life

Ned Wert spent four years as an IUP art student, graduating in 1958. It wasn’t long before he returned and spent 20 years as an Art Department faculty member. In January, IUP’s University Museum unveiled an exhibition of the professor emeritus’s paintings that was due to continue through March 20.

Paintings displayed are from the artist’s personal collection and the University Museum’s permanent collection, in addition to others on loan from private collections. A video interview with the artist is also included. Information about this and other museum events is available from Audrey Swartz at 724-357-2530 or museum-info@iup.edu.

Faculty Deaths

The following former faculty members died in recent months:

• Tim Austin, a professor emeritus who retired from the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department in 2018 after more than 33 years of service, died September 18, 2020.
• Charles “Chuck” Battaglini M’69, a professor emeritus who retired from the Art Department in 1994 after more than 25 years of service, died December 21, 2020.
• Susan Cravener Fello ’72, M’77, D’92, a professor emerita who retired from the Professional Studies in Education Department in 2017 after 20 years of service, died October 2, 2020.
• Jerry Fiddler, a professor emeritus who retired from the Special Education and Clinical Services Department in 1998 after more than 28 years of service, died January 12, 2021.
• Ed Fry, a professor emeritus who retired from the Music Department in 2009 after 43 years of service, died October 3, 2020. A 2010 inductee into the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame, he was a longtime coach of the men’s and women’s track and field and cross country programs. In 2008, one of his former runners, YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley ’99, made a million-dollar gift to name the Kovalchick Complex arena in Fry’s honor.
• Walter Gallati, a professor emeritus who retired as chair of the Biology Department in 1990 after 33 years of service, died October 12, 2020.
• Janice Holmes, a professor emerita who retired from the Nursing and Allied Health Professions Department in 2015 after more than 18 years of service, died January 7, 2021.
• Thomas Lacey ’58, a faculty member who retired from the Art Department in 1998, died December 24, 2019.
• Lynn Lockrow, a former Theater Department chair and a faculty member from 1978 to 1985, died January 3, 2021.
• Robert McClay, a professor emeritus who retired from the Safety Sciences Department in 1998 after 26 years of service, died January 24, 2021.
• Edward Mileff, a professor who retired from the Health and Physical Education Department in 1991 after nearly 21 years of service, died August 3, 2020.
• Vincent Miller, a professor emeritus who retired from the Geography and Regional Planning Department in 1998 after more than 36 years of service, died August 31, 2020.
• Gerald Ready, who taught in the German Department in the 1990s, died December 30, 2020.
• John Sitton, a professor emeritus who retired from the Political Science Department in 2015 after 28 years of service, died October 14, 2020.
• Virginia Szwarc, a faculty member who retired from the Nursing and Allied Health Professions Department in 1998 after 26 years of service, died October 29, 2020.
• Jacob “Jim” Voelker, a professor in the German Department and former chair who retired in 1999 after 29 years of service, died December 13, 2020.

IUP’s Imagine Unlimited campaign inspired the university community—both on and off campus—to come together in support of IUP’s future. The campaign will enable IUP to step forward as a national leader by transforming the student experience through scholarships, program enhancements, and new and modernized facilities. Learn more at Imagine Unlimited.

Leaving a Legacy

Dolores “Dotsy” Spinelli Gigliotti ’70 and her husband, Vincent, both grew up in Indiana. Dotsy’s relationship with IUP was established early. She and her brothers, George and Gregory, attended Keith School on campus. Their father, George, founded the Guidance and Counseling Department at IUP, and their mother, Ruth, received her undergraduate degree in public school nursing in 1962 and her master’s degree in school counseling in 1964.

George earned his degree in mathematics education from IUP in 1968. Dotsy and Greg graduated in 1970—Dotsy in elementary education and Greg in biology. With his degree, Greg went to work for the FBI in the Hairs and Fibers Lab and soon was recruited as a special agent. On March 15, 1973, he was killed in the line of duty at 27.

After they moved to New Mexico, Dotsy and Vince contacted an estate attorney to update their wills. When asked what they would like to have happen to their estate, Dotsy remembered a feature in IUP Magazine about an alumnus who had made an estate gift. That was the spark.

The decision to include IUP in their estate plans was easy, they said. They trusted IUP to make the right decisions—to choose the right students to receive scholarship support, to be inclusive, and to help those in need. Their estate gift will support the Gregory W. Spinelli Memorial Criminology Fund and the Dr. George L. Spinelli Memorial Scholarship and will be used to establish the Dr. George L. Spinelli Enhancement Fund for the Department of Counseling.

“Working with IUP to shape these funds has been a great experience and a continuation of my brother’s and father’s time at IUP,” Dotsy said. “We’re happy we are able to carry on their legacy in perpetuity.”

Recognizing Scholastic Excellence

Fifteen years ago, Barry Day ’72 established the IUP Outstanding Computer Science Student Award to support students who excelled in that major. 

“The award recognizes not only scholastic excellence,” Day said, “but also the importance of being a community citizen—those who have made significant achievements in computer science endeavors and contributions to mankind.” 

Through a recent planned gift from Day, the award will continue to motivate IUP computer science students to work toward becoming well-rounded professionals. 

Originally from Somerset, Day believes the discipline and rigor associated with his IUP mathematics experience have served him well in the varied and challenging assignments he has had in his career. He often recommends IUP to others, he said, and periodically has welcomed IUP computer science interns into his organizations.

The university community is grateful for the following gifts and pledges of $25,000 or more, made through the Foundation for IUP. The gifts described above are included.

• Dolores Spinelli Gigliotti ’70 and Vincent Gigliotti, a planned gift in excess of $2.3 million to support the Gregory W. Spinelli Memorial Criminology Fund and the Dr. George L. Spinelli Memorial Scholarship and to establish the Dr. George L. Spinelli Enhancement Fund for the Department of Counseling
• William Scheeren ’68 and Judith Scheeren, a planned gift in excess of $1.3 million to support the Dr. and Mrs. William O. Scheeren Scholarship for students in the College of Education and Communications, the Dr. and Mrs. William O. Scheeren Enhancement Fund for the IUP Labyrinth Center, and the Dr. and Mrs. William O. Scheeren Enhancement Fund for the IUP Literacy Center
• Raymond Kinter ’67, M’68, a planned gift of $750,000 to establish the Raymond C. Kinter Fund for the Allegheny Arboretum at IUP, providing financial support for the arboretum and for public art on campus
• Charles Winwood ’69 and Christine Villella Winwood ’71, a planned gift in excess of $206,000 to establish the Christine Villella Winwood Scholarship for students pursuing a degree in the Department of English and the Charles W. Winwood Scholarship for students pursuing a degree in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
• David Brown ’76 and Cynthia Hawkins Brown ’77, a planned gift of $175,000 to establish the David E. Brown and Cynthia A. Brown Scholarship to support students in these programs: Early Childhood and Special Education, BSEd; Mathematics Education, BSEd; Management Information Systems/Information Systems, BS; Computer Science/Software Engineering, BS; and Middle-Level Education, BSEd 
• James Curtis ’74 and Ann Curtis, a pledge of $50,000 to support the expansion of facilities in downtown Punxsutawney for the Academy of Culinary Arts
• Garry Hess and Linda Hess, a gift of $42,000 to support the Glenn C. Hess ’37 and Virginia Niessner Hess Scholarship for freshman students in the Early Childhood and Special Education or Middle-Level Education programs
• Dorothy Salsgiver, a planned gift of $35,000 to establish the Dorothy Peterman Salsgiver Scholarship for Nursing and Allied Health for full-time juniors or seniors in the Department of Nursing and Allied Health
• Pamela Hale McGuire ’69 and John McGuire, a gift of $30,000 to support the McGuire Enhancement Fund for the IUP Literacy Center
• Leonard A. and Mary Jane Schafer Foundation, a gift of $30,000 to support the Fund for the IUP Library and the Student Assistance Fund
• An anonymous pledge of $25,000 to establish the IUP Alumni Veterans Scholarship for Athletics to support student-athletes, with preference given to students from Cambria County and to students with a minimum grade point average of 3.0
• Robert Basehore ’71 and Kathie Kuvinka Basehore ’71, a $25,000 pledge to establish the Bob and Kathie Basehore Boardwalk Bowl Scholarship to support participating members of the IUP football team
• Gerald Clark ’69 and Cheryl Dunlap Clark ’68, a planned gift of $25,000 to establish the Jerry and Cheryl Clark Boardwalk Bowl Scholarship to support participating members of the IUP football team
• Barry Day ’72, a planned gift of $25,000 to support the Barry Day Outstanding Computer Science Student Award for seniors enrolled full-time and pursuing a degree in computer science
• William Grant ’75 and Mary Grant, a gift of $25,000 to support improvements to the weight room and training equipment
• Charles Hasse ’71 and Kathleen Hasse, a pledge of $25,000 to establish the Charlie and Kate Hasse Boardwalk Bowl Scholarship to support participating members of the IUP football team
• CJ Jaynes ’79, M’82, a gift of $25,000 to support the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Building Fund (see page 33)
• IUP Alumni Association, gifts totaling $25,000 to support the Student Assistance Fund
• Ruth Riesenman ’64, a pledge of $25,000 to support the Riesenman Family Scholarship, the University Museum Enhancement Fund, and men’s basketball

Research Lacking

I just finished reading the Summer 2020 edition and am compelled to make observations on the article “Professor Partners with Police.” As a retired law enforcement professional, I am concerned that Professor Adams’s research is lacking.

Any academic exercise to determine causation should use the full scope of variables, not just the ones that fit the narrative. This style of alleged research leads to faulty outcomes. Professor Adams notes that she had to “challenge her own perceptions and stereotypes of police” when she began this effort. After reading the article, it certainly gives the appearance her challenge failed. The glaring omission of how citizens act and react in the presence of police is alarming.

Further, Professor Adams adds George Floyd for relevance to her article. She could have added the fact that George Floyd could have complied with officers that day and just gone to jail.

As a 1993 graduate of IUP with a degree in criminology and 25 years of state and federal law enforcement experience, I, and all of the law enforcement professionals I worked with in four states and more than 20 cities, treated every person with respect and never once used skin color to assess “worth within society.”

Professor Adams’s myopic view of how skin color equals results in life seems to be clouding her judgment and is not befitting a true academic pursuit.

I firmly suggest IUP take a second look at this effort and reassess this effort to be more inclusive of the entire picture.

A second look at this effort should also include a wider scope of police input. Kudos to Indiana Police Department for participating, but Professor Adams needs to be more inclusive of other departments and their procedures, policies, and practices. Otherwise, she needs to limit her findings to Indiana only.

With the heightened sense of racial injustice in this country, academia needs to demand objectivity and completeness.

Gary Stark ’93
Orange Beach, AL

Police Effort Inspires

After reading [“Professor Partners with Police”], I am so proud of IUP and the Borough of Indiana. Police Chief Justin Schawl and Professor Abbie Adams should be front-page news. Addressing racism and social injustice with education and research, done on this microlevel, is what every community in the country could be doing to unite and connect.

As someone who moved to Indiana and attended Indiana High School and IUP, part of what makes the region different from other parts of Appalachia is the diversity of the university community and welcoming nature of local families. It’s inspiring to see the commitment by the police, borough, and university to hold strong with these values. 

Rachel Kennedy Peters ’00
Woodbridge, VA

Performances Missing

I was doing a web search last night for one of the bands listed below and stumbled upon “A List of Legends” [IUP Magazine, Summer 2018]. I attended IUP from 1972 through 1976 and noticed that a few performances were missing from the list:

• The Paul Winter Consort, fall 1972, Student Union
• The Strawbs, spring 1974, Memorial Field House: Warm-up act for Dave Mason. The Strawbs were promoting their new album Hero and Heroine. I worked that concert as a volunteer stagehand for IUP’s Student Union board. After the show, about 10 of us had to carry a grand piano up the hill back to Cogswell at 1:00 in the morning.
• Virgil Fox, fall 1975, Fisher Auditorium: One of the 20th century’s premier classical organists.
• Weather Report, April 1976, Fisher Auditorium: Jazz geniuses featuring Joe Zawinul (keyboards), Wayne Shorter (saxophone), Jaco Pastorius (bass), and Peter Erskine (drums). Weather Report was promoting its new album Black Market. I sat in the front row, right in front of Joe’s keyboard rig—outstanding.
• Hall and Oates, May 1976, Memorial Field House: I remember this well, because I was unable to attend. I had to go home for the weekend to be a groomsman in my cousin Ed’s wedding.
• Return to Forever, spring 1977, Memorial Field House: Another band of jazz geniuses, with Chick Corea (keyboards), Al Di Meola (guitar), Stanley Clarke (bass), and Lenny White (drums).

Dave Bertovic ’76
Calabasas, CA

Editor’s Note: Duggan Collier also wrote, adding to the list of performers Spyro Gyra, who he said played Fisher Auditorium in the spring of 1982, when he was a freshman living in Gordon Hall. He said he transferred from IUP in 1984.

Start Date Incorrect

While reading the summer issue of IUP Magazine, I noticed that on page 32 [Mentors: “Crème de la Crème”] it states that IUP’s study abroad program to Nancy, France, was established in 1985.

I think this is inaccurate, since I traveled to Nancy as part of IUP’s study abroad program in 1982. It was through the leadership of Dr. Ludo op de Beeck (now deceased) at the time, if I’m not mistaken.

I traveled to Nancy, France, in January of 1982 and joined a group of IUP students who were already there for the 1981-82 academic year, so that program certainly precedes my participation in it. I think it was running for many more years before IUP associate professor [Charles] McCreary’s involvement and was established quite a while before your magazine’s stated beginning of 1985.

Susan Ramage Cooper ’82
Bell, FL

Not the First

I was happy to receive my copy of the magazine.… I was surprised to see the information on the IUP-Nancy, France, program, however.

The article stated that the program had started in 1985, but that is not correct. I was in the group that was there from fall 1981 to summer 1982. We were not the first group to be there. My freshman year, in fall 1979, a student in my dorm had just come back from her junior year there, so it was already in place at least in 1978-79.

Shawn Morrison ’84
Associate Dean, School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs, College of Charleston
Charleston, SC

Editor’s Note: A number of IUP sources have shed light on the start of the IUP study abroad program in Nancy. The earliest mention of a University of Nancy exchange program in the Undergraduate Catalog is in 1978. Jessica Geletka Mulvihill ’02, D’16, director of Education Abroad, found that IUP entered into an official exchange agreement with the university in 1981.

In his research, Department of Foreign Languages chair Charles McCreary found that the first formal exchanges date back to 1976. He wrote, “Dr. Victor Drescher laid the groundwork for the collaboration between IUP and the Université de Nancy 2 (now Université de Lorraine) in 1977. The summer program started a couple of years later.”

Winter-Spring 2021
Vol. XXXIX, No. 1

President of Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Michael Driscoll
Vice President for University Advancement: Khatmeh Osseiran-Hanna
Editor: Elaine Jacobs Smith ’93
Contributing Editors: Karen Philippi Gresh ’67, Bob Fulton ’75
Design: Meghan McMeans Strittmatter ’13, David Raymond ’99
Photography: Brian Henry

IUP Magazine is published by Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a member of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

The magazine’s address is John Sutton Hall, Room 301, 1011 South Drive, Indiana, PA 15705-1046 (telephone 724-357-3112; fax 724-357-2556; email iup-magazine@iup.edu). Correspondence regarding any aspect of the magazine may be directed to this office. Print and web images derived from photos submitted for publication become the property of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and may be reprinted at the discretion of the university.

IUP Magazine welcomes contributions to help defray the cost of publishing. The Official IUP Magazine Form may be used for this purpose.

©2021 by Indiana University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity.