On behalf of President Atwater, I am deeply saddened to note the passing of Olive Mae Fornear, retired faculty member and longtime supporter and friend of IUP. Miss Fornear died January 15, 2010, at age ninety-seven.
Miss Fornear was a graduate of the university and retired from her position as music professor at IUP in 1974, after sixteen years of service. She also taught for several years in the Windber public schools.
Active in the community, she was a member of Grace United Methodist Church and Mary Circle, Indiana Arts Council, College Club, AAUW and AAUW Book Club, the Indiana Hospital Auxiliary, and the New Century Club. She was selected for the Indiana Arts Council Award for Distinguished Services to the Arts.
She was honored for her commitment to IUP with the President's Medal of Distinction in recognition of Professional Achievement, with the designation of Honorary Emeritus from the Department of Music, and with the naming of the Olive Mae Fornear Music Education Classroom in Cogswell Hall.
Friends of Miss Fornear will be received Friday from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service at 11:00 a.m. at Grace United Methodist Church.
A member of the IUP Organ Scholarship Committee, Miss Fornear has designated the IUP Carol Teti Memorial Organ Scholarship Fund as a recipient of memorial contributions.
Please join me in offering thoughts and prayers to Miss Fornear's family at this difficult time.
Gerald W. Intemann
Provost and Acting President