Almost everyone who has gone on a tour at IUP knows that when we first started out, we were known as the Indiana Normal School. Above is a picture of the Normal School, which we know as Sutton Hall. To the right is a current map of the school grounds. A lot has changed over the years, as you can tell just from these two photos. The timeline below shows some highlights of IUP’s long history (click the image for a larger version).
We’ve also gone through a few mascot changes throughout the years. For the longest time we were known as the “Indians” of Indiana. This lasted all the way up until 1991! This was in reference to the names of both the town and the school. Our mascot was either called “Chief” or “Squaw” depending on which student played the part. In 1991 the mascot was changed due to movements to eliminate Native American related mascots, mainly because they were and still are seen as offensive to the culture.
Our new mascot from 1991-2006 was the American Black Bear. Despite the efforts to eliminate the Native American as our mascot, our new mascot was named Cherokee in honor of the current fight song and despite having the black bear as our mascot, we were still commonly known as the “Indians.”
IUP Fight Song – Cherokee performed by the 1999 IUP Marching Band
In 2006 we officially became known as the Crimson Hawks, and 2007 saw the revealing of our mascot Norm – an ode to the Indiana Normal School – whom we all know and love. Norm is a nod to where we started.
Some statistics that you may find interesting:
Our students come from 41 different states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Palau, and 56 different countries.
Noteworthy People
Jane Leonard (December 27, 1840 – April 5, 1924) worked on campus for 46 years (1875-1921). Jane Leonard stood as a symbol of strength through the starting of our history. Leonard Hall was named in her honor.
Patricia Hilliard Robertson (March 12, 1963 – May 24, 2001) was IUP’s very own astronaut! A native of Homer City, Pennsylvania right down the road from Indiana, Robertson went to IUP for her bachelors in biology before going on to the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately she passed away in 2001 due to her injuries which she got from a plane crash.
Elinor Gordon Blair (June 29, 1913 – April 17, 2015) grew up on campus during the time of the Indiana Normal School and was known by most faculty and students. She was even in the 1916 yearbook. She wrote a memoir about her experience living on the campus.
Awards Received
2013- National recognition for community service with the “Presidents Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll”
2014- made one of the “top 100 public universities in the U.S.” according to U.S. News and World Report
If you want to know more, come see everything for yourself in the library archives! This is just a very tiny amount of all of the amazing information offered in our archives!
