IUP Points of Pride

President Michael Driscoll shares highlights in academics, athletics, scholarships and grant awards, community service, and other areas at each Council of Trustees meeting.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for September 2023

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for May 2023

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for March 2023

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for December 2022

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for September 2022

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for May 2022

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for March 2022

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for December 2021

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for September 2021

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for May 2021

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for March 2021

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for December 2020

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for September 2020

IUP Points of Pride for May 2020

IUP Points of Pride for March 2020

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride for October, November, and December 2019.

A full house attended a program about the dangers of hazing by Jim and Evelyn Piazza, parents of the late Timothy Piazza, in the Performing Arts Center’s Fisher Auditorium.

For the second consecutive year—and the third time in program history—the IUP women’s basketball team is the champions of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region. 

Highlights December Commencement, Cyber Security Day, Family Weekend, Imagine Unlimited campaign, a pop-up pantry, endowed scholarships, the unveiling of “Answering the Call,” a monument honoring veterans of Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Students gain hands-on experience at various research, exhibition, and conference events. International business major Jedediah Pancoast has been selected for a Gilman Scholarship. Ben Ford (anthropology) participated in a workshop to scope a new National Science Foundation initiative to study the impacts of coastal environmental variability and natural hazards on populated coastal regions.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride Faculty Standouts Resa Crane Bizzaro (English) has been elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Conference on College Composition and Communication. 

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride Enhancing Our Value to Our Partners Members of the Family and Consumer Sciences Student Association and additional volunteers were able to sew and donate 40 surgical caps to the Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Washington. 

During its annual Celebration of Philanthropy, campaign cochair William Madia ’69, M’71, announced the Imagine Unlimited campaign, originally expected to reach $40 million, has reached $53 million and the goal has been extended to $75 million. 

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Points of Pride Dillon Hagy, a US Army veteran and Entrepreneurship major, was selected to serve on a panel for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education Infinite Opportunities television show on PCN. 

William and Judy Scheeren, alumni and members of the College of Education and Communications Advancement Council, have committed $1.4 million to support several initiatives in the college including the Literacy Center.

Gina Vaira (master’s program, biology) won second place at the 40th annual meeting of the American Society of Primatologists. Her thesis research was conducted with the support of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium and the Erie Zoo. 

IUP hosts more than 800 international students from 56 countries, seven percent of overall student population. 

 IUP welcomed freshmen and new students to campus with a unique “Welcome to IUP” event during Welcome Weekend. Members of the IUP and Indiana community filled Fisher Auditorium for the annual Opening of the Academic Year event. 

The fourth annual Research Experience for Summer Scholars program included 43 students from a variety of majors, the largest cohort to date. Two Cook Honors College students were selected for a two-week trip to Belize sponsored by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. ... Hundreds of professionals and students attended IUP’s Mid-Atlantic Research and Training Institute for Community Behavioral Health (MARTI-CBH) summer institute.

A total of 2,426 students applied for May and August graduation and are eligible to participate in the May ceremonies. This includes 1,831 bachelor’s degrees, 98 master’s degrees, 94 doctoral degrees and three associate degrees. 

Anthropology majors Regan Gearhart, Nancy Lopez Sosa and Danielle Yushinski presented their original research at the 77th annual Meeting for Applied Anthropologists, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. ... Five students from the Department of Biology and two from the Biochemistry program earned presentation awards at the 48th annual meeting of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists. ... Anthropology Department faculty and students participated in the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Rachael DeSoto Jackson (theater and dance) moderated a breakout session on diversity, equity, and inclusion within education at Equitable Casting: Town Hall for Pittsburgh’s Theatre Community. ... Michael Hood, dean of the College of Fine Arts, was elected president of the National Theatre Conference for a two-year term. ... Elizabeth Shotwell, of Mifflinville, a student in IUP’s Curriculum and Instruction doctoral program, has been selected for the inaugural class of William Penn Fellows. ... Student writers from the Penn student newspaper won two first-place prizes in the 2017 Keystone Press Awards, sponsored by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

More than 100 members of the IUP community volunteered to serve on subcommittees of the President's Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. ... A Preferred First Name policy, developed by the
Transgender Working Group, was signed into policy in March. ... Nathan Spade has been appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and confirmed as a member of IUP’s Council of Trustees. ... The State System Board of Governors approved a new Master of Science in Athletic Training degree. ... Students Allie Berry, Cate Bressers, and Aaron Seidel presented at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting. This meeting is the largest international conference in the geological sciences, with more than 20,000 attendees.

The IUP Ambassadors recently honored six alumni for their early career success. ... For the seventh consecutive year, Washington Monthly selected IUP for its national ranking of schools based on contributions to society. ... HP Enterprise Security named IUP to its list of “Best Schools for Cybersecurity,” ranking IUP in the top 25 percent of all schools offering cybersecurity programs. ... Graduates of IUP’s bachelor’s degree program in nursing have a first-time passing rate for the nursing licensure examination that surpasses the state and national averages.

Six alumni from the past 15 years returned to IUP to accept the Young Alumni Achievement Award. In addition to a reception with students, each awardee visited classrooms to share with students insights on their careers. ... Close to 600 alumni and friends of the IUP Marching Band returned to campus in November to celebrate 95 years of the IUP Marching Band. ... IUP’s Humanities and Social Sciences Building has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. ... A Hilton Garden Inn, adjacent to the university’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, is open for business.

More than 2,500 students, faculty and staff attended the 2016 Convocation, held for the first time at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. ... IUP begins the fall semester with a Center for Multicultural Student Leadership and Engagement. ... IUP’s Labyrinth Center, offering students with Autism Spectrum Diagnosis (ASD) coursework and coaching to help them realize their potential, including employment after graduation, has implemented a peer-mentoring program this fall. ... In July, IUP received reaffirmation of accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Details about the May commencement ceremonies. ... Kara McClain became IUP's seventh Goldwater Scholarship winner. ... The Diversity and Inclusion Symposium was held in April, led by the keynote address from Peggy McIntosh. ... The University Family Drive exceeded its goal for the third consecutive year. ... Chief Information Officer Bill Balint was named the CIO of the Year by the Pittsburgh Technology Council. ... The first doctoral candidate in safety sciences successfully defended his dissertation. ... Ground was broken on the final phase of Dining Innovations.

In January, IUP formally cut the ribbon on its $30 million academic building housing seven departments in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. ... The IUP Diversity and Inclusion Summit will be held April 26 at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. ... Ten students attended the 15th annual Appalachian Teaching Project Symposium in Washington, DC in December. ... IUP’s Planning Student Organization, the Department of Geography and Regional Planning, and the Indiana community won the American Planning Association national Award and IUP’s student group is one of four winners of the 2016 Outstanding PSO Award.

Details about the Military Resource Center, which opened in January 2014. ... Information about support given by IUP to veterans and military-affiliated families. ... Biography information about the three inductees of the Excellence Division of the IUP ROTC Hall of Fame. ... Accolades earned by IUP students with military backgrounds.

Michele Papakie, chair of the Department of Journalism and Public Relations and a lieutenant colonel in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, was recognized with the Octavius V. Catto Award for outstanding public service. ... The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars selected Diane Stipcak, of IUP’s Career and Professional Development Center, as Liaison of the Year. ... Amanda Wright, a senior majoring in culinary dietetics, is the first recipient of the Jones White Student Writing Award, cosponsored by the Writing Across the Curriculum program and the Kathleen Jones White Writing Center.

Geoscience professor Jonathan Warnock spent the summer unearthing and imaging dinosaur bones from Utah’s Jurassic “Death Pit,” where a puzzling deposit of dinosaur fossils has been found. ... IUP is one of nine schools of nursing chosen to participate in a national research study about cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. ... Archaeology students, led by Anthropology Department professor William Chadwick, used ground penetrating radar to survey a road-construction site in Schuylkill County where human bones were unearthed.

IUP and IUP Hospitality, LLC, broke ground for construction of a Hilton Garden Inn adjacent to IUP’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. The university community worked together to develop a strategic plan. ... The Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology program achieved a 100 percent national match for clinical internships. ... IUP and Westmoreland County Community College signed a reverse transfer agreement.  

For the second time in school history, the men’s basketball team made it to the national championship game. ... A team of IUP students that designed a web-based application won the $10,000 first-place prize in the Student Business Plan competition sponsored by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. ... The Student Managed Investment Portfolio team won a first-place award at one of the largest student investment conferences in the world. 

IUP’s MA in Criminology online program is ranked among the top 10 online graduate criminal justice programs. ... The draft plan for the Indiana Community University District was unveiled in February. ... The tuition flexibility pilot program will go into effect in Fall 2015. ... Two new programs will provide financial support to qualified undergraduate students who live in Pennsylvania. 

The number of new students in fall 2014 is up more than 80 from last fall and includes a record 300 new international students. ... New academic initiatives include the Research Experience for Summer Scholars and a customized learning experience for developmental math. ... The new Crimson Cafe opened in August. 

Two members of the Class of 1973 have donated a $1.25-million gift toward the new sciences and mathematics building. ... Caleb Finegan has been selected to serve as director of the Robert E. Cook Honors College. ... More than 30 community organizations met with hundreds of students during the semiannual Community Involvement Fair.

More than 400 members of the IUP community participated in the university’s daylong Strategic Visioning Summit. ... Ground has been broken for a new College of Humanities and Social Sciences building. ... Two national publications recently recognized IUP for its support of veterans. 

A doctoral student has announced her bid for the office of lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. ... Student-athletes raised $6,591 during the 2012-13 academic year for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. ... Communications Media and Journalism students organized the second annual PASSHE Collegiate Media Summit at IUP. 

IUP has received a major grant to fund the digitization of 11,000 mine maps for the Department of Environmental Protection. ... A biology faculty member has found evidence that mammals originated at least 215 million years ago, much earlier than previous evidence has indicated. ... Ground has been broken for the new Crimson Café.

A doctoral nursing student is one of only five in the country selected as a National League of Nursing Jonas Scholar. ... For the third consecutive year, an IUP economics major won the Best Paper award at the 2013 Pennsylvania Economic Association Conference. ...IUP students contribute to the success of the IUP Strategic Visioning Project.

A student majoring in Geoscience and Computer Science won the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. ... A biology faculty member and student discovered a new species of snake in Honduras. ... Students raised more than $20,000 for the American Cancer Society. 

Two theater majors won elite fellowships to attend the national Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. ... The Crimson Hawks men's basketball team reached the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 in an outstanding season. 

More than 170 academically promising high school students came to IUP in February for the second round of interviews for the new Sutton Scholarship. ... IUP becomes only the second school to win both the football and men’s basketball PSAC titles in the same academic year. ... IUP has a new leader for the Academic Affairs Division, Provost Timothy Moerland. 

IUP hosted a Fatality Prevention Forum that featured safety professionals from across the nation and Captain Chesley Sullenberger, known for his successful landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. ... The Crimson Hawks went to the NCAA playoffs in football, women's cross country, and field hockey, and they won their sixth PSAC title in golf. 

The teacher education program is the first in Pennsylvania to earn "continuous improvement" accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. ... The Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex experienced a successful first year of operation.