Lara Luetkehans
Indiana University of Pennsylvania Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Lara Luetkehans was an invited presenter for the PA Chamber of Business and Industry’s Healthcare Summit held May 20 in Harrisburg.
Luetkehans was a panelist for “Building the Healthcare Workforce of Tomorrow: Challenges, Innovation, and Partnerships.”
The Summit featured business and healthcare leaders from throughout the Commonwealth and nation, including senior director of Health Policy for the US Chamber of Commerce Erin Delaney, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Valerie Arkoosh, and State Representative Arvind Venkat.
“It was an honor to be invited to be part of this year’s Summit and to be part of the important discussion about healthcare for our state and our nation, including the challenges facing rural healthcare and the critical connection between education and industry in developing the workforce needed to serve rural and underserved areas of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Provost Luetkehans said.
In May, IUP announced IUP’s College of Osteopathic Medicine has earned “pre-accreditation status” from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. Pre-accreditation status means that IUP can begin recruiting and admitting students to its College of Osteopathic Medicine and begin medical instruction within the approved osteopathic medical curriculum.
IUP anticipates its first class of students entering the program in fall 2027. 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, so the first class enrolled in IUP’s college of osteopathic medicine would graduate in 2031.
IUP’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is part of IUP’s Division of Academic Affairs, which is led by Provost Luetkehans.
Provost Luetkehans has been in her role as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at IUP since 2022, previously serving as dean of IUP’s College of Education and Educational Technology (now the College of Education and Human Services.
In 2025, Provost Luetkehans was recognized by the Educational Policy Leadership Center as a 2025 Educational Policy Leadership Program Alumni Award recipient, an award presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in education policy and who have completed an EPLC leadership 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 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.