What’s Inside That Time Capsule?

Last week we unveiled a time capsule from 1953 found in the cornerstone of Leonard Hall. Today we have the contents from inside the capsule to share with you! A display will be presented in the library after Spring Break.

Thanks to our archivist, Harrison Wick, we now have everything digitally scanned and saved on our website. Here are publications that were inside the time capsule:

1950 ISTC History: Alumni News Bulletin

June 1953 Alumni News Bulletin

1953-1954 Catalog

Additionally, there were smaller pamphlets and news bulletins inside discussing the 1952 fire that destroyed Leonard Hall and in that same year when Whitmyre Hall opened. We’ve included the 1954 dedication of Leonard Hall in this collection as well, as it mentions the time capsule.

1952 Fire Destroyed Old Leonard Hall

1952 December 14 Whitmyre Hall Open House

1954 Dedication of Leonard Hall

Finally, here is a gallery of photos found inside the capsule, with one addition, again, with the new plans for Leonard Hall in 1954:

Thank you for your interest in this time capsule and our university’s history. As mentioned earlier these items will be put on display for the public after Spring Break and we will share updates with you when they are organized.

IUP: A History

normal-schoolcurrent-map-of-iup

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).

 

 

timeline

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

 

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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.

iup-crimson-hawks make-your-mark-at-iup

 

Some statistics that you may find interesting:

gender

enrollment

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.

1916-instano-jane-e-leonard-313px

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.

hilliard

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!