Speaking often of his "vision" for Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Tony Atwater outlined his presidential agenda Friday.
"My vision is simply to make IUP the university of choice in western Pennsylvania," said Atwater, who began his term Tuesday as the school's 24th president. "It is a fine university. It's time to make it a great university.
"My talking points for the campus community and beyond is get ready for greatness because I think there are going to be some really great things ahead for the university and for Indiana (Borough)."
"Vision" also was a key word mentioned often during the search for a new president. After the retirement of Dr. Lawrence Pettit as president in August 2003 and the departure of his replacement, Dr. Derek Hodgson, for personal reasons five months afterward, the IUP community found itself without direction from a permanent leader.
Campus officials applauded the work of Interim President Dr. Diane Reinhard but sought someone who would be a fixture intent on pushing the university forward.
"We've had some uphill struggles in our search here at IUP, but I'm very confident that in the end it all worked out for the best because we really have a dynamic, visionary leader and person who has a tremendous academic vision and will move IUP to the next level of excellence," State System of Higher Education Chancellor Dr. Judy Hample said yesterday.
Atwater, 52, said he has a four-pronged agenda for the university. His goals are advancing academic excellence, building partnerships between the university and borough communities, stimulating institutional advancement and private financial support, and managing enrollment growth.
He spoke of wanting to increase enrollment beyond the 13,998 students who entered the fall semester but didn't attach a number to that target. However, Atwater noted the importance of the university's commitment to a seven-year, $250 million on-campus housing construction and renovation plan to attract students to IUP.
Atwater also addressed the pending purchase of 37 acres of land from the Kovalchick family for the proposed $38 million Regional Development Center. Besides housing work force development and research institutes at IUP, the complex also could become the site of a new convocation center.
"The property acquisition issue is almost 100 percent complete," he said. "We're quite frankly in the process of raising the additional residual funding needed to get the matching funding to do that."
Another organization that would have its offices at the center would be the John P. Murtha Institute for Homeland Security. Atwater said that organization might be able to schedule homeland security symposiums on campus that would feature some of the important figures in the field.
Kim Lyttle, an IUP trustee since 1983, said his sense is that administrators, faculty and students anticipate great things will happen during Atwater's term.
