THE IUP Football Thread

[Fightingscot82]

He’s making almost 500 grand and living in free housing in Indiana. Why quit that job?

Stress.

[IUP24]

Driscoll's tenure correlates directly with the demise of IUP, overall. Driscoll has not led the university in a positive direction.

IUP had a history of super-duper Presidents, going back to Willis Pratt who made Indiana State College into IUP in the early 1960's. When I came to IUP in the late '70's, the President was Robert Wilburn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wilburn, an incredible University President who went on to an amazing, world-changing career. After an interim prez, John Worthen became IUP President. He was a national leader in higher education. Then came John Welty, who was not only a great President for IUP (and later Fresno St.) but was the President who oversaw the renaissance for IUP football (why we are here). Welty was a great IUP promoter. Later, during the '90's and into the 2000's, Lawrence Pettit was a skilled administrator. Then came Tony Atwater. Dr. Front Porch, as they called him. And we IUP sports fans ate it up. Make IUP D1 in athletics! The much-maligned Atwater actually looked good on paper coming in and he had a reasonably dynamic personality. He was an up and comer in the world of college Presidents. A lot happened under Atwater, almost none of it good for IUP.

Anyways, IUP has had a history of great Presidents. That changed 20-30 years ago when PASSHE usurped local university control for selecting individuals to lead universities. Driscoll was effectively hired by PASSHE and he has been a good employee of PASSHE ever since. Under Driscoll, IUP has lost the identity it held throughout my lifetime. Enrollment has been decimated. He is the one holding the bag, so to speak. Let's see if his STEM/med school initiatives work for IUP in the years to come.

I should add that on a personal level, I just think all this "student-centeredness" is nonsense. A university should be that, after all. What else can you offer above and beyond "student-centeredness?"

I appreciate that insight as that was before my time and I was unaware of him effectively being hired by the PASSHE. Early in his tenure he appeared to put on a good face on campus and in the student body, but I don't think you see that from him as much anymore.

I have felt like over the last 8 years, IUP has gone in the wrong direction (obviously it has) under his leadership. I simply don't know enough about the day to day operations to state how much he is responsible for it, or if it's simply a product of the changing and shifting environment of higher education. So I was treading lightly in that regard. I suppose he's ultimately the guy in charge, so I'm glad my inner thoughts seem to match what you provided.

[Fightingscot82]

The presidential selection process is all the same:

1) Search committee made up of students, alumni, faculty and staff from each union, trustees, a rep from the PASSHE Board of Governors, and a president from another PASSHE school. They select the first group of semifinalists to do screening interviews. Sometimes these are "airport" interviews where everyone is flown in for a 60 minute screening with the committee at the hotel connected to the closest airport, presumably the Hyatt at PIT.

2) Search committee narrows it down to finalists who come to campus for 36 hours. Out of the finalists, the committee sends the campus Council of Trustees the names of only those they are willing to endorse as president, unranked. The Council of Trustees sends a ranked list to the Chancellor and the PASSHE Board of Governors.

3) Those names put forward are interviewed by the Chancellor and Board of Governors. The Chancellor then selects the next president with approval from the PASSHE Board of Governors.

So yeah, technically IUP doesn't pick its own president, but their search committee narrows the field from 75 to 2 or 3. The problem is who has say & power - there are far more employees than alumni & trustees. The unions pick their representatives so you know they're sending fighters instead of people with strong interest volunteering on their own. The same thing happens EVERY time. The committee identifies its needs (i.e. strategic planning, fundraising, enrollment, community engagement) but regardless, the faculty veto anyone who doesn't have a teaching faculty background, even if that doesn't lend itself to those previously determined university needs. So you get a somewhat strange academic whose expertise is anthropology of Micronesia, not how to reverse the downward trend of a regional public university.

Our schools also don't pick their own trustees nor do alumni have students have a say.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Stress.

Basically the Captain of the Titanic ... only he survived and got to keep his job.

[Fightingscot82]

Basically the Captain of the Titanic ... only he survived and got to keep his job.

I agree with you that Driscoll has provided calm, stable leadership while IUP takes on water. He also benefits from the masses still thinking IUP is at its traditional enrollment and strength. They've been able to trumpet some nice success stories during the times of campus difficulty, which is much better than the Penn West campuses can say. Is he an exciting, dynamic guy whose electric personality drives innovation and success? Hell no. But Driscoll is deliberate, logical, and methodical and that is keeping IUP from the freefall at the Penn West campuses.

[IUPNation]

Stress.

He’s most likely the highest paid resident in Indiana County. He could buy Heilwood with a years salary! :-)

[iupgroundhog]

I agree with you that Driscoll has provided calm, stable leadership while IUP takes on water. He also benefits from the masses still thinking IUP is at its traditional enrollment and strength. They've been able to trumpet some nice success stories during the times of campus difficulty, which is much better than the Penn West campuses can say. Is he an exciting, dynamic guy whose electric personality drives innovation and success? Hell no. But Driscoll is deliberate, logical, and methodical and that is keeping IUP from the freefall at the Penn West campuses.

Interesting. He might be the right guy now because of the STEM/med school direction. However, I think that during the period of "taking on water" IUP needed a stronger personality at the helm. Someone like Angelo Armenti but more ethical. Driscoll had no answers for the changes IUP was experiencing. Maybe nobody did, I don't know.

[Fightingscot82]

Interesting. He might be the right guy now because of the STEM/med school direction. However, I think that during the period of "taking on water" IUP needed a stronger personality at the helm. Someone like Angelo Armenti but more ethical. Driscoll had no answers for the changes IUP was experiencing. Maybe nobody did, I don't know.

I think most PASSHE schools could use a more ethical Angelo Armenti right now. It might be possible that the STEM & med strategic moves is because Driscoll is president. Not so much that he chose what is close to him but moreso he was more apt to recognize how those are built out and look at a school like IUP. I believe he was a dean or provost at Portland State, a school I'd compare to what IUP used to be.

[IUPNation]

Beisbol now 12-4.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Beisbol now 12-4.

And, that's after an 0-3 start (against a Southern power who had already played 9 games at the time).

[iupgroundhog]

Indiana must rank..it’s got a Primanti Brothers.

Not that I find Sammie’s with Cole slaw and fries on it appetizing but they didn’t open one in Slimey Pebble did they?

:-)

Question about the location of this. I will probably visit it on my next trip to Indiana (although I don't know when that will be).

Where is it exactly? The picture I saw online in the IG showed it relative to McDonald's. Is the Valley Dairy restaurant still there or is Primanti's actually in that space? Is Primanti's replacing some other business or is it a new building?

Yes, Nation. I think I would separate out the fries from the sandwich but the cole slaw can stay,

[IUPNation]

Question about the location of this. I will probably visit it on my next trip to Indiana (although I don't know when that will be).

Where is it exactly? The picture I saw online in the IG showed it relative to McDonald's. Is the Valley Dairy restaurant still there or is Primanti's actually in that space? Is Primanti's replacing some other business or is it a new building?

Yes, Nation. I think I would separate out the fires from the sandwich but the cole slaw can stay,

It's in the the old Regency Mall where the Martin's (Yinzer version of Giant from Carlisle) is located...it does seem to be near the Mickey D's and it looks to be a newer addition to the center.

That is what I got from Google Maps.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It's in the the old Regency Mall where the Martin's (Yinzer version of Giant from Carlisle) is located...it does seem to be near the Mickey D's and it looks to be a newer addition to the center.

That is what I got from Google Maps.

There's a small strip mall in front of the McDonald's (within the Regency Mall property). It's in there.

The Valley Dairy is still in the same location.

The Primanti's is on one end of this little strip and a popular Mexican restaurant is on the other. Those are technically the two closest bars to campus.

I suspect it will do pretty well there. It's not as big as other Primanti's but it's big enough.


The interesting piece of commercial property in Indiana is where Rustic Lodge was for 80 years. It closed last year. Not sure what will go in there. I'd love to see an Olive Garden or something similar.

[Ship69]

There's a small strip mall in front of the McDonald's (within the Regency Mall property). It's in there.

The Valley Dairy is still in the same location.

The Primanti's is on one end of this little strip and a popular Mexican restaurant is on the other. Those are technically the two closest bars to campus.

I suspect it will do pretty well there. It's not as big as other Primanti's but it's big enough.


The interesting piece of commercial property in Indiana is where Rustic Lodge was for 80 years. It closed last year. Not sure what will go in there. I'd love to see an Olive Garden or something similar.

There's actually a Primanti's in Hagerstown, Md. They seem to be getting around.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There's actually a Primanti's in Hagerstown, Md. They seem to be getting around.

Do you ever go to Shula's in Hagerstown? It's one of my frequent stops while traveling down that way.