IUP Central Calendar

December 2001

In This Issue
IUP a "Gem" According to Careers and Colleges Magazine
University Leaders Meeting to Plan Next Steps
IUP Ambassadors Present Donations to IUP Annual Fund
Post Office Window Service Relocating

In Every Issue
Newsmakers
It's My Turn
Announcements & Classifieds

IUP a "Gem" According to Careers and Colleges Magazine
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has long been considered a shining star in the region’s crown.

Now it’s been recognized as a "gem."

The November issue of Careers and Colleges magazine has included IUP in the article, "Great Schools at a Great Price," praising the University as "as gem of a school."

The "Great Schools at a Great Price" includes only 15 colleges in the nation, and IUP is the only school from Pennsylvania in the listing. IUP is listed with schools like the University of Massachusetts (Amherst); Hiram College in Ohio; the University of Washington (Seattle) and the University of California (Los Angeles).

The article describes IUP "as a gem of a school just outside of Pittsburgh that offers solid academics and a cultural smorgasbord—lecture series, concerts, and speakers. Of special note are the school’s Robert Cook Honors College, geared toward honing the writing and analytical skills of advanced students."

"To be continually selected for nationally regarded guidebooks, magazines and publications, to be in the company of well-known institutions across the country—reflects a growing perception of our university as a mature, complete institution focused on educating tomorrow’s leaders," said IUP President Dr. Lawrence K. Pettit.

"The book, How to Get an Ivy League Education at a State School, began the parade of praise a decade ago," he said. "Since then, Money, Barron’s Best Buys, Time and U.S. News and World Report have all identified IUP as a place of excellence," Dr. Pettit noted.

The Careers and Colleges article follows several external recognitions of excellence, including the 2000-2001 edition of The Princeton Review’s The Best 331 Colleges; the most recent Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s "100 Best Buys in Public Colleges and Universities" and Dr. Donald Asher’s Cool Colleges for the Hyper-Intelligent, with a chapter-long review of the University’s Robert E. Cook Honors College.

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IUP Leaders Meeting to Plan Next Steps
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania administration met with faculty leaders Monday to begin planning remedies to the campus discord which led to the Nov. 28th and 29th votes of No Confidence in the University President and Provost.
IUP President Lawrence K. Pettit and Provost Mark J. Staszkiewicz met with faculty union (APSCUF) President Pat Heilman and University Senate Chair Rich Nowell to begin the dialogues on how best to engage in shared governance and communication with campus constituencies.

Items discussed included the formation of an Academic Council, comprised of deans, department chairs, representatives from APSCUF and the University Senate, and the Provost. This body would, according to the Provost, more effectively communicate to their varied constituents key items of concern.

"What we have done in the past," Staszkiewicz said, "was to convey information to senior staff, which included the deans. Some of those messages clearly were not conveyed to department chairs and or the message was altered somewhat in translation. Everyone hearing the same thing at the same time—and having the ability to ask questions about what is not clear—should prevent some of the problems that were a direct result of bad communication."

President Pettit also indicated a willingness to become more involved in discussion of issues of concern to the faculty union, particularly those items which, according to Heilman, have languished on the Meet-and-Discuss agenda for eight years or more.

"January will be a new start," Pettit said.

Heilman proposed that Pettit and she meet on items that cannot be resolved at the Meet-and-Discuss table within six months. 

"We need to be able to reach resolution on items in a reasonable amount of time," she said. "Part of the reason for faculty frustration is the feeling that items of concern to faculty are not given a high priority by the administration. If we can resolve problems within six months, that sense of frustration should be alleviated."
Also discussed were the problems involving curriculum and grievances. The four have agreed to continue meeting throughout the spring semester.

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IUP Ambassadors Present Donations to IUP Annual Fund
Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Ambassadors, a volunteer student organization under the direction of the IUP Alumni Association, recently donated funds raised in the group's tuition raffle to the University.

The Ambassadors presented a gift of $4,500 to the IUP Annual Fund and restricted the gift to the goals of the upcoming capital campaign.

To date, the Ambassadors have contributed more than $65,000 to the University.
The Ambassadors have a long-standing tradition of excellence, with 10 awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education for outstanding advisor, program and organization, both regionally and internationally.

IUP’s Ambassadors serve as a liaison between prospective students, current students, administrators, faculty members, alumni and friends of the university.

"The IUP Ambassadors are a wonderful group and demonstrate all the right values of a student-alumni group for our University," said Dr. Joan M. Fisher, vice president for Institutional Advancement.

"They know that their service, fundraising and charitable contributions make IUP better for other student and faculty. They consistently make an extraordinary contribution to IUP and show others what can be done. We hope their undergraduate generosity also will be what they display as alumni," Dr. Fisher added.

"The IUP Alumni Association is proud to work with such a fine group of students," said Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs Mary Moore.

"The IUP Ambassadors, as a group, works very hard to support the programs of the Alumni Association and the goals of the university. The group’s dedication and commitment to the University is what really sets this group apart," she continued. "The Ambassadors are examples of some of IUP’s best and brightest."

Group members are active participants in the Oak Leaf Festival-Homecoming activities, Alumni Reunion Weekend and host many other activities on campus.
Members of the Association are very active in admissions recruitment efforts, calling more than 7,000 accepted students to IUP since 1994 and assisting with orientation events throughout the year.

A total of 38 students comprise the IUP Ambassadors.

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Post Office Window Service Relocating
In an effort to make post office services more convenient and available to the University community, post office window service will be re-located to the basement of Sutton Hall (South Entrance) for the spring semester.

The window in Sutton will offer express, registered, certified, insured, priority and international mail services and will sell stamps and mail packages through campus mail, metered mail and United States mail. 

The mail services in the basement of Folger Hall will continue to operate and provide mail processing for campus and metered mail. All mailboxes currently located in the Folger facility will be relocated to the Sutton Hall post office window area.

"The renovation of Sutton Hall has provided the opportunity to offer the additional post office services in a more central location for more campus users," said Doug Miller. 

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