Ruth Riesenman
Ruth Riesenman, of Indiana, a 1964 alumna of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, retired IUP administrator, long-time IUP supporter and volunteer, and community leader, has gifted $25,000 to support IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive campaign.
The Impact 150 comprehensive fundraising campaign, the largest in the university’s history, has a goal of $150 million. Named in honor of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2025, the campaign launched in August with $81,236,852—54 percent of the campaign goal of $150 million—from 11,673 donors.
With Rieseman’s gift, as of September 30, the campaign has secured $97,842,766, or 65 percent of its goal.
The Impact 150 Campaign centers around raising funds for healthy students, including supporting students academically and personally; a healthy university, including maintaining IUP’s commitment to excellence and innovation; and healthy communities, including IUP’s work to establish a college of osteopathic medicine. Donors have gifted more than $48 million specifically for IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
Riesenman’s gift supports the Dr. Ruth A. Riesenman Scholarship, Men’s Basketball, University Museum Enhancement Fund, IUP Arboretum, and the creation of IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine. With this donation, Riesenman has donated almost $250,000 to IUP.
“Dr. Riesenman’s loyalty and love for IUP is just inspiring,” IUP Vice President for University Advancement Jennifer DeAngelo said. “In addition to her financial generosity, she has provided outstanding leadership and wise counsel to the university, both as a member of the executive team as an employee, and as a volunteer with the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors. She has mentored countless students and professionals, especially women and emerging women leaders, and her influence and commitment to the university will be felt for decades,” she said.
“Her gifts match the needs of the university and our Impact 150 campaign pillars, focusing on healthy students (current and future), the health and wellness of the university, and a healthy community, especially through her support of the proposed college of osteopathic medicine,” she said.
“The IUP family—alumni, students, friends, and community members—have been incredibly supportive of the Impact 150 comprehensive campaign at all levels, with gifts of time, talent, and treasures, telling us again and again how IUP has, and continues to make, a difference in their lives. They want to pay it forward—especially in celebration of IUP’s 150th anniversary. We are well on the way to meeting our $150-million goal,” Vice President DeAngelo said.
“My four years at what was then Indiana State College were very likely the most formative years of my life,” Riesenman said. “The college was filled with good students, great professors, and administrators who made college life easy to navigate. I had the opportunity to receive a quality education, to be open-minded, to develop critical thinking skills, and to cultivate a love for lifelong learning. I thank IUP for being a part of my life.”
As a social studies education major at IUP, Riesenman worked as a resident hall counselor in Wahr Hall at IUP.
She began her work in the field of education in 1964 as a public school teacher. In 1968, she started work as a residence hall director at Kent State University in Ohio while completing her master of education degree and education specialist degree.
Riesenman is the first woman administrator at Washington and Jefferson College, where she served for nine years as the associate dean of student personnel. Her tenure at Washington and Jefferson College began during the first year that women were admitted to the College—after 190 years of being an all-male institution.
In honor of Riesenman’s impact at the College, the institution renamed a building in her honor, Riesenman Hall; she was honored during the building’s dedication ceremony in September 2024.
She joined the Indiana and IUP community in 1979 as the associate director of the Office of Career Services (now Career and Professional Development Center), eventually named as director of the office. While in that role, she completed her doctorate in higher education administration at the University of Pittsburgh.
Following her tenure in the IUP Career Services Office, she was selected to serve as executive assistant to the president, during which time she also served as interim vice president for Institutional Advancement and executive director of the Foundation for IUP for one and a half years, retiring from IUP in 2005 as the executive assistant to the president.
After her retirement from IUP, she remained actively engaged with IUP, including as a member of the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors from 2006 to 2019, and is a current member of the College of Fine Arts (now College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs) Advancement Council. She was a member of the Residential Revival Indiana Board of Directors from 2017 to 2018, the Research Institute Board of Directors from 2002 to 2020, and was a long-time member of the IUP University Museum Board of Directors.
In 2007, she was honored with the IUP President’s Medal of Distinction, the highest non-degree award the university presents; it was established in 1985 to honor citizens of the state and region whose professional achievement or public service is of national significance or special significance to the university.
In 2018, she was selected for IUP’s Jane Leonard Award, presented to an individual who has contributed to the advancement of women at IUP. In 2024, she received the IUP Alumni Association’s Award for Advancement support, recognizing alumni who continually inspire others to give back their time and treasure to advance IUP.
An active leader in the Indiana community, she is a long-time member of the Alice Paul House Board of Directors, a former member of the Salvation Army Board of Directors, and received the Indiana County ATHENA leadership award in 1989.
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.