Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Breezedale Hall

IUP was conceived as Indiana Normal School, first chartered in 1871 by Indiana County investors. The school was created under the Normal School Act, which passed the Pennsylvania General Assembly on May 20, 1875.[5] Normal schools established under the act were to be private corporations in no way dependent upon the state treasury. They were to be "state" normal schools only in the sense of being officially recognized by the commonwealth.[6]

The school opened its doors in 1875 following the mold of the French École Normale. It enrolled just 225 students. All normal school events were held within a single building which also contained a laboratory school for model teaching. Control and ownership of the institution passed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1920. In 1927, by authority of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, it became State Teachers College at Indiana, with the right to grant degrees. As its mission expanded, the name was changed again in 1959 to Indiana State College. In 1965, the institution achieved university status and became Indiana University of Pennsylvania, or IUP.[7]

IUP total enrollment peaked in the Fall of 2012 at 15,379 and declined steadily since, reporting a total enrollment of 12,316 for the Fall of 2017. This decline in enrollment caused financial difficulties for the university which struggled to cover costs for its 2010 dormitory expansion.[10] More recent enrollment statistics shows a total of 10,636 students.[11]

Sutton Hall

IUP offers over 140 undergraduate degree programs and 70 graduate degree programs under the direction of eight colleges and schools:

• Eberly College of Business and Information Technology
• College of Education and Communications
• College of Fine Arts
• College of Health and Human Services
• School of Graduate Studies and Research
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
• School of Continuing Education

Robert E. Cook Honors College was founded to offer a seminar style, discourse-based liberal studies curriculum.[12]

Postcard depicting John Sutton Hall at Indiana Normal School

IUP's 374-acre (1.51 km²) main campus is a mix of 62 old and new red brick structures. Its original building, a Victorian structure named John Sutton Hall once housed the entire school. Today Sutton Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[16] It stands at the heart of campus—there was a fight to preserve it in 1974 when the administration scheduled it for demolition.[17] Ironically, today it houses many administrative offices and reception areas. Breezedale Alumni Center is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Victorian mansion was once home to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice.[18]

The Oak Grove looking towards Stapleton Library during summer.

The campus boasts a planetarium, University Museum, black box theater, Hadley Union Building (HUB), extensive music library, and a newly remodeled Cogswell Hall for the university's music community. Stapleton Library boasts 900,000-plus bound volumes and over 2 million microform units.[19] At the heart of campus is the Oak Grove. Many alumni recall this spot because of its centrality and the many events that occur there. In January 2000 former President Lawrence K. Pettit established a board to create the Allegheny Arboretum at IUP. This group works to furnish the Oak Grove with flora native to the region.[20] The university also operates an Academy of Culinary Arts in Punxsutawney and a police academy at its main campus.

The university's Student Cooperative Association also owns College Lodge several miles from campus. It provides skiing, biking, hiking, and disc golfing opportunities. Boat access is also made available through the Cooperative Association.

Over the last five years, IUP has demolished most of the 1970 era dormitories on campus. Demolition began during summer 2006 and facilities are being replaced with modern suites. Construction is ongoing with seven new dormitories completed for Fall 2009. Two more suite-style buildings were completed by Fall 2010. That semester, the ribbon cutting ceremony at Stephenson Hall was considered to have finished the four-year-long "residence hall revival".[21] These suite-style rooms are similar to those being built at other universities in PASSHE.[22]

IUP's athletic department sponsors 19 varsity sports, including 8 for men and 11 for women. There are also club sports teams such as ice hockey and rugby.[24] The Crimson Hawks, formerly known as the Indians, compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) of NCAA Division II.

IUP annually produces teams and individuals that compete for championships on the conference, regional and national levels. The 2004–05 school year saw 12 sports either send their teams or individuals to NCAA postseason competition.

The IUP football team has been to the NCAA Division II national title game twice (1990 and 1993).[25] In both cases, IUP came up short, finishing the season as runner-up. While Division II teams rarely appear on television, IUP has appeared on regional telecasts in 1968 at the Boardwalk Bowl and 2006 against California University of PA. The team has also been on national TV while playing in those Division II national title games from 1990 and 1993. On November 2, 2006, a game against Slippery Rock was nationally televised on the TV channel, CSTV. Additionally, on September 15, 2011, a game against Bloomsburg was nationally televised on the TV channel CBS Sports Network as the NCAA Division II game of the week.[26]

The IUP men's basketball team likewise lost the NCAA Division II national title game twice in 2010 and 2015.[27]

The IUP rugby team finished 3rd in the Division I national championship in 2000, finishing behind California and Wyoming and ahead of fourth-place Army.

The IUP Men's Ice Hockey (ACHA Division 1) team won the CHMA season championship in 2018-2019, the CHMA playoff in 2019-2020 awarded a bid to the ACHA National Tournament as the 19th seed,[28] but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

McElhaney Hall

Northern Suites

The IUP Mens Lacrosse Team were the 2018 and 2019 Three Rivers Conference Champions and are currently ranked number 13 in the nation in division two by the NCLL for the 2020 season.

• WIUP-FM
• The Penn Newspaper
• IUP-TV

• Jane E. Leonard; first women's dean at IUP, activist for the women's vote[29]
• Gawdat Bahgat; political scientist, author, professor
• Duncan Black ("Atrios"); blogger
• Nellie Bly (1879); journalist[30]
• Tim Burns (1990); businessman, politician[31]
• Mark Critz (1987); United States House of Representatives (2010–2012)[31]
• Dana D. Nelson (1984); literature professor, author, advocate for citizenship and democracy
• John Stuchell Fisher (1886); Governor of Pennsylvania (1927–1931)
• Chad Hurley (1999); Co-founder and CEO, YouTube[32]
• Summers Melville Jack; United States House of Representatives (1899–1903)
• Matthew Knisely; photojournalist
• John Murtha; United States House of Representatives (1974–2010)
• Farah Quinn; Indonesian celebrity chef[33]
• Patricia Robertson (1985); NASA Astronaut[34]
• Art Rooney (1920); founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers[35]
• Jimmy Stewart (Keith Laboratory School); actor
• Jack Wagner (1974); Pittsburgh City Council (1984–1994), Pennsylvania Senate (1994–2005), Pennsylvania Auditor General (2005–2013)[36]
• Jim Haslett (1979); National Football League player (Buffalo Bills) and coach (New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams); member of the College Football Hall of Fame

• Juliette, Ron and Dale E. Landon. Our Homage and Our Love, 1991.
• Merriman, John Edward. The Indiana Story 1875–1975: Pennsylvania's First State University... 1976.
• Stewart, Grace. A History of the Indiana State Normal School.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

• Official website
• IUP athletics website