Patrick R. Wallace
Patrick R. Wallace, a 1985 management graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, has continued his generosity to students at IUP and to the Eberly College of Business with a $25,000 gift to support the Eberly College of Business Dean’s Innovation Fund.
Wallace, of Ligonier, is president and lead financial advisor of Covington Investment Advisors, headquartered in Ligonier. He founded Covington Investment Advisors, Inc. in 2003 to provide comprehensive wealth management services as an independent registered investment advisor.
“This gift is intended to enable the dean of the Eberly College to be as flexible and as responsive as possible to meet the needs of students as needs arise,” Wallace said.
“In addition, this gift recognizes the long-overdue appointment of Prashanth Bharadwaj as the dean of the Eberly College of Business,” he said. “Not since Dean (Robert) Camp has there been such a dedicated leader of the Eberly College of Business. Dean Bharadwaj has been committed to the betterment of the Eberly College of Business for more than 30 years, and his stewardship has been instrumental in maintaining our accreditation and the success of our students and faculty,” Wallace said.
In addition to his financial support, Wallace is a member of the Eberly College of Business Advancement Council and is a former member of the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors. He was selected for the Eberly College of Business Hall of Distinction in 2012 in recognition of his career achievements and support for IUP and the Eberly College of Business.
His donation is part of IUP’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, Impact 150. The Impact 150 campaign has a goal of $150 million; it is the largest campaign in the history of the university. The campaign is named in honor of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration, celebrated during the 2025–26 academic year.
From left, IUP Eberly College of Business Dean Prashanth Bharadwaj and Patrick Wallace
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.
As of March 31, IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive fundraising campaign stands at more than $114.5 million, or 76.34 percent of goal, with 50,150 gifts from 13,138 donors. This total includes more than $54 million for IUP’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, part of IUP’s commitment to address the rural healthcare crisis. At the time of the public campaign launch of IUP 150 in August 2025, a total of $81,236,852—54 percent of the campaign goal—had been gifted to IUP from 11,673 donors.
“We are incredibly grateful to Mr. Wallace for his longtime support of IUP and the Eberly College of Business, both his financial generosity and the gift of his time and expertise as a member of important leadership groups,” IUP Vice President for University Advancement Jennifer DeAngelo said. “His confidence in Dean Bharadwaj is well deserved, and this gift will directly impact student success, allowing the dean to provide immediate help to students,” she said.
“I am extremely grateful to Pat Wallace for his enduring support of the Eberly College of Business,” Dean Bharadwaj said. “In addition to his financial gift, he has hired many of IUP’s graduates and continues to serve as a key member of the Eberly College’s Advancement Council. He truly represents an alumnus who has given their time, talent, and treasure to his alma mater. We are also very proud of Patrick’s professional success and his commitment to community service in western Pennsylvania.”
Wallace’s career began in 1986 in a trust banking environment as a trust management trainee; he worked his way up to vice president and senior portfolio manager. In addition to his IUP degree, he is a 1989 graduate of the PBA Central Atlantic School of Trust at Bucknell University, a 1990 graduate of the ABA National Trust School at Northwestern University, and a 1992 graduate of the ABA National Graduate Trust School at Northwestern University. In addition to his responsibilities as president of Covington, Wallace serves on a number of private foundation boards of directors.
He founded Covington to provide personalized and comprehensive wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals and their families. Covington has a well-developed, underlying investment and financial planning philosophy that has been formed throughout Wallace’s extensive wealth management experience and continuing education. His philosophy is to invest for the long term in proven enterprises of high-quality securities with an emphasis on income generation while mitigating income and transfer taxation. As such, he coordinates the many financial and generational estate planning matters of his clients with other professional advisors. Wallace and his team are truly trusted advisors to the families they serve.
The Wallace family has instilled in him a strong sense of commitment to his community and a concern for his fellow humans. As an eighth-generation western Pennsylvanian, he is descended from sturdy pioneers who settled in the beautiful Ligonier Valley in the 1790s. He was given a good example of faith, hard work, entrepreneurship, community service, love of liberty, and patriotic devotion. In addition to his service to IUP, he has served many worthy organizations, including the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, Boy Scouts of America, the Loyalhanna Watershed Association of Ligonier, Fort Ligonier, Ligonier Valley YMCA, Ligonier Valley Railroad Association, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation’s Landmark Financial Corporation, Pike Run Country Club, Rolling Rock Hunt, and as a member of the Trust & Estates Magazine Mini Editorial Board.
In 2019, Wallace founded the Laurel Highlands Workforce and Opportunity Center to remove barriers for individuals who are under- or unemployed or who may be transitioning back into the workforce. In 2023, he helped to found the Strickland Global Leadership Institute with his longtime friend Bill Strickland to institutionalize Strickland’s vision for how to alleviate human suffering around the world through art and workforce development centers.
Wallace and his wife, Kim Dickert-Wallace, are the parents of three daughters: Natalie, Ruby, and Clara. He is an accomplished horseman, golfer, marksman, and skier.
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. IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive campaign is designed to honor a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, public service, and leadership in healthcare education, including the first college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in the commonwealth.