Fall, 2023

Change Is Constant

If you haven’t been back to IUP lately, I hope you get a chance soon. If you have come back, I hope you are glad you did.

For many alumni, the IUP campus probably doesn’t look the way they remember it. The dorms, for the most part, have been upgraded to suites. Some academic buildings have been razed, replaced with new ones that carry new names. But while the campus looks different, the goal of providing our students a first-class education remains the same.

As IUP approaches its 150th anniversary, we have big plans on the horizon, one of which—a proposed college of osteopathic medicine–you can read about in the pages ahead. But having those big plans requires adaptability and flexibility. Technology changes rapidly, too, and for our students to thrive, they need state-of-the-art facilities.

Our latest project is the construction of John J. and Char Kopchick Hall, which will open in January, replacing Carl S. Weyandt Hall as the home of the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Designed using input from faculty, students, staff, alumni, and the scientific community, the 142,000-square-foot Kopchick Hall will give our students opportunities for discovery and knowledge sharing that similar universities can’t offer.

That’s why we built Weyandt Hall six decades ago and why we continue to look at all our facilities to see what can be updated or replaced to give our students advantages. We’re using our history to inspire us as we move forward, not as a static base on which we rest. That means change will be, and has to be, constant.

We can still remember the IUP we knew and can still look ahead to the horizon, at the IUP of the future, knowing that change affects only the days ahead, and not the days gone by.

Today, at IUP, we are excited about what’s to come. I hope you share in our enthusiasm, because tomorrow is a destination we are chasing together.

That’s something that will never change.

Michael Driscoll
President

More than a thousand miles from the commonwealth where they grew up and went to college, six IUP alumni are paving the way for future IUP students. These alumni live in Texas, and the students they help could be from any state; nevertheless, strong ties to IUP on all sides defy geography. 

From left: Jeff and Jill Swift, Greg Schockling, and Don Baronitis. Photo courtesy of Don Baronitis

Together, these alumni have created the Texas IUP Alumni Scholarship for full-time, upper-class students. All of the graduates can recount personal, heartfelt stories of how IUP changed their lives. 

According to one of the donors, Jeff Swift ’75, “We all got an excellent education at IUP. Unfortunately, our businesses took us far away from Pennsylvania and didn’t allow us to be as involved with IUP as we would have liked.” 

“This scholarship gives us the opportunity to give something back to IUP,” said Don Baronitis ’76, another of the donors. “Most of us received financial help when we were at IUP, and we want to help students so they, too, can be successful.” 

Swift was a business management major who came to campus from Pittsburgh. He is married to another donor group member, Jill Trainor Swift ’75, a consumer services graduate originally from Penn Hills. 

Baronitis came to IUP from Baden, Beaver County, and majored in management. Another Eberly College of Business alumnus, business administration major Dale Hosack ’81, is from Greenville, Mercer County. His classmate Greg Schockling is from Beaver Falls and majored in accounting. Rounding out the donor group is 2011 IUP Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Elizabeth LaTorre Travis, a 1965 biology graduate from Wilmerding.  

“In addition to supporting students, we hope this gift will serve as a model for other alumni groups and that it will enrich and strengthen our own group,” Hosack said. “Not everyone has the individual means to create an endowed scholarship, but this is a great example of a group of dedicated alumni coming together to accomplish a goal.” 

All the alumni live in or near the Houston area. Bellaire resident Baronitis is retired from the corporate office of Waste Management. Houston resident Hosack works at Western Container Corporation. The Swifts live in The Woodlands; Jeff is retired from HMT, Inc., and Jill formerly worked in customer service at Mobay Chemical. Sugar Land resident Schockling is retired from Sequent Energy Management. Travis has a PhD and is on the faculty at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

Starting with their initial investment of $25,000, group members hope the scholarship will grow with more donors from Texas. They also want to inspire alumni in other places to band together to establish their own scholarships. IUP, they believe, is deep in the heart, no matter where that heart is. 

If you would like to support the Texas IUP Alumni Scholarship or to transform lives through another fund, please call the University Advancement office at 724-357-5661 or email iup-giving@iup.edu. 

Distinguished Professor

Ben Ford, professor of anthropology, is IUP’s latest Distinguished University Professor, a title he and past award recipients will hold for life. A member of the faculty since 2009, Ford has chaired his department for six years. His scholarship has focused on archaeology involving human interactions with oceans, lakes, and rivers and on historical archaeology, specializing in the frontier period of western Pennsylvania. This academic year, he plans to launch a project called Heritage Futures “to leverage heritage to heal past wrongs and foster a healthier future.” He will involve students, he said, to help them build research skills and become more caring and productive members of society.

Senate Awards

Last spring, the University Senate presented the following awards:

Lynn Botelho, a professor of history and IUP’s 2011–12 Distinguished University Professor, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Service. She joined the faculty in 1996.

Waleed Farag, a professor of computer science and director of the Institute for Cybersecurity, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Research. He joined the faculty in 2002.

Crystal Machado, a professor in the Department of Professional Studies in Education who joined the faculty in 2008, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching.

Sharon Massey, an associate professor of art who joined the faculty in 2011, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Creative Arts.

Cindy Varner, a senior scheduling specialist and management technician in the Office of the Registrar, received the Distinguished Staff Award for Service. She joined the staff in 1999.

Honorary Doctorate

At the May commencement ceremonies, Bonnie Harbison Anderson ’80 (in photo) received an honorary doctor of science degree and gave the commencement address. Named an IUP Distinguished Alumna in 2012, she is cofounder and former CEO of Veracyte, a San Francisco-based molecular diagnostics company.

Fulbright Award

Amanda Poole, professor of anthropology, was selected for the Fulbright Specialist Program and will work with the Institute of Anthropology and Ecology at Catholic University of Madagascar.

Wilson Center Fellowship

Steven Jackson, professor of political science, was awarded a nine-month fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, DC.

Student Trustee

Shagufta Haque, a student in the Cook Honors College and Economics Honors Program, was appointed the student member of the IUP Council of Trustees, succeeding Maura King ’23.

Volunteer Awards

IUP presented its 2023 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership in four categories:

Keynote speaker for the recognition event was Bergitta Edison Cotroneo ’80.

Impact Awards

The College of Education and Communications presented its 2023 Impact awards to Paula Kirkpatrick Andrei ’91, M’92, Angela Roudebush Petroff ’96, Brittany Pavolik Fleming ’11, M’12, D’15, Brandon Sousa M’17, Scott Vinosky ’17, M’20, and Jessica Kropp Cosby ’22.

Photos: Brian Henry

Photos: Brian Henry

Passion for Scholarship

During her 40 years of university-level teaching, including 15 years at IUP, Rosemary Gido conducted research on topics ranging from jail crowding to the incidence of HIV and AIDS in a state correctional system. Since her 2011 retirement, this professor emerita of criminology has remained active in research—particularly the study of how poverty and lack of opportunity affect Pennsylvania’s incarceration rate. Still the editor of the Prison Journal, Gido has collaborated on research with criminology graduates Cassandra Bullers Reyes ’92, M’04, D’09, Tim Holler ’07, M’09, D’15, Reneè Lamphere M’07, D’12, and Kyle Ward D’15. She has also established scholarships through the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Foundation and Misericordia University to help women earn their degrees. Read more about Gido’s ongoing work at IUP.edu/rosemarygido.

Life Stories, All Around

Dan Tannacito, professor emeritus of English, recently coedited Autoethnographic Perspectives on Multilingual Life Stories, a work on narrative linguistics. He also took a turn writing his own story, In My Life: A Memoir and Family History. Tannacito retired in 2012 after 33 years of service and now lives in Keizer, Oregon.

Faculty Deaths

Gary Buterbaugh ’67, a faculty member who retired from the Computer Science Department in 2005 after 30 years of service, died May 23, 2023.

Aurora Guardiola, who retired from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in 1985 after 20 years of service, died January 11, 2023.

Ralph Johnson, a professor who retired from the Department of Health and Physical Education in 1997 after 25 years of service, died June 8, 2020. He was also a swimming coach in the 1970s and ’80s.

Michael Kosicek ’76, M’79, D’04, a faculty member in the Management Department for 21 years, died July 25, 2023.

Sherrill Kuckuck, a professor emerita who retired as director of Student Development in 2004 after 33 years of service, died June 24, 2023.

Eileen Master, who taught from 2001 to 2003, died May 8, 2023.

Alphonse Mattia, who taught in the Art Department from 2009 to 2012, died April 10, 2023.

Ruth Morris, a professor emerita who retired from the Administrative Services and Business Education Department in 1991 after 21 years of service, died May 27, 2023.

Daniel Perlongo, a professor emeritus who retired from the Music Department in 2012 after 44 years of service, died May 23, 2023.

Richard Roberts, a professor emeritus who retired from the Physics Department in 2002 after 37 years of service, died July 27, 2023.

Frederick Sehring, a former dean of the Armstrong Campus who retired as an associate registrar in 2002 after 30 years of service, died March 7, 2023.

James Staples, a professor emeritus who retired from the Music Department in 2011 after 44 years of service, died March 5, 2023.

Merle Stilwell, a professor emeritus who retired from the Mathematics Department in 1990 after 23 years of service, died June 11, 2023. He was also a football coach in the 1970s and ’80s.

Monte Tidwell, a professor emeritus who retired from the Professional Studies in Education Department in 2014 after 19 years of service, died August 3, 2023.

By Matt Burglund

When IUP athletics director Todd Garzarelli looks at his 19 teams, 40-plus coaches, and more than 400 student-athletes, he sees a lot to be proud of. The Crimson Hawks won four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships in 2022–23, and several teams competed in the national championships.

But Garzarelli also sees a lot of potential for bigger and better things.

RUGBY’S REIGN—Last April, the IUP Men’s Rugby Club won its second straight National Collegiate Rugby Division II championship with a win over North Carolina State. The women’s club also traveled to Maryland for the tournament and finished as the country’s ninth-ranked D2 program. Photo: David Arnold

“It was a very strong year for our student-athletes and for the coaches,” Garzarelli said. “Overall, we reached a very high level of success on the playing fields and in the classroom. Our goals are to win the conference, win the region, and then compete in the national championships. Those are our goals every year, in all our sports.”

IUP won conference championships in football and men’s golf in the fall, men’s basketball in the winter, and women’s tennis in the spring. The tennis team also won the regional championship. Individually, several runners, swimmers, golfers, and other athletes competed in the NCAA Division II championships.

It all culminated with the Crimson Hawks placing 36th nationally––and second among PSAC schools––in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Learfield Cup, which ranks all 238 D2 athletics programs, based on each team’s success in the NCAA championships, across all sports.”

“It’s the barometer by which we’re evaluated,” Garzarelli said. “It’s peer-to-peer. One of our goals as a department is to be in the top 50 overall.”

While finishing in the top 20 percent of the country is a great achievement for IUP, Garzarelli is more excited for what’s to come. He sees some programs on the verge of breaking out, and their emergence will make a great addition to the IUP teams that are traditionally strong.

“I do feel like we’re turning a corner in some sports that were stagnant the last few years,” he said. “We’ve had some coaching changes that have helped, and I think there will be more championships for us in the near future.”

Hall of Fame

The Class of 2023 of the IUP Athletics Hall of Fame has 10 former student-athletes, two longtime athletic trainers, and one team—representing 10 sports in all. Members were inducted September 9.

The 28th class is made up of Paul Bingham ’10 (baseball), Derrick Freeman (basketball), Michelle Jones ’07 (volleyball), Brianna Liebold ’11 (track and field), Donald Lindich ’65 (baseball and football), Chris Morgan ’08, M’09 (football), Jackie Rutkowski ’07 (lacrosse), Megan Woodall Mills ’01 (basketball), Kerry Yacamelli ’95 M’01 (football), and the late Nicholas Yutko ’83 (cross country), plus Ron Trenney ’84 and Frank Trenney ’92 (athletic trainers), and the 1968 golf team, which won the NAIA national championship. The honorary Bell Ringer award went to Jack Frank ’58 and Jeannette Frank.

Coaching Updates

Following the departure of longtime head coach Larry Peterson, assistant David Jacobs ’90 led the IUP women’s tennis team during the spring season and was honored as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Assistant Coach of the Year and the ITA Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year. In July, Andrew McGlashen was named the program’s head coach.

Former all-conference women’s basketball player Lexi Griggs ’20 was hired in July as the director of Basketball Operations at North Carolina A&T University. In April, Dan Smay, former volunteer men’s basketball assistant coach, was named head coach of the men’s team at Penn State DuBois. George Boulos M’18 was hired in August 2022 as director of Basketball Performance at James Madison University.

On the gridiron, Jim Hostler ’90 was hired as an assistant with the Detroit Lions after a three-year run with the Washington Commanders. The 2023 season will be Hostler’s 24th in the NFL. Former IUP assistant coach Tyler Haines was named the head coach at fellow Division II school Catawba (North Carolina). Jameson Zacharias, who was an assistant at IUP in 2017 and 2018, was hired as the cornerbacks coach at Division I FCS Richmond. Shaq Jones, who played at IUP in 2018 and 2019, has joined the coaching ranks as an assistant at Thiel College. Former IUP graduate assistant Anthony Piroli ’08 was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in May. He has been head strength and conditioning coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2019. Previously, he worked in the strength and conditioning programs for the Arizona Cardinals and for Mississippi State.

The list of former IUP student-athletes now in the coaching field is growing. Former baseball star Ryan Uhl ’17 is now an assistant coach at Gannon University; Mike Taylor ’95, former basketball player and later coach of the Polish National Men’s Basketball Team, is now head coach of the Winnipeg Sea Bears of the Canadian Elite Basketball League; Rebecca Tillett, a former assistant women’s basketball coach under Tom McConnell, this spring completed her first season as head coach of the Division I St. Louis University women’s team; former All-American pole vaulter D. J. Horton ’19 is now an assistant track and field coach at St. Francis University; two-time PSAC champ Nickeela Austin ’20 works at Fordham University as an assistant track and field coach; and former IUP swimmer Dustin Steider ’14 recently marked the first anniversary of his appointment as the director of Sports Performance for Olympic Sports at Chicago State University.

Global Stars

Two recent IUP student-athletes signed contracts to play professionally in Europe. Dave Morris ’23, who was a key member of the men’s basketball team the past three seasons, signed with Ballincollig in the Irish Super League. In football, quarterback Mak Sexton M’23 joined the Wroclaw Panthers of the European League of Football after leading the Crimson Hawks to a 10-2 mark in 2022.

In Memoriam

Former IUP rifle coach Thomas Campisano ’66, M’73, who was inducted into the IUP Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003, died March 10, 2023. He coached the IUP rifle team for 23 years before the sport was discontinued, then for 27 more as a club sport.

Leadership Changes 

Recent changes to university leadership include the following: 

In July, Stephen Ferris started as dean of the Eberly College of Business. A western Pennsylvania native, he previously served as dean of Ball State University’s Miller College of Business. 

Also in July, Edel Reilly D’07, professor and provost’s associate for Academic Programs and Planning, became interim dean of the College of Education and Communications. 

In August, Lynanne Black, professor and dean’s associate, became interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services. 

Named Spaces 

The IUP Council of Trustees has approved the naming of several campus spaces: 

In Cogswell Hall, the trumpet studio was named in honor of Kevin Eisensmith ’78, a professor emeritus of music who retired in 2022 after 23 years of service. 

In recognition of Frank Condino, the athletics director suite in the Kovalchick Complex will be named in honor and memory of his parents, Philip and Rose Condino, and former football player Thomas Michael Culhane CA’93. Frank Condino retired as athletics director in 2014 after nearly 30 years of service as a coach and administrator. 

In Kopchick Hall: 

• A classroom will be named in honor of retired biology professor Frank Baker and his family and in memory of his wife, Mary. Baker served on the faculty for 30 years. 
• A classroom will be named in honor and memory of Walter Gallati, a professor emeritus of biology who retired in 1989 after 32 years of service. He died in 2020. 
• A geoscience lab will be named in honor and memory of professor Walter Granata, who retired from the Geoscience Department in 1981 after 14 years of service. He died in 2013. 
• The dean’s suite will be named in honor of Deanne Snavely, a dean emerita who retired from the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 2021 after a decade of service. 

The university community is grateful for the following gifts and pledges of $25,000 or more, made to the Foundation for IUP between January 1 and June 30, 2023. 

• James Self ’65 and Jamiela Self, a planned gift of $1 million to establish the Jim and Jamie Self Brass Scholarship for students pursuing a degree in music with a concentration in brass 

• The Estate of Robert Flora M’78, an estate gift of $200,000 to establish the Robert T. Flora Memorial Scholarship for students from Cambria County pursuing a degree in counseling or psychology 

• Douglas Roblin ’75, a combined planned gift and gift of $125,125 to the Douglas Roblin Award Fund, which supports projects administered through the Department of Anthropology and the Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, and Engineering 

• Benjamin Keltz ’77 and Frances Costanzo Keltz ’76, a planned gift of $85,000 to establish the 1976 Alumna Food and Nutrition Scholarship for students pursuing a degree offered by the Department of Food and Nutrition 

• An anonymous planned gift of $75,000 to the Rita M. Johnson Legacy Scholarship for students pursuing a degree offered by the Department of Food and Nutrition 

• Raymond Mialki, a combined gift, pledge, and planned gift of $68,803 to support the IUP Criminal Justice Training Center and to establish the Criminal Justice Training Center Fallen Officer Memorial Fund, which supports the IUP Criminal Justice Training Center 

• Quest for the Best, a pledge of $66,700 to the Municipal Police Academy Scholarship for students enrolled in the IUP Criminal Justice Training Center 

• The Beaumont Foundation, C. Edward Keller ’74, and Judy Keller, a gift of $60,000 to support the C. Edward Keller Scholarship in Criminology and Criminal Justice for students majoring in criminology 

• Susan Wheatley, a combined gift of $52,000 to establish the Daniel Perlongo Music Award, which provides scholarship support to students pursuing a major in the Department of Music with a concentration in music composition or piano 

• Daniel Radakovich ’80 and Marcie Radakovich, a pledge of $50,000 to support IUP football and the Dan and Marcie Radakovich Football Scholarship for participating members of the IUP football team 

• Nick Jacobs ’69, M’72 and Mary Ann Hoysan Jacobs ’68, M’93, a gift of stock totaling $40,431 to support the creation of a college of osteopathic medicine 

• Glenn Fitzgerald ’69, a combined gift of $35,681 to the Kathleen Rankin Fitzgerald Scholarship for Elementary Education for students pursuing an elementary education degree and the Glenn Fitzgerald Scholarship for Natural Science for students pursuing a natural science degree 

• Nadav Baum ’86 and Nancy Wallace Baum ’83, a pledge of $33,000 to the Eberly College of Business Dean’s Innovation Fund 

• The Robert and Nellie Reynolds Fund, a gift of $30,987 to the Student General Scholarship Fund. Both Robert Reynolds and Nellie Byers Reynolds were with the Class of 1948. 

• Micheal Madigan ’80, M’86 and Elaine Taraba Madigan ’80, a gift of art valued at $25,600 

• Stephen Abel ’73, a combined gift of $25,300 to the IUP Veterans Assistance Fund, Army ROTC Fund, Fund for IUP, Donor Challenge, Geography and Regional Planning Department Enhancement Fund, History Department Enhancement Fund, and the Dean’s Innovation Funds for the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the College of Arts and Humanities, and the College of Education and Communications 

• Douglas Niesen ’87 and Heidi Niesen, a gift of $25,220 to support IUP football 

• An anonymous gift of $25,053 to the Dr. Lou Sutton Track and Field and Cross-Country Scholarship for full-time students who are members of the men’s track and field or cross-country teams 

• Poom Sunhachawi-Taylor ’87 and James Taylor ’86, a pledge of $25,000 to support IUP women’s tennis 

• Eleanor Mihalyi Gallati ’54, a gift of $25,000 to the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Building Fund 

• An anonymous gift of $25,000 to support IUP volleyball 

Giving Credit 

I was pleased to read in the latest IUP Magazine about the festivities surrounding the 100th anniversary of the IUP Marching Band. I was disappointed, however, that both the event’s organizer and the author failed to recognize the significant contributions of Professor Emeritus Charles A. Davis to the organization. 

Throughout the ’50s, ’60s, and early ’70s, Davis ’34, a member of the Music Department, arranged music for the band’s halftime shows when Dr. Daniel DiCicco was the director. He was famous for his choral arrangement of the IUP alma mater (sung a cappella by the band). And who can forget his rendition of “Sing, Sing, Sing”? 

Alumni who participated in the marching band during these years would surely appreciate having him remembered. I am also aware that, unfortunately, a number of band members from the late ’60s and early ’70s were not aware of the reunion event. 

Nancy Davis Smith ’70 
Lancaster 

Editor’s Note: The author wrote that more information can be found about the Charles A. Davis Memorial Music Library Collection.