IUP alums dig deep as the university works to remake itself

Fighting an uphill battle to cut costs and end declining enrollment, Indiana University of Pennsylvania raked in record levels of financial support and set a new record among state-owned schools in a recently completed fundraising campaign.

The 30-month comprehensive fundraising campaign, dubbed Imagine Unlimited, recently ended six months early with $81.36 million in contributions — more than $6 million above its $75 million goal.

That total may have had more to do with fond memories of notable alumni than the day-to-day realities on the Indiana County campus. As the campaign was winding down last fall, more than 80 faculty members at the 146-year-old university received pink slips. The school has struggled to remake itself following a decade that saw enrollment decline by a third to about 10,000.

Tim Cejka of Stahlstown, a 1973 graduate of IUP who now sits on the school’s Council of Trustees, was active in the fund drive. He said it was a matter of reaching out to graduates who had great memories of running to class across the university’s Oak Grove and going on to careers the school prepared them to tackle. Cejka, a Pittsburgh native, earned a degree in geology and went on to a career at ExxonMobil, retiring as president of ExxonMobil Exploration and a vice president at ExxonMobil Corp.

“The people who gave were moved by their experience at Indiana. … For most of them, it was, ‘I got something great out of the university and it needs my help, so I want to donate,’ ” Cejka said.

Many apparently felt that way. The campaign counted nearly 63,700 donations from more than 22,000 donors who directed gifts toward enhancing math and science programs, athletic excellence and innovation, student supports and scholarships.

Cejka and his wife, Deb Phillips Cejka, a native of Washington Township and a fellow IUP grad — she earned a degree in English education — walked the walk. They contributed $7 million toward the school’s new math and science building as they reached out to fellow alumni. Their gift was the second largest in the school’s history.

The largest gift, $23 million, also earmarked for the new math and science building, came from another alumni couple, John and Char Kopchick. The Kophchiks — he is a professor of molecular biology and she is assistant dean of students at Ohio University — also are Western Pennsylvania natives. They graduated from the school in John Kopchick’s hometown before heading across the state line. While at OU in the 1980s, John Kopchick co-invented a pharmaceutical, pegvisomant (known as Somavert), which powers his philanthropy.

Officials said IUP’s fund drive set a new record for the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Although large flagship universities such as Pitt and Penn State have been involved in fundraising for decades and successfully conducted billion-dollar-plus fundraising campaigns in recent years, IUP, like other smaller, regional comprehensive universities, came to the fundraising game late. Over the past decade, such schools have experienced an increasing need for outside assistance as state lawmakers targeted higher education for funding reductions in tight budget years.

Cejka, who became involved in fundraising after returning to IUP some years ago as a guest lecturer, recalled how Weydant Hall, the school’s science building, was old when he was there nearly four decades ago.

But to replace the building with a modern math and science center, IUP had to come up with a local match to unlock state funding for construction of a new facility.

“It will be great to see students in the new math and science building,” Cejka said. “We’re the biggest university in the State System in terms of research, and we want to keep it that way and give our students opportunities.”

But funds will go toward more than bricks and mortar.

“We’ve already been giving money away,” Cejka said. “We’ve given out 7,700 scholarships so far.”

He said IUP recognized the need to help struggling students, many of whom are the first generation in their families to attend college. Some of the funds raised will be used to keep such students in school.

“It’s a terrible economic burden on a student and families when a student leaves school after one year with no degree and debt,” he said.

The fund also includes more than $430,000 raised in the last nine months for the student assistance fund. The fund provided grants to more than 450 students who suddenly faced a need for assistance with computers and internet costs when IUP went online last spring during the pandemic shutdown.

“Donors tell us that IUP helped them to realize their own potential, and that they feel compelled to pay it forward, to provide new opportunities and support to students now and in the future,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said.