Unveiling the plaque marking the Gealy W. Wallwork Residence Hall at IUP were, from left, Gealy W. Wallwork and Dr. Tony Atwater, IUP president.

Trustee Gealy W. Wallwork, of Kittanning, was recognized December 4, 2009, with the naming of a residence hall in his honor. (See a photo gallery from the naming ceremony.)

The Sutton Suites building, completed for Fall 2009 occupancy, is now Gealy W. Wallwork Residence Hall. It was part of Phase III of the Residential Revival project to replace student housing.

In September, the Council of Trustees adopted a resolution for the naming, recognizing Wallwork's commitment to IUP and his “considerable expertise and wisdom during a time of university growth that has included development of the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, the Student Residential Revival, successful fund-raising campaigns, and many other initiatives.”

The naming ceremony included remarks by Dr. Tony Atwater, IUP president; David Osikowicz, chair of the Council of Trustees; Susan Delaney, vice chair of the trustees; G. Daniel Prushnok, president of the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors; Joseph Holuta, Wallwork's son-in-law; state Senator Don White; and Wallwork.

Wallwork Hall, at Pratt Drive and Grant Street, reflects the architecture of Sutton Hall, the university's main administration building. It includes a number of rooms for meetings and recreation, as well as a multipurpose room that accommodates up to 150 people.

Wallwork has served as a member of the Council of Trustees since 1991. An active volunteer for the university, he chairs the Administration and Finance Committee. He has served as a member of the Academic Affairs and University Relations committees and the President's Formal and Informal Review committees, chairman of the Nomination Committee, and liaison to the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors.

In 2006, President Atwater presented Wallwork with the President's Medal of Distinction, the highest non-degree award presented by IUP. The award was established in 1985 to honor citizens of the state and region whose contributions in the areas of professional achievement or public service are of national significance or whose contributions are of special significance to the university.

Wallwork is the retired president and chief executive officer of the Arthur T. Walker Estate Corporation, which served as a holding company for the Shawmut Companies.

His career spans forty-four years in operation and management positions in the mining business, from mine level through corporate headquarters. A graduate of Lehigh University with a B.S. in Mining Engineering, he earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. During his career, he worked for Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company, North American Coal Corporation, and Bethlehem Mines Corporation.

He is a member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and serves on the boards of CQ Inc. and Fuelmakers Inc. A member of Rotary International, he serves on the executive boards of the Moraine Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission.

The Student Residential Revival is a public-private collaboration between IUP and the Foundation for IUP that replaces fourteen of IUP's residence halls with buildings that integrate a “living-learning” philosophy into their design. This $270-million project is the largest of its kind in the nation.

The final phase of the project is the construction of the Crimson Suites building, a 596-bed facility along Maple Street between Pratt Drive and Eleventh Street. It will be completed for the Fall 2010 semester.

The Suites on Grant buildings, completed in the first phase of the project in Fall 2007, were named in honor of trustee Susan Delaney and Donna Putt, former president of the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors.