2019-20 Donor Report

2019-20

CONTINUING A LEGACY OF GIVING

Report to Donors

YOUR GIFTS MEAN SO MUCH

I’m sure all of us at some point have questioned whether some of our philanthropic gifts actually make an impact. It’s an easy road to travel down. I’ve done it myself.

But in these pages, you’ll get a clear picture of how we do things here at IUP—even nowadays in the middle of a pandemic. We’ve taken the gifts you have given as members of the IUP family and worked hard to make sure they are used to help many people in many ways.

Take a look, and you’ll see how members of the IUP family have stepped up to help students with immediate financial needs, how they’ve paid back veterans by helping them get an education, how they have passed on their love of learning, and how they have accelerated our ongoing efforts to eradicate racism on campus through our diversity, inclusion, and equity work.

Your gifts in the past year have helped ensure that IUP continues on its mission to change the world, one graduate at a time, even in these trying times that have rearranged our lives in countless ways.

You’ll see that your investments in IUP have made a very real impact. Your time, dedication, and love for IUP have made an indelible mark on the university, its people, and its legacy.

On behalf of IUP, thank you.

Sincerely,

Michael Driscoll President

EQUITY AND INCLUSION: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

During his career in the energy industry, Tim Cejka ’73 saw firsthand the benefits of diversity in the workplace.

“Diversity of viewpoints, of backgrounds, of gender, of race, of nationality, and of educational backgrounds helps us to get better solutions,” he said.

So when he and his wife, Debra Phillips Cejka ’73, made a $350,000 gift to their alma mater, they knew what they wanted IUP to do with it. This contribution to the Imagine Unlimited campaign will be used to fund IUP’s ongoing work of promoting diversity, inclusion, and equity on campus and beyond through programming, research and training, and scholarships, plus many other endeavors.

“The impact of this gift will have a positive effect on our entire community, especially the well-being of our students,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said.

Tim Cejka took his IUP degree and used it to build a career that culminated with his holding the positions of president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company and vice president of ExxonMobil.

“IUP has as its mission to help students become productive national and world citizens who exceed expectations personally and professionally,” he said. “Racism, bigotry, and other forms of discrimination directly affect the IUP community and the success of IUP’s mission.”

LOVE FOUND, LOVE PASSED ON

They fell in love at IUP, and Jim and Stephanie Brewer Jozefowicz are quite aware of how lucky they are.

Faculty members in the IUP Department of Economics, Jim and Stephanie met during their first semester on campus, the fall of 1999. Jim came from New York, and Stephanie came from Texas. Soon after meeting, they were inseparable. They got married, settled in Indiana, and now call it home.

That experience compelled the Jozefowiczes to give back to IUP. They established an endowed scholarship in their names to aid economics students for years to come and an immediate-use fund in Stephanie’s name.

“We are deeply blessed by IUP and by the community,” Stephanie said, “and now it is a wonderful aspect of our lives that we are able to be involved this way.”

Jesalyn Fada and Kaitlin Albright, who both graduated in spring 2020, are two recent recipients of awards from the immediate-use fund and of other scholarship funding.

“I’m really proud of myself,” Kaitlin said. “I proved to myself that I have the ability to achieve great things.”

“This has relieved a lot of stress and made things easier,” Jesalyn said. “It will help me strive to find the career I want.”

IUP has given us so much that we never could have imagined. IUP gave us each other.

—Stephanie Jozefowicz

RALLYING IN A TIME OF NEED

Being part of the IUP family means lending a hand to one another in times of need.

So when the global coronavirus pandemic came to this region in mid-March, IUP began soliciting donations to its Student Assistance Fund to help overcome some of the economic challenges students were facing. From the start, members of the IUP family began pitching in.

Among them were Jim Leda ’95 and Leslie Vanderhoof Leda ’98 as well as Regina Dressel Stover ’75 and Dennis Stover ’76, who made gifts to lend a helping hand.

“Navigating school alone is difficult,” Leslie said, “so when we learned about the IUP Student Assistance Fund, we knew we had to help.”

The Ledas, the Stovers, and many other alumni encouraged other members of the IUP family to donate to the fund. Its total began increasing and didn’t slow down.

“The economic impact of the pandemic is dire for so many,” Regina said. “I hope that our gift helps those students facing major financial stress.”

IUP was a laboratory where you could experience, learn, grow, and move on. I put myself in the way of opportunity, and I let it run over me. ”

—Jim Leda ’95

Education back home is so different. It took me some time to realize that everyone at IUP is here to take care of us, answer our questions, and offer help when needed.

Among those who requested—and were granted—emergency funding was Racheal Nuwagaba-K, a graduate student from Uganda.

She was in the middle of her practicum when the pandemic hit, and Racheal didn’t know if she could afford to stay in Indiana and continue her studies. But thanks to a gift from the SAF, she was able to keep working toward her doctoral degree in counseling education.

“I am so grateful for the people who think of others and make the decision to give,” she said. “It’s amazing. Because of them, I was able to stay in school.”

—Racheal Nuwagaba-K

I hope that our gift helps those students facing major financial stress. ”

—Regina Dressel Stover ’75

TAKING CARE OF THOSE WHO PROTECT US

When he started at IUP in 1969, Stephen Abel ’73 would not have predicted the role IUP and the military would have on his life.

He initially planned to become a teacher, but during his first year he changed his major to social science with a minor in history. And because all male students had to join the ROTC program if they were physically fit, Stephen soon found himself immersed in a way of life that he continued with for decades to come.

After a decorated military career, Stephen began thinking about the help he received at IUP and wanted to make sure other veterans had the same opportunities. He has made gifts over the years to the IUP Veterans Assistance Fund and has supported its Military and Veterans Resource Center.

“I’ve always wanted to help veterans,” he said. “I want to make sure they have what they need to stay in school.”

One of the students who has benefited from Stephen’s generosity is Vernon Leadbeater, who not long ago was facing the possibility of homelessness after his military career ended. He had spent one year at IUP in 2010, had left to join the military, and was now unsure of where his path might go.

He ended up coming back to IUP, and help from the Veterans Assistance Fund has made things a bit easier as he pursues a degree in geography and regional planning.

“I get veterans benefits, but they don’t cover everything,” Vernon said. “I was short for a meal plan, and if I didn’t receive this funding, I wouldn’t have been able to continue at IUP. This has helped a lot.”

My love affair with IUP started in 1969 and has only gotten stronger over time.

—Stephen Abel ’73

MAKING IT EASIER TO STAY AFLOAT

When Bill Madia ’69, M’71 and Audrey DeLaquil Madia ’70 were students at IUP, they understood firsthand what it meant to struggle just to keep up.

Bill was a first-generation college student and didn’t get much financial support from his family, so he had to work multiple part-time jobs to pay for school. Fifty years later, the Madias are making sure some IUP students don’t have to struggle the way they did.

“What we want to accomplish,” Audrey said, “is being able to help that same kind of student— like we were—today.”

The Madias have given gifts to IUP that have done just that, allowing students a little breathing room. Isaac Dewar, who grew up in a single-parent household near Pittsburgh, is one of them.

During his first year at IUP, Isaac worked a 40-hour-a-week job to be able to go to school and work toward his dual degree in physics and applied mathematics. But thanks to a scholarship he earned, he now has the time to apply his education and build his résumé.

He serves as a tutor on campus and is planning to attend graduate school and seek a master’s degree in experimental nuclear physics.

“This [scholarship] has made it much easier,” Isaac said. “It covers the necessities, so I can take care of myself.”

We found out later in life that the relationships we made at IUP 50 years ago are still going strong. It was a great overall experience.

—Audrey DeLaquil Madia ’70

WHO GIVES TO IUP?

$101 2,633 $2.6M

Average Annual Fund gift amount

Loyalty Society donors

7,104 $5.3M

Leadership Society donors

All donors

*This total reflects gifts received during the *$5,177,158 2019-20 fiscal year. Commitments of planned gifts and pledges that extend beyond the fiscal year are not included in the total.

HOW YOUR GIFTS SUPPORT IUP

During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, private gifts and grants to the Foundation for IUP have supported the university as follows:

Total programmatic support

Total in scholarships awarded in 2019-20 academic year

2,326

634 3,144

Students who received scholarships in 2019-20 academic year

Awards presented in 2019-20 academic year

Division of University Advancement

Sutton Hall, Suite 415

1011 South Drive

Indiana, PA 15705-1046

4005821311

The Imagine Unlimited Campaign will set IUP on a course that ensures students are academically successful and fully engaged in a university community that reflects the diverse world in which we live and work. Students will become purposeful and insightful leaders of their workplaces and their communities and will be able to conquer challenges and create a better life for everyone.

IUP.edu/imagine-unlimited

To see a full list of donors at the Leadership Society level for the period of July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, please visit IUP.edu/SupportIUP/giving20.

The pandemic has forced us into uncharted territories. The final four months of the fiscal year have seen a near-empty campus, remote learning, and new safety protocols. But we have not lost our spirit. Our students, faculty, and staff remain resilient. #IUPproud