On October 9, 2025, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Warren State Hospital formalized a clinical training affiliation agreement for future students at IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
Securing clinical training sites for students is part of the successful accreditation process; IUP has secured 230 percent of the needed clinical training spots, surpassing the 120 percent required for accreditation.
Typically, students in colleges of osteopathic medicine spend the first two years of their education in the classroom; during the third and fourth years, students are based in the community at clinical sites.
IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Dr. Miko Rose, at podium; IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Graduate Medical Education Dr. Ryan Smith seated at table at left. At table at right, from left, David Markley, CEO, Warren State Hospital; Jennifer Smith, Deputy Secretary for Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
Today’s signing ceremony took place at Warren State Hospital. Leadership from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and Warren State Hospital included Jennifer Smith, deputy secretary for the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, DHS; David Markley, CEO, Warren State Hospital; and Cheryl Moore, chief medical officer, Warren State Hospital.
IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Miko Rose and IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Graduate Medical Education Ryan Smith signed the agreement for IUP.
Warren State Hospital Volunteer Coordinator Samantha Whitaker served as emcee for the event.
Warren State Hospital is one of the Department of Human Services’ six state hospitals that provide inpatient services for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness in a supportive and restorative environment. Staff at Warren provide patients with the opportunity for rehabilitation, growth, and coping skills and strategies to manage their illness. Warren State Hospital collaborates with county programs, behavioral health providers, family members, and advocates to help individuals receive inpatient treatment with the goal of returning individuals to their communities to continue treatment in the least restrictive setting.
Today’s clinical training affiliation agreement is IUP’s eighteenth formal signed agreement.
Other formal clinical training affiliation agreements are in place with Conemaugh Miners Medical Center, Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers, Wayne Memorial Hospital, Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber, Torrance State Hospital, Conemaugh Nason Medical Center, Penn Highlands Healthcare, Clarion Psychiatric Center, Armstrong County Memorial Hospital, Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, Broad Top Area Medical Center, Hyndman Area Health Centers, Nulton Diagnostics and Treatment Center, The Primary Health Network, Indiana Regional Medical Center, and Punxsutawney Area Hospital.
IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine’s clinical training affiliation agreement is the first clinical training agreement at Warren State Hospital with a college or school of medicine since 2007.
IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine has “Candidate Status” from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), which recognizes that IUP has done the required planning and has the resources necessary to apply for pre-accreditation status within two years. “Candidate Status” is the second step in seeking accreditation from COCA.
The IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine team is working on the next step in the accreditation process, seeking “pre-accreditation status.” When proposed colleges achieve pre-accreditation status, they are permitted to begin recruiting students. That status follows additional reports and site visits from COCA’s accrediting team; it is expected to take up to 16 months.
“Pennsylvania is in the midst of a health care crisis, due in great part to a growing shortage of physicians, especially primary care physicians,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said. “IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine is focused on recruiting talented potential physicians and graduating students who are committed to rural health care, including in primary health care.
“Because primary health care physicians are often called upon to provide behavioral health care, having a physician who has experience and training in behavioral health care is critically important to a patient’s wellness. Our clinical training affiliation agreements with Warren State Hospital and Torrance State Hospital provide unique opportunities for our future students to work closely with outstanding practitioners in two of the Commonwealth’s key behavioral health inpatient facilities in two different regions in Pennsylvania,” he said.
IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine will require mental health care training beyond the required standards.
“DHS is honored that Warren State Hospital will help play a role in supporting our rural communities by training future generations of physicians in Warren County,” said DHS Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Deputy Secretary Smith. “Warren’s programs and the Pennsylvanians they treat will help educate IUP college of osteopathic medicine students about behavioral health care and the unique needs and challenges our patients face, and it will be an opportunity to understand and see firsthand that recovery is possible with the right supports and treatment.
“We hope students will be inspired by our commitment to individual health and wellbeing while contributing to their communities’ health and investing in their future careers,” Deputy Secretary Smith said. “The students who train here will also play a part in fostering trust and community for the neighbors and the people we work with, so they know that they can get the care they need with dignity and respect.”
“We are very grateful for the opportunity that clinical training at Warren State Hospital will present to our future students,” IUP Founding Dean Rose said.
“IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine is committed to providing behavioral health care training to our students, regardless of what type of medical specialty they pursue, because we know that they will be called on to help patients facing behavioral health issues,” she said.
“Our clinical training affiliation agreements with both Torrance State Hospital and Warren State Hospital are unique, as these sites will be part of the required core rotations for future students in IUP’s proposed college,” she said.
“These required rotations provide an important opportunity for our future physicians to learn from experienced professionals and first-hand experience about the important role that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s behavioral health care system plays in caring for patients in Pennsylvania, including its rural citizens,” she said.
Rose was hired as the founding dean of the proposed college of osteopathic medicine in November 2023; the hiring of a founding dean is one of the first steps to establishing the college. Associate Founding Dean Smith and Founding Associate Dean of Preclinical Affairs Luke H. Mortensen joined the team in 2024.
Named one of Pennsylvania’s Fifty Over 50 top leaders in 2024 by City & State Pennsylvania, Rose is one of fewer than 150 physicians elected as a fellow of the American College of Neuropsychiatrists by the Fellows of the American College of Neuropsychiatrists/American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists. She was an invited panelist for the 2025 Rural Economic Development Summit in Harrisburg, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, addressing “ What Can Be Done in Rural Pennsylvania? The Power of Partnership.”
IUP’s Council of Trustees endorsed the exploration of a possible development of a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP in December 2022.
There are only three colleges of osteopathic medicine in Pennsylvania, all at private universities; IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine would be the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university.
Doctors of osteopathic medicine, or DOs, complete four years of osteopathic medical school, with an emphasis on preventive medicine and comprehensive patient care. They are trained to recognize the interrelated unity among all systems of the body, each working with the other to promote overall health and wellness. Osteopathic medical schools have a long tradition of serving rural communities. Physicians who are trained in osteopathic medicine are four times more likely to select primary care specialties and almost twice as likely to practice in rural areas as allopathic (MD) students are.
National studies show that graduates from programs of osteopathic medicine are more likely to pursue primary care in rural and underserved areas—57 percent of all doctors of osteopathic medicine practice as general practitioners, and more than 20 percent of DO graduates practice in rural areas. Demand is high for osteopathic medicine training: in 2021, 22,708 applicants competed for 8,280 seats at schools of osteopathic medicine.
IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine and IUP’s commitment to addressing the rural health crisis have resulted in funding from individual donors, foundations, agencies, and legislators totaling more than $34.3 million.
Fundraising for the project is part of IUP’s Impact 150 $150 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, raising funds for healthy students, a healthy university, and healthy communities.
Gifts to support the proposed college of osteopathic medicine include:
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In September, IUP graduates David (1971) and Becky Walzak (1970) made a $500,000 donation for the proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
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In August, John (Jack) and Linda Brose, of Athens, Ohio, gifted $25,000 for scholarships for future students at the proposed college of osteopathic medicine; Brose joined IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine team as a consultant and executive mentor in 2022.
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In July, John Ninosky, a 1993 criminology graduate, gifted $50,000 for future students at the proposed college of osteopathic medicine in honor of his late wife, Tammy Beale Ninosky, a 1993 IUP child development and family relations graduate.
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In June, IUP received a $50,000 gift from Thomas R. Smith, of Hollidaysburg, who received a master’s degree in secondary counselor education from IUP in 1976 and retired from a 40-year career in education.
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In April, IUP received a $1-million gift from an anonymous alumnus of IUP, who is a native of Indiana County, and a $50,000 gift from Lt. Col. Barry Gasdek, a 1964 graduate and 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient originally from Westmoreland County.
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In February, IUP announced gifts totaling $500,000: a $250,000 gift from an anonymous donor and a $250,000 gift from the Fairman Family Foundation of DuBois.
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In December 2024, Theodore Lazzaro, board-certified surgeon and founder of Aestique Med Spa, gifted $50,000 to IUP for scholarships for students in health care professions.
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In October 2024, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors designated $2 million in design funds as part of the 2024–25 State System of Higher Education capital allocations budget for the academic building renovation for the health sciences cluster and proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
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Senator Joe Pittman and Representative Jim Struzzi announced in October 2024 that $2 million from the 2024–25 state budget has been set aside for the project.
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In July 2024, IUP graduates Tim and Debra Phillips Cejka (1973) gifted $2 million for the proposed college.
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In June 2024, the Foundation for IUP committed $20 million.
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In May 2024, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler included $2 million for IUP’s project among his FY25 requested community projects, and Senator John Fetterman included $2 million on his list to advance in the FY25 Community Project Funding process.
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IUP received a $150,000 allocation for the project in the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which was sponsored by Congressman Reschenthaler and Senator Fetterman and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 9, 2024.
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In February 2024, the Board of Governors allocated $500,000 for a facilities feasibility study for academic facilities for IUP’s health sciences cluster and proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
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In January 2024, IUP’s Alumni Association Board of Directors authorized a donation of $500,000.
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In December 2023, Sen. Pittman announced that as part of the 2023–24 state budget, $2 million was set aside for the project.
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In July 2023, IUP graduates Nick Jacobs and Mary Ann Hoysan Jacobs donated $40,000 to advance the project. Nick Jacobs is a 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient who has a 1969 bachelor’s degree in education and a 1972 master’s degree in music education; Mary Ann Jacobs has a 1968 bachelor’s degree in music education and a 1993 master’s degree in adult and community education.
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In May 2023, Rich Caruso, a 1983 accounting graduate from Meadow Lands, 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, and former president and current member of the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors and member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors, announced a pledge of $1 million for the project.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. As IUP celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025 and through the Impact 150 comprehensive campaign, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking to its next 150 years of student success, innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.