IUP holding ribbon cutting event for new Kopchick Hall

Joshua Byers, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 31—INDIANA, Pa. — Community members are invited to Indiana University of Pennsylvania to celebrate the new John J. and Char Kopchick Hall at 4 p.m. Thursday.

The event that is free and open to the public will feature guided tours from 2 to 3:30 p.m. of the $90 million, 142,536-square-foot facility that will now house the sciences and mathematics departments.

There is also more than 51,600 square feet of laboratory space facing the Oak Grove, 43 research lab modules, nearly 10,000 square feet of collaboration space and 8,000 feet of formal teaching space, including three flexible classrooms.

"We are deeply and profoundly proud to have our name 'etched' in the history of science at IUP," the Kopchicks said in a release.

"It is a spectacular, breathtaking, awesome and humbling honor. A heartfelt thank you goes to the outstanding leadership whose vision, guidance, commitment and expertise resulted in this incredible facility."

They continued: "We and other former IUP students are certainly appreciative of our education. We hope all future students who study and do research in this fabulous building will be inspired to a lifelong passion for science. This experience will help them succeed in their life pursuits and in the process perhaps 'change the world.' "

Kopchick Hall will be open for classes in the spring and be home to the John J. and Char Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The Kopchicks, both alumni of IUP, made a $23 million donation to the school in April 2018 for science and mathematics initiatives.

"This is an incredibly exciting day for IUP," university President Michael Driscoll said in a release. "Kopchick Hall is the kind of facility that our students need and deserve and we can't wait to have students in the classrooms, laboratories and collaborative spaces. ... The opening of Kopchick Hall, with the advantages it offers to our students, will change life at IUP."

More than 60 faculty members will work in the new building that will include the Cejka planetarium, laser lab, partial green roof for research, imaging lab, anatomy lab, and roof terrace.

"It's almost impossible to measure the advantages that this building will offer to our students, both tangible and intangible, in order that they continue to change the world as educators, scientists and leaders," Kopchick College Dean Steve Hovan said in a statement.

Hovan will be the emcee for the event.

Most of the departments in Kopchick College are scattered across campus, with many previously in Carl S. Weyandt Hall and Walsh Hall.

However, Walsh Hall was demolished last year, and Weyandt Hall is scheduled to be razed in 2024.

Kopchick Hall was built on the site of Leonard Hall, which was demolished in 2018, and all of those classrooms and offices were moved to the Jane E. Leonard Hall.