Two graduates of Indiana University of Pennsylvania have gifted $325,000 to IUP to support IUP’s Crimson Scholars Circle ($270,000) and the IUP Food Pantry and Help Center ($55,000).
The donation is part of IUP’s Impact 150 $150-million comprehensive fundraising campaign, the largest campaign in the history of the university. The campaign’s public launch took place in August 2025; the campaign is named in honor of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration.
Impact 150 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. 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 $48 million.
At the time of the public campaign launch, a total of $81,236,852—54 percent of the campaign goal—had been gifted to IUP from 11,673 donors. As of December 2025, the campaign total is at more than $102.4 million, or 68 percent of the goal, which includes more than 55,000 gifts made by 12,867 donors.
“The entire IUP family is incredibly generous, caring, and focused on supporting the university and meeting the needs of our students,” IUP Vice President for University Advancement Jennifer DeAngelo said. “We have seen enthusiastic support for the goals of the Impact 150 campaign and a true commitment from our donors to making gifts at all levels that help our students, and we are very grateful,” she said.
The Crimson Scholars is a specialized cohort program aimed at providing students with comprehensive financial, social, and academic support to thrive at IUP. The program is tailored to help students excel, forge connections, access resources, and develop effective academic strategies. Selected students are granted a renewable $1,000 scholarship, with the possibility of increasing the award based on their academic performance at IUP. Additionally, each student is paired with a trained undergraduate mentor for the duration of their freshman year.
A total of 269 students have been part of the Crimson Scholars Circle since it began in 2021.
In response to student needs, IUP opened the Food Pantry in 2019; it was expanded in 2021 to become the Food Pantry and Help Center, offering toiletries and school supplies in addition to food items for students.
More than 11,520 students have received support from the Food Pantry and Help Center over the past six years. The program is coordinated by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Office of Student Inclusion.
Many individual students, employees, alumni, and friends, along with student clubs and organizations and IUP departments and offices, have made monetary donations and donations of food, toiletries, and supplies to support the Food Pantry and Help Center during the past six years; with this anonymous donation, more than $276,000 has been donated to support the Center.
“The Food Pantry and Help Center and the Crimson Scholars Circle continue to make a real difference in the lives of our students,” IUP Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Segar said. “Both programs are important support systems for new and continuing students, and initiatives that strengthen the bonds of our university community,” Segar said. “This gift will help us to maintain and to grow the Food Pantry and Help Center outreach and continue to provide the critically important financial support for the participating students and mentors in the Crimson Scholars Circle,” he said.
Segar developed and launched the Crimson Scholars Circle at IUP in 2021. In addition to weekly peer mentor meetings, the program includes an early immersion week, interactive meetings throughout the year, and opportunities for additional scholarships based on academic success. Students must complete an interview process to be selected for the program.
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 during the 2025–26 academic year, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.