Winter-Spring, 2023

Far-Reaching Ripples

IUP is the pebble. Our world is the pond.

I’m sure you have heard of the teaching tool that suggests our lives are comparable to pebbles, in that they seem insignificant compared to the size of the pond, but when they are dropped into the water, the ripples that move outward represent the impact we can have.

Just as one tiny pebble can affect the rest of the pond, we all have the opportunity—better worded, a responsibility—to use our influence to positively impact as many people and as many areas as possible. As you will read in this issue, we take this mission seriously at IUP.

Alumnus Joe Rocco, a former member of the men’s basketball team, has been on the front line of the COVID-19 war, doing research that could save countless lives. Some of our international students from war-torn countries, such as Ukraine, Russia, and Afghanistan, are learning at IUP while teaching us all something about resolve. And when longtime football coach and athletics administrator Frank Cignetti died in September, we heard about the ripples of impact he made on the university and its student-athletes—some far away from the playing field.

You’ll also read about the Black Experience Alumni Committee, a group of IUP alumni who have teamed up to help IUP’s current Black students navigate their way through college. The effect of BEAC’s pebble will be felt for generations, a truly amazing thing we celebrate.

The spring 2023 semester is in full swing. Our faculty and staff are using their time and talents to help the next wave of IUP students achieve their goals. We do this by focusing on the waves of our impact, knowing our work today will impact the lives and the world around us.

I hope you are proud when you look at today’s IUP. Compared to the rest of the world, we may be a pebble. But we know the impact we can have on the pond, and we strive to do our best every single day.

Michael A. Driscoll
President

More than once in her lifetime, fate has picked Janice Krall Hummel ’75, M’79 up from one road and put her down on another.

Janice and John Hummel

“I grew up in Dillsburg, a small town in York County,” she said. “My parents are children of farmers. My first-grade teacher hauled my mother in for a conference to insist that she and my father make sure that I apply for and graduate from college.

“My mother took that advice very seriously. I don’t think I would have gone to college without that parent/teacher conference.”

A dozen years later, with a knack for clothing construction and a desire to teach, she enrolled at IUP. A year after earning a bachelor’s degree, she was offered a graduate assistantship in the School of Home Economics. Three years later, she received a master’s degree in education.

“In 1979, there were more teachers than jobs,” she said. “After a year of substitute teaching, I became employed by the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission. I had a rewarding career as a policy analyst in the Bureau of Consumer Services. Our director placed a premium on promoting staff with advanced degrees.”

Although diverted from her original goal of teaching, Janice said, “I’ve always been grateful that my dean offered my graduate assistantship and my director saw potential because I had an advanced degree.”

Janice married John Hummel in 1980. A year earlier, he had received an associate degree in computer data processing at Harrisburg Area Community College and had joined AMP Inc. as a computer operator.

The job came with generous tuition benefits, and in 1990, John earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Penn State. He moved up quickly at AMP, eventually managing an international team of experienced computer systems professionals that would build a global manufacturing system for the company.

John later went to work for Yazaki Corp. when the automotive original equipment manufacturer opened a new division in Middletown. In addition to managing its systems, he was tapped to manage Yazaki North America’s Distributor Group, servicing more than 800 customers.

“John owes his progression into several diverse positions at both companies to his education,” Janice said. “His experiences made him realize you can do any number of different jobs with the proper training. Never allow yourself to be slotted into a specific profession. Explore the endless possibilities.”

Janice and John’s success has made possible their investment in the Janice Krall Hummel and John Hummel Nursing Scholarship at IUP.

“We realize we have benefited from opportunities that mentors, teachers, and employers provided to us,” Janice said. “We also recognize the tremendous sacrifices that nurses made to care for so many patients during the COVID pandemic, and we want to pay forward the opportunities that have benefited us.”

Michael Allen ’09

In November, IUP marked the 100th anniversary of the marching band with a long-awaited reunion weekend. Highlights included alumni performances at the IUP-Clarion football game and an alumni dinner.

Accustomed to receiving standing ovations, band alumni gave several—to former director Charles Casavant as he spoke at the Saturday dinner. Among those Casavant recognized were the late Daniel DiCicco ’54, the band director who recruited him, and the late band alumnus and fervent volunteer Ross Brightwell ’78, M’79, as well as the students Casavant led from the 1970s through the start of the millennium, hundreds of whom were in attendance.

Leanne Linder Greenberg ’79 and Tyler Haslett ’20

“The word you heard me say the most was ‘again,’” he said. “Sometimes you did it fine. I just wanted to hear it again.”

Casavant also praised new marching band director Zach Cheever, whom he observed working with the band that week. “The grace was going on,” he said. “It was there all the time.”

As the program’s emcee, Cheever remarked, “I’m a conductor, and I’ve gotten a lot of batons. I feel like I just got the Legend baton.”

Also that evening, Mary Kreider Megna ’84 and Jarrell Verbecken ’18 premiered Sustaining Grace, a documentary they created about the band’s 40-year history with “Amazing Grace.” At the football game just hours earlier, the alumni band’s encore performance of the song closed with a fleeting shower that was followed by a double rainbow.

Rhonda Fedyk Foust ’95, Holly Wechs Schilthelm ’92, Katana Wansley ’95

“We were blessed with a little bit of rain to say we’re moving the world in some way,” Verbecken said.

For a copy of the documentary on DVD, with cover art by percussionist Reece Bower, email Megna at mary.megna@verizon.net. 

Since May 2022, Zach Cheever has served as marching band director. He was passed the Legend baton by Nevin Saylor ’80, who took over in 2021 following David Martynuik’s departure after 20 years as director. Cheever came to IUP from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studied wind conducting.

Photography by James Nestor ’06

Distinguished Professor

Xi Wang, professor of history, is IUP’s 2022-23 Distinguished University Professor. Since joining the faculty in 1994, he has focused his teaching on African American history, the 19th-century US, and American constitutionalism. He started the Chinese Historical Review, a peer-reviewed journal, and created partnerships that have reshaped China’s American studies programs. This year, he plans to create a course on US immigration history and to complete a book manuscript, “Make Every Freeman a Voter”: The American Story of Black Suffrage.

Senate Awards

Last spring, the University Senate presented three Distinguished Faculty Awards:

Todd Thompson, a professor of English who joined the faculty in 2009, received the award for teaching.

Lorraine Guth, a professor of counseling who joined the faculty in 1998, received the award for research.

Stephen Shiring ’81, M’85, a Management Department professor with 26 years on the faculty, received the award for service.

Young Alumni Achievement

IUP presented Young Alumni Achievement Awards in spring and fall 2022 to one person from each academic college. Details below are from the time of the award presentation.

Spring 2022

Eberly College of Business: Ethan Wang ’14, investment product manager, Vanguard Group, Malvern (Cook Honors College graduate)

College of Education and Communications: Brandon Roudebush ’10, founder and executive producer, Pixelab Studios, Pittsburgh

College of Fine Arts: Geoff Maus ’11, stage manager, North American Tour, Come from Away, New York City

College of Health and Human Services: Garrett Kellar ’08, M’12, assistant professor and program director, Youngstown State University, Ohio

College of Humanities and Social Sciences: Michael Berkheimer ’06, senior trial attorney, National Labor Relations Board, Washington, DC (Cook Honors College graduate)

Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Carina Heckert ’06, M’09, associate professor, Anthropology, University of Texas at El Paso (Cook Honors College graduate)

Fall 2022

College of Arts and Humanities: Samuel Orsi-Weiser ’14, member, Metropolitan Opera, New York City

Eberly College of Business: Stephanie Perkovich Kline ’07, M’13, treasurer and chief data analytics officer, S&T Bank, Indiana (Cook Honors College graduate)

College of Education and Communications: Wayne Walters D’07, superintendent, Pittsburgh Public Schools

College of Health and Human Services: Derrick Maultsby Jr. ’17, associate attorney, Frost Brown Todd, Pittsburgh

Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Andrew Longacre ’13, M’19, president and CEO, Millennium Torque & Tensioning/Millennium Industrial Services, Eighty Four

Volunteer Awards

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

• Advancement Support: Felicia Fred ’81 of Lansdowne and Don Howe ’79 of Burlington, New Jersey, African American Alumni Scholarship Committee cofounders and former IUP Alumni Association board members

• Affinity Services: Scott Rhodes ’79 of Thousand Oaks, California, reunion organizer for the Classes of 1975 through 1983

• Aspiring Alumni Award: Mikayla Dokos ’22 of Homer City, former IUP Ambassadors president

• Regional Impact Award: Dennis Cramer ’75, M’82 of Kittanning, IUP Trombone Choir and Trombone Studio volunteer

Exchange Awards

The following IUP community members earned cultural-exchange awards in the past year:

• Sfen Kadirifu, international business major, Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (South Korea)

• Teresa Kuo ’22, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award (Taiwan)

• Yu-Ju Kuo, associate professor of mathematics, Fulbright US Scholar fellowship (Bhutan)

• Jessica Geletka Mulvihill ’02, D’16, former director of Education Abroad, Fulbright International Education Administrators award (Japan)

• Grace Skarzynski M’22, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award (Greece)

Dino-Sized Honor

Biology professor Shundong Bi was part of a research team that identified a new dinosaur species and named it Yuxisaurus kopchicki—after the fossil’s location in Yuxi, Yunnan Province, China, and after John Kopchick ’72, M’75, the molecular biologist for whom (along with his wife, Char Labay Kopchick ’73) the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is named.

Literary Giant Lost

Gerald Stern, an English Department faculty member in the ’60s who went on to win major literary prizes for his poetry, died October 27, 2022. His anthology This Time: New and Selected Poems won the National Book Award in 1998. Seven years earlier, he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Leaving Another Kingdom, and in 2000, he became New Jersey’s first poet laureate. A decade ago, the Library of Congress gave Stern the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt national prize for his Early Collected Poems: 1965-1992.

Faculty Deaths

Bob Alico, a professor who retired from the Biology Department in 1999 after 31 years of service, died June 9, 2022.

Paul Ben-Zvi, a professor emeritus who retired from the Art Department in 2003 after 32 years of service, died January 25, 2023.

Fredalene Barletta Bowers ’70, M’73, a professor emerita who retired as chair of the Human Development, Fashion, and Interior Design Department in 2016 after 31 years of service, died October 20, 2022.

Gary Buckwalter, a professor emeritus who retired from the Physics Department in 1987 after 21 years of service, died February 24, 2022.       

Frank Cignetti ’60, M’65, who retired as head football coach in 2005 after 23 years of service, died September 10, 2022. He also served many years as athletics director.

Lois Clark, a professor emerita who retired from the Health and Physical Education Department in 1999 after 25 years of service, died July 13, 2022. She also served stints as head coach of the women’s basketball and women’s swimming teams.

Bob Curey, a professor who retired from the English Department in 1999 after 34 years of service, died September 2, 2022.

Diane Duntley, a professor emerita who retired as director of Academic Information Systems in 2002 after 30 years of service, died May 17, 2022.

Robert Early, a faculty member in the Mathematics Department who retired in 2008 after 23 years of service, died February 1, 2021.

John Eck, who retired as dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 2010 after 15 years of service, died December 22, 2022.

Charles Fuget, who retired as dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 1988 after 17 years of service and who returned in 1991 to serve a year as interim president, died October 23, 2016.

Jim Gibson, a faculty member in the Religious Studies Department who retired in 2012 after 20 years of service, died December 10, 2021.

Beverly Goodwin, a professor emerita who retired from the Psychology Department in 2019 after 33 years of service, died May 17, 2022.   

Kenneth Hershman, a professor emeritus who retired from the Physics Department in 2007 after 35 years of service, died August 11, 2022.

Suzanne Hudson, a professor emerita who retired from the English Department in 2004 after 29 years of service, died June 6, 2022.

Bruce Jenkins, who taught political science between 1968 and 1970, died September 21, 2022.

Dan Keogh, a faculty member in the Biology Department from 1995 to 2001, died September 19, 2022.

David LaPorte, a professor in the Psychology Department with 27 years of service, died May 13, 2022.

Charles Maderer, a faculty member who retired from the Mathematics Department in 2001 after 34 years of service, died June 19, 2021.

Barbara Marquette, a professor emerita who retired from the Psychology Department in 2006 after 30 years of service, died November 24, 2022.

Joseph Mastro, a professor emeritus who retired from the History Department in 1989 after 20 years of service, died April 26, 2021.

Bob Murray, a professor emeritus who retired from the Communications Media Department in 1987 after 31 years of service, died December 8, 2022.

Mark Plivelic, a faculty member who retired from the Accounting Department in 1999 after 28 years of service, died February 24, 2022.

Donald Robbins ’67, a professor emeritus who retired from the Accounting Department in 2005 after 36 years of service, died April 1, 2022.

Doug Ross, a professor who retired from the Psychology Department in 1992 after 22 years of service, died February 5, 2023.

Larry Ruby ’67, an instructor between 1995 and 2002, died October 2, 2022.

Phillip Ruffner M’66, a faculty member who retired from the English Department in 1993 after 26 years of service, died August 7, 2021.

Nicolo Sartori, a faculty member who retired from the Music Department in 2008 after 34 years of service, died October 15, 2021.

Gerald Stern, a faculty member in the English Department from 1963 to 1969, died October 27, 2022. Stern was also an award-winning poet.

Peter Sullivan, a professor emeritus who retired from the Foreign Languages Department in 2013 after 32 years of service, died June 13, 2022.

Donald Walker, a professor emeritus who retired from the Economics Department in 1998 after 29 years of service, died January 17, 2023. In 1988, Walker became the first recipient of IUP’s Distinguished University Professor Award.

Joann Walthour, a professor emerita who retired from the University School in 1991 after 35 years of service, died February 17, 2022.

Elinor Van Valkenburgh Weaver ’64, M’65, an instructor between 1988 and 1993, died February 27, 2022.

Don Woodworth, a professor emeritus who retired from the English Department in 1994 after 27 years of service, died October 25, 2022.

By Matt Burglund

Few people have seen,  heard about, or spoken about IUP Athletics as much as Jack Benedict.

Jack Benedict in 2001

He came to town in 1969 to be the radio voice of the university’s teams. More than 50 years later, he is still on the job, calling football and basketball games for Renda Broadcasting. But when the pandemic started in the spring of 2020 and most college sports were called off, Benedict was furloughed and found himself with free time like he never had before.

He filled that time by taking on a project he had considered for years: a memoir of his life behind the microphone. My Major League Life in Broadcasting was released last August, providing an intimate look at the life and career of the “voice of the Crimson Hawks.”

Benedict has called more than 500 football and 2,500 basketball games, and the book details some of the more memorable ones, as well as the people who made them special. It also details his childhood and the influential people who made indelible marks on his life.

Benedict, who turned 80 in February, wrote the book by hand and later transferred it to a computer. Randy Jesick, longtime IUP Journalism and Public Relations faculty member, lent his expertise as an editor, and the book was completed two years after Benedict began writing.

“I don’t want to say I was bored, but I needed something to fill the void,” Benedict said. “This is my life, but I think the question after you read the book is, ‘What do you know about me that you didn’t know before?’”

Benedict’s memoir is available through the IUP Co-op Store. Part of the proceeds will be split between the Indiana County Humane Society and Four Footed Friends.

Rugby Kings

In its 50th season of climbing, the IUP Men’s Rugby Club reached the top of the mountain last May when it beat Lander (South Carolina) to win the National Collegiate Rugby Division II championship in New Orleans.

After trips to the Final Four in 2000 and 2013, this was IUP’s first time playing for the national crown. The Crimson Hawks went 6-0 in the tournament, with wins over Minnesota Duluth, Bentley (Massachusetts), the Citadel, North Carolina—Wilmington, Northern Iowa, and Lander by a combined score of 137-79.

Coaching Moves

IUP Athletics said goodbye to two coaches who recently retired. Adel Heder, who had been the women’s soccer coach for 20 seasons, finished his IUP career with a record of 220-139-24, including two regular season division titles, a conference tournament championship, and three NCAA tournament appearances.

Heder has been replaced by a familiar face to IUP soccer fans. Noreen Herlihy, the former coach at PSAC rival Slippery Rock, was hired after coaching at NCAA Division I Akron for the past seven seasons. Herlihy has 325 career wins, including 250 at Slippery Rock, from 1995 to 2014.

Tom McConnell, the most successful coach in women’s basketball program history, also retired. During his eight seasons at IUP, McConnell had an overall record of 197-50, won four PSAC West titles and two PSAC tournament championships, and led the Crimson Hawks to back-to-back Atlantic Region crowns and NCAA national semifinal berths. His 197 victories, .798 winning percentage, four division titles, and two regional championships are all program records.

The interim coach is Craig Carey, who had been an assistant for his father, Mike Carey, at West Virginia.

Called to the Hall

In April 2022, IUP Athletics Director Todd Garzarelli and former AD Steve Roach ’01 were inducted into the Slippery Rock University Sport Management Hall of Fame as part of its nine-person inaugural class. Garzarelli earned his undergraduate degree at Slippery Rock in 1998. Roach, now the athletics director at Texas A&M Kingsville University, earned his master’s from SRU in 2005.

The IUP Athletics Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2022––10 individuals and one team––in September. Class members are Mark Bridge, track and field; Katie Woodruff Britt ’95, swimming; Rick Dahlgren ’70, baseball; Nafee Harris ’15, track and field; Erin Holloway ’11, M’12, softball; Shawn Kunes, football; Akwasi Owusu-Ansah ’10, football; Kathy Ewing Tatiossian ’87, cross country/track and field; Darryl Webb ’11, basketball; and Tony Medvetz ’86, women’s tennis coach, 1999-2008. The 1993 football team, which played for the national championship, became the first team to be inducted. Rodney Ruddock ’65, M’75 and Ellen Sylves Ruddock ’66 received the Bell Ringer award for their support of IUP Athletics.

The Class of 2022 of the IUP Athletics Hall of Fame was honored at a September football game. Front, from left: Katie Woodruff Britt, Rodney Ruddock, Ellen Sylves Ruddock, Erin Holloway, Kathy Ewing Tatiossian, and Tony Medvetz. Back: IUP Athletics Director Todd Garzarelli, Mark Bridge, Nafee Harris, Darryl Webb, Rick Dahlgren, Shawn Kunes, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, and IUP President Michael Driscoll. (Tom Conner)

At the annual Indiana County Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony last May, five IUP alumni were honored for their careers: Frank Cignetti Jr. ’89, Bob Rado ’78, Joe Saffron ’63, Dave Woodall ’73, and Mindy Sawtelle Zottola ’05.

Headline Makers

After 14 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brandon Hunt ’03, M’06 was hired last spring as director of scouting by the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. In Philadelphia, Hunt joined four other members of the IUP football family: head coach Nick Sirianni (IUP assistant coach, 2006-2008), assistants D. K. McDonald (assistant coach, 2006-2010) and Tyler Scudder (graduate assistant, 2010-2012), and assistant to the head coach Scott Kaniecki M’10 (assistant coach, 2008-2011). In Hunt’s first season in Philadelphia, the Eagles advanced to Super Bowl LVII but fell to the Kansas City Chiefs, 38-35.

Last June, Ally Burrows ’19, who holds the IUP women’s lacrosse record for career goals (219), was named head coach at Clarkson University, an NCAA Division III school in Potsdam, New York.

Twenty years ago, he was an assistant men’s basketball coach at IUP. Now, Lamont Paris is head coach at the University of South Carolina. After five successful seasons leading Chattanooga, which included a 27-8 mark in 2021-22, Paris was named to the post in March 2022.

Former IUP softball coach Bill Graham, who guided the Crimson Hawks to their most successful season in school history, was hired last spring as coach at Penn State Altoona. In 2011, Graham led IUP to the PSAC and NCAA Division II Atlantic Super Region championship.

In Memoriam

The IUP Athletics community lost one of its pioneers when Lois Clark died in July 2022 at 82. In 1973, she became head coach of the women’s basketball team, which was then in its third season of competition. She guided the fledgling program for eight seasons. A faculty member in the Department of Health and Physical Education, Clark later served as women’s swimming coach.

New Leadership

Recent changes to university leadership include the naming of Lara Luetkehans as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs and Steven Hovan as dean of the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Luetkehans came to IUP in 2013 as dean of the College of Education and became interim provost in 2021. Hovan joined the Geoscience faculty in 1993. After more than a year away to serve as a program manager with the National Science Foundation in Virginia, he returned to IUP in 2021 as the college’s interim dean.

Research Rating

In the 2021 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, IUP received the designation of High Research Activity (R2) doctoral university, limited to institutions that award at least 20 research/scholarship doctoral degrees and have at least $5 million in research expenditures. IUP was one of only 93 public universities in the US with the designation.

Tuition Trimmed

As part of its new tuition affordability plan, IUP reduced tuition by nearly 20 percent last fall for in-state, undergraduate students taking at least 15 credits per semester. Domestic, out-of-state, undergraduate students will see a similar reduction starting in fall 2023.

Largest Grant

The US Department of Defense recently awarded IUP $4.98 million to enhance cybersecurity and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education. The project involves establishing and leading a consortium of community colleges to strengthen the workforce in these fields. Waleed Farag, professor of computer science, wrote the grant application. It is the largest single grant IUP has ever received.

Memorial Moves

On Veterans Day, IUP rededicated its Vietnam Veterans Memorial in a new location outside Pierce Hall. Veterans Robert Gault ’83, Bert Manzlak ’80, Edward Holben ’83, Frederick Samarelli ’84, and Robert Chess ’80 helped with the plans, as the memorial’s previous location was in the Kopchick Hall construction zone. Retired lieutenant colonel Barry Gasdek ’64, a decorated Vietnam veteran, was among the ceremony’s speakers, and Jack Frank ’58, retired counselor from Career Services and Veterans Affairs, attended.

IUP on Video

IUP videos regularly feature the contributions of faculty members and alumni. See the latest series installments.

• A Life-Changing Experience, part of Connections series: Imani Jefferson ’16 attests to the life-changing experience she had at IUP with the support of University College faculty member Luke Faust D’17. 

• Giving New Life to Oak Grove’s Fallen Trees, part of the Innovators series: From IUP Woodworking’s past with Chris Weiland ’72 to its present with B. A. Harrington, use of the campus’s fallen trees for student art projects continues. 

• Supply Chains in 10 Minutes: Prashanth Bharadwaj, professor of management, explains how competition is no longer just between companies—it is also between supply chains. 

• Supreme Court and Your Rights in 10 Minutes: Gwen Torges, Political Science Department chair, explains nuances in the Constitution that affect high-court decisions on state laws. 

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 December 31, 2022.

• An anonymous combined gift and planned gift of $10,502,406 to two scholarships, one for students pursuing a degree in elementary education and the other for students pursuing a degree in natural sciences

• Tim Cejka ’73 and Debra Phillips Cejka ’73, a combined gift of $1,150,000 to support diversity and inclusion initiatives and the Crimson Scholars Circle, which provides scholarships, mentors, and early immersion for students who need assistance transitioning to college

• Janice Krall Hummel ’75, M’79 and John Hummel, a combined gift of stock and a planned gift totaling $561,111 to the Janice Krall Hummel and John Hummel Nursing Scholarship for full-time students pursuing a degree in nursing (See inside back cover)

• William Anderson ’70, M’73 and Rebecca Snyder ’75, a combined gift, pledge, and planned gift of $555,650 to the Student General Scholarship, the Student Assistance Fund, and the Forty-Two Scholarship for full-time students graduating from high schools in Sullivan County and Indiana County and pursuing a degree in elementary education, natural science, engineering, or safety sciences

• An anonymous combined gift and planned gift of $252,000 to the Student General Scholarship Fund and the Fund for IUP  

• Addison Gibson Foundation, a gift of $200,000 to the Addison Gibson Foundation Scholarship for full-time students living in western Pennsylvania 

• Martha Rorabaugh, a combined gift and planned gift of $162,263 to the Sutton Scholarship and the Donald Rorabaugh (’53) Scholarship for Mathematical and Computer Sciences, which supports full-time students pursuing a degree in the Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences

• Jere Cowden ’69 and Sharon Tahl Cowden ’71, a combined gift and planned gift of $140,100 to the Fund for IUP 

• George “Butch” Aggen ’76, M’78 and Maria Aggen, a combined gift and planned gift of $130,696 to the Student General Scholarship Fund and the Bill and Cass Neal Scholarship for Football, which supports full-time students on the IUP football team 

• An anonymous combined pledge of $130,000 to support the IUP Crimson Hawk Golf Performance Center

• The Statler Foundation, a gift of $125,000 to establish the Statler Hotel Simulation Project, which supports the creation of a hotel administration simulation lab  

• An anonymous estate gift of $105,588 to support a scholarship for full-time students who are members of the IUP football team 

• The Estate of Myrtle Spires Reichard ’54, a gift of $89,894 to the Student General Scholarship 

• Lorna Milkovich Abernathy ’83 and Justin Abernathy, a pledge of $75,000 to support the Milkovich Abernathy Scholars Program for students enrolled full-time in the Eberly College of Business, with preference given to students in the Management/Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management program 

• An anonymous estate gift of $70,185 to support biology and biochemistry research and infrastructure 

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

• An anonymous planned gift of $55,000 to establish a fund to support the needs of the IUP Libraries

• An anonymous combined gift of $55,000 to establish the Lee M. Johnson Faulconbridge (’82) Scholarship for full-time students on the women’s track and field team

• Craig Fuget and Sara Woodhull, a combined gift of $55,000 to establish the Dr. Charles R. Fuget Memorial Scholarship in Chemistry for students pursuing a degree in chemistry 

• Marilyn Silvey, a combined gift of $51,309 to the Bedford John “BJ” Silvey Sr. (’62) Scholarship for full-time, incoming undergraduate students 

• New Pig Corporation, a combined, in-kind gift of $51,073 to support the Safety Sciences Department

• Diversified Energy, a pledge of $50,000 to establish the Diversified Energy Scholarship for students enrolled in the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics 

• The Estate of Cleva Hartman M’79, a gift of $50,000 to establish the Cleva L. Hartman Scholarship for full-time students pursuing a degree in early childhood education, a degree in early childhood/special education, or a minor in child development and family relations 

• The Estate of Marlin Hartman, a gift of $50,000 to establish the Marlin E. Hartman Scholarship for Mathematics for full-time students pursuing a degree in mathematics 

• James Staples, a gift of $50,000 to the Dr. James Staples Piano Scholarship for full-time students pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree in piano performance 

• The Michael and Karen Stone Family Foundation, Inc., a gift of $50,000 to the Fund for IUP. Karen Maurer Stone is a member of the Class of ’89.

• Pinnacle Venue Services, a combined gift of $49,079 to support IUP Athletics

• The family of Charles A. Spadafora, a gift of $45,000 to support the IUP Crimson Hawk Golf Performance Center 

• Reschini Agency, a combined gift of $44,000 to IUP men’s basketball, the IUP Football Scholarship, and general scholarships 

• Fleischner Family Charitable Foundation, a gift of $35,000 in support of IUP diversity and inclusion initiatives 

• Dennis Popovec ’77 and Annmarie Popovec, a combined gift and pledge of $35,000 to the Popovec Outstanding Student Athlete Scholarship for full-time undergraduate student-athletes pursuing a degree in the Eberly College of Business 

• Doris Quiles ’77, a gift of $32,079 to establish the Doris A. Quiles ’77 Scholarship for Nursing 

• Chevron Corporation, a combined gift of $30,550 to the Safety Science Enhancement Fund

• An anonymous combined pledge of $30,000 to establish a scholarship for full-time students who are members of the Cook Honors College, with preference given to first-generation students pursuing a degree in education

• Punxsutawney Area College Trust, a combined gift of $30,000 to the Punxsutawney Campus and the Department of Culinary Arts Student Scholarship 

• The Leonard A. and Mary Jane Schafer Foundation, a combined gift of $30,000 to the Fund for IUP Libraries and the Student Assistance Fund. Mary Jane McMurray Schafer was with the Class of 1931. 

• William Scheeren ’68 and Judith Scheeren, a combined gift and pledge of $30,000 to the Coach Fry Scholarship, Coach Fry Athletic Enhancement Fund, and Bill and Judy Scheeren Scholarship for Women’s Athletics, which supports student-athletes on NCAA-recognized women’s teams

• The Robert and Nellie Reynolds Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation, a gift of $29,612 to the Undergraduate Student Scholarship Fund. Both Robert Reynolds and Nellie Byers Reynolds were with the Class of 1948.

• Bergitta Edison Cotroneo ’80 and Peter Cotroneo, a combined pledge and gift of $28,500 to the African American Alumni Scholarship Fund, which supports full-time students who have earned at least 24 credits and which is primarily intended to benefit students of color 

• Frank Condino and Marty Condino, a combined pledge and gift of $27,320 to the Football Scholarship and the Philip and Rose Condino Memorial Scholarship for students in the IUP football program

• The Estate of Helene Boroch ’76, a pledge of $26,000 to fund simulation equipment for the Nursing and Allied Health Professions Department

• Robert Basehore ’71 and Kathie Kuvinka Basehore ’71, combined gifts of $25,600 to the Fund for IUP and the Robert W. Basehore Jr. and Kathie Kuvinka Basehore Athletic Scholarship, which supports Eberly College of Business students who compete in IUP varsity sports

• Douglas Niesen ’87 and Heidi Niesen, a gift of $25,440 to support IUP football 

• Stephen Abel ’73, combined gifts of $25,200 to the Army ROTC; IUP Veterans Assistance Fund; Military and Veterans Resource Center Fund; Fund for IUP; IUP Food Pantry; Student Assistance Fund; History Department Enhancement Fund; Geography, Geology, Environment, and Planning Enhancement Fund; and Dean’s Innovation Funds for the College of Arts and Humanities, College of Education and Communications, and Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

• Louis Sutton, a combined gift of $25,200 to establish the Dr. Lou Sutton Men’s Track and Field and Men’s Cross-Country Scholarship for students who are members of the track and field and cross-country teams, with preference given to students pursuing a degree in education 

• Samuel Bowers, a gift of $25,000 to support the Fredalene Barletta Bowers (’70, M’73) Scholarship for students pursuing a degree in child development and family relations

• Ivan Kalister Jr. ’69, M’75 and Debra Dengler Kalister ’74, a pledge of $25,000 to establish the Kalister Opportunity Scholarship for new students, with preference given to first-generation students from Woodland Hills High School or Johnstown High School

• The Estate of Louise Lettiero ’59, a gift of $25,000 to the Student General Scholarship Fund 

• Ronald Lunardini ’69 and Margaret Evans Lunardini ’69, a gift of $25,000 to the Ron and Peggy Lunardini Fund, which supports the Student Affairs in Higher Education Department’s Lunardini Distinguished Alumni Award

• Frederick Streams ’55, a gift of $25,000 to the Dr. Fred ’55 and Hazel ’55 Streams Scholarship for students pursuing a degree in secondary education in natural sciences or early childhood/special education

In April 2022, the IUP Alumni Association presented its highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award, to seven recipients.

The first Argentinean to obtain an Eberly College of Business MBA degree, Nicolas Arino M’10 also set an alumni benchmark when he attained the regional management level at the New York Stock Exchange, where he is the head for Latin America, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. A native of Córdoba, Argentina, he received two bachelor’s degrees from the Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, won a Fulbright for leadership studies at the University of Delaware, worked in exports and as a commodities broker, and speaks Portuguese and Spanish in addition to English. Active in Rotary International for more than a decade, he led the Metro NYC club as president.

After a career in education at the primary to college level, Thomas Buggey ’73 is now a private consultant, trainer, and speaker in video self-modeling for children with autism and chief science officer at Invirtua.com. He taught in Pennsylvania and Canada’s Newfoundland and along the way earned a Clarion special education master’s degree and a Penn State early intervention doctorate. For nearly two decades, he taught at the college level in Tennessee, where he still lives, winning many academic awards, making numerous conference presentations, and publishing widely. He recently rekindled his passion, which originated years ago in Brockway, for relief woodcarving and sculpture.

Jordan Golin D’96 is president and CEO of Pittsburgh’s Jewish Family and Community Services, with which he has been associated since 2001. A licensed psychologist, he has maintained a private practice for over 20 years and was director of the psychology department at Sharon Regional Medical Center. The Miami native received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a master’s from Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. A recipient of numerous awards in his role at JFCS, he guided his organization in helping Pittsburgh recover from the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre by providing words of hope and healing and by arranging interventions for hundreds who suffered trauma reactions.

Larry Gottardi ’71 grew up near the IUP main campus and went on to spend 35 years on active duty with the US Army, retiring in 2006 with the rank of major general. In 2009, he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service. Recently, he has been acting deputy under the secretary of the Army and director of the Civilian Senior Leader Management Office. The recipient of a Penn State journalism master’s degree in 1980 and of numerous awards, medals, and decorations, he served with the Army throughout the US and at posts abroad. Today, he lives in Georgia.

Catherine Marcum D’08 is chair of Appalachian State University’s Department of Government and Justice Studies, having come from Georgia Southern University. Published in over 60 peer-reviewed journals and author or coauthor of 20 books, she is a past editor of Corrections: Policy, Practice, and Research and current editor of the International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime. She is an elected trustee of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and immediate past president of the Southern Criminal Justice Association, which named her Educator of the Year in 2015. A native of East Bank, West Virginia, she received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from West Virginia State College and Marshall University, respectively.

A retired senior official with the FBI, Pittsburgh native Debra Evans Smith ’81 had a stellar career with the bureau for 30 years, beginning as one of the first 50 Black female agents in the 1980s and ending in the top ranks. A spy chaser most of the time, she won top honors for her role in such cases, including one of the most important in US history—that of Robert Hanssen. After retirement, she returned to the FBI and managed a priority initiative under Directors James Comey and Christopher Wray to address what had been the bureau’s inadequate record on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Rebecca Stossel Stapleton ’84 retired in 2020 as senior executive vice president and chief banking officer at S&T Bank. She previously served as chief human resources officer, having worked in human resources at the bank since 1988. At the same time, she taught at IUP, Penn State, and the University of Pittsburgh. She serves on the Indiana Regional Medical Center board and the Eberly College of Business advisory council. Passionate about helping women advance, she was the Pennsylvania Bankers Association’s Women in Banking state committee chair and the first recipient of its Champion for Women award. A self-employed consultant, she focuses on human resources, executive coaching, and women’s initiatives.