IUP held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday evening to officially open their new math and science building.
The Dr. John J. and Char Kopchick Hall was officially opened three years after ground was broken on the project on the North Walk of IUP’s Oak Grove. The 142,536 square foot facility will house the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics along with over 50,000 square feet of lab space. It will have 65 faculty working inside it and house most of the Kopchick College programs. The facility also includes the Cejka Planetarium.
(John and Char Kopchick. Photo by Josh Widdowson)
The Kopchicks are IUP Alumni and longtime supporters of the university. They donated $23 million to the university in April of 2018 for science and math initiatives. John said called the building a new start for the university.
Char said that the project was a labor of love.
The two came from coal mining families to IUP in science and education programs before going on to success with John helping to invent the drug Somavert, while Char is with Ohio University’s College of Fine Arts. IUP President Dr. Michael Driscoll called their story a true Western Pennsylvania story.
The first classes in Kopchick Hall will be held in the Spring 2024 semester.
(Photo by Josh Widdowson)
