The Foundation for Indiana University of Pennsylvania has committed $20 million to support IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
“IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine will be transformational—for IUP, for the community, for the region, and especially for the commonwealth’s rural health care needs,” Foundation for IUP Board of Directors President Regina Stover said.
From left: Foundation for IUP Board of Directors member Richard M. Ubinger; Foundation for IUP Board of Directors member David Bluemling; Foundation for IUP Executive Director Betsy Lauber; IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine founding dean Miko Rose; Foundation for IUP Board of Directors President Regina Stover; IUP President Michael Driscoll; Foundation for IUP Board of Directors member Richard Caruso; Foundation for IUP Board of Directors member and president-elect James Leda; Foundation for IUP Board of Directors member Andrew Longacre; Foundation for IUP Board of Directors member Frank Condino.
“The Foundation Board is enthusiastic and unanimous in its support for this important initiative, and we are proud to make this commitment for this project. Our goal as a Foundation is very clear: to help the university to achieve its goals by maximizing private support and sharing the board members’ time, talent, and treasures, and we firmly believe that this project will move the university forward and solidify IUP’s position as one of the leading institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania,” she said. Stover, from Pittsburgh, is a 1975 graduate of IUP and a 1999 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient who retired from a career at BNY Mellon.
These funds come from unrestricted dollars that have grown over time due to operating income, portfolio earnings, and revenue from on-campus housing owned by the Foundation for IUP.
“The Foundation for IUP has been a champion for the proposed college of osteopathic medicine from the very beginning, providing sound advice and good suggestions for advancing the project,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said. “The Board of Directors continues to do an extraordinary job in managing and growing its portfolio, and we are very grateful for the Foundation’s financial acumen and its commitment to IUP. The financial support from the Foundation for IUP makes a real difference in the lives of our students.”
The Foundation for IUP is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967; its primary mission is to provide philanthropic support for IUP. It is governed by an independent board of directors made up of volunteers and employs a full-time staff of eight, which includes an executive director.
As of June 30, 2023, the Foundation’s investment portfolio was more than $121 million, which includes $75 million in endowed funds. During the 2022–23 academic year, 1,389 students benefitted from Foundation for IUP scholarships totaling more than $4 million. In addition, $3 million in funds from the Foundation for IUP were provided for enhancements to academic and student life experiences and other program needs, ranging from library resources to new uniforms for the IUP marching band.
The Foundation for IUP and its related entity, Residential Revival Indiana, owns eight on-campus student residential buildings with more than 3,500 beds; IUP manages the housing for the Foundation. The Foundation also accepts and maintains ownership of non-financial gifts, such as objects of art.
The Foundation also partners with the Eberly College of Business to provide $1 million of Foundation assets of US equities for management by the Student Managed Investment Portfolio (SMIP). Both a class and an organization, SMIP offers real-life experiences to students in a variety of financial services and business fields.
In December 2022, IUP’s Council of Trustees endorsed the exploration of a possible development of a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP. The university chose to explore a proposed college of osteopathic medicine based on several factors, including the critical need for rural health care: there are not enough trained physicians to provide care to Pennsylvania’s citizens. The ratio of patients to available primary care physicians is 1,367 to 1, according to the United Health Foundation.
There are only three colleges of osteopathic medicine in Pennsylvania, all at private universities; IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine would be the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university. National studies show that osteopathic medicine graduates are more likely to pursue primary care in rural and underserved areas—57 percent of all doctors of osteopathic medicine practice as general practitioners, and more than 20 percent of DO graduates practice in rural areas.
Demand is high for osteopathic medicine training: in 2021, 22,708 applicants competed for 8,280 seats at schools of osteopathic medicine.
Miko Rose was hired as the founding dean of the proposed college of osteopathic medicine in November 2023; the hiring of a founding dean is one of the first steps to establishing the college. Since that time, IUP has formally initiated steps towards accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, a three- to five-year process that includes submission of self-studies and a feasibility study, along with site visits.
IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine continues to generate both private and legislative support: Congressman Guy Reschenthaler has included $2 million for IUP’s project among his FY25 requested community projects, and Senator John Fetterman has included $2 million for IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine project on his list to advance in the FY25 Community Project Funding process.
The proposed college of osteopathic medicine received a $150,000 allocation in the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which was sponsored by Congressman Reschenthaler and Senator John Fetterman and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 9.
In January, IUP’s Alumni Association Board of Directors authorized a donation of $500,000 to IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine project. In May 2023, Rich Caruso, a 1983 accounting graduate from Meadow Lands, 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, and former president of the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors and current board member, announced a pledge of $1 million for the project.
In December 2023, Senator Joe Pittman announced that as part of the 2023–24 state budget, $2 million was set aside for IUP’s new college of osteopathic medicine. These new dollars are an investment above and beyond what IUP receives in the budget and will be used largely to support the operations at the start of the medical school.
In July 2023, IUP graduates Nick Jacobs and Mary Ann Hoysan Jacobs donated $40,000 to advance the project. Nick Jacobs is a 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient who has a 1969 bachelor’s degree in education and a 1972 master’s degree in music education; Mary Ann Jacobs has a 1968 bachelor’s degree in music education and a 1993 master’s degree in adult and community education.