IUP PRESIDENT TALKS ABOUT PREP FOR GRADUATION, RETENTION AT COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES MEETING

As IUP gets ready for commencement, university president Dr. Michael Driscoll delivered some remarks about graduation and retention at the Council of Trustees meeting on Thursday.

In his report, Driscoll said that 1500 students will become IUP alumni over the weekend.  He said for many of the students, this will be a great achievement as they lost their senior year of high school due to Covid-19 and were part of the small population of students learning on-campus during the pandemic.  He congratulated them as it was a challenge for many of them.

He added that there was also a point of pride in first-year student retention.  Driscoll announced that the fall-to-spring retention rate for degree-seeking full-time first-year students was 90.1%, which is the highest mark since 2010, and said that the overall student population was 6.5% higher than last year.  He was quick to credit the staff, including the student navigators, for the student retention rate.

Also during the meeting, the Council of Trustees approved naming the Library and Learning Center at the new IUP Academy of Culinary Arts building in Punxsutawney in honor of Sam and Elaine Light.  The two natives of Punxsutawney helped work to establish the culinary academy and continued to make philanthropic contributions to the university.