IUP grads give back, help future students

INDIANA — Two graduates of Indiana University of Pennsylvania have gifted $31,000 to IUP to help students studying in the IUP Eberly College of Business and Information Technology.

Dan Simoni, a 1994 IUP accounting graduate and managing partner with Price Waterhouse, and Michelle Costanza Simoni, a 1995 sociology graduate, of Bixby, Oklahoma, have added funds to the Wayne Norman Simoni Scholarship and have provided funding to establish the Mary Louise Costanza scholarship.

The couple established the Wayne Norman Simoni Scholarship in honor and memory of Dan’s late father. The Mary Louise Costanza scholarship is in honor and memory of Michelle’s late mother.

“Without a doubt, IUP made my career success possible,” he said. “We have been blessed with a great education that allowed us to have wonderful careers, and we are honored to be able to help current and future students, while honoring and remembering my father and Michelle’s mother.”

The Eberly College of Business and Information Technology has been accredited by AACSB International, the premier business school accrediting body worldwide, since 2001.

Annually, close to 500 students complete degrees in more than 20 majors in programs offered from undergraduate to PhD levels.

“Scholarship support at all levels continues to make a true difference in the lives of our students,” said IUP vice president for University Advancement, Khatmeh Osseiran-Hanna.

The gift from the Simonis’ is part of IUP’s $75-million Imagine Unlimited campaign, which will enable IUP to step forward as a national leader by transforming the student experience through scholarships, program enhancements, and new and modernized facilities.