UPJ 1970 - 1980 - UPJ Greek Alumni

Greeks at UPJ 1970 - 1980

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Presidents of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

1958-1971 Dr. Theodore W. Biddle
1971-1974 Jack E. Freeman
1974 David J. Brewer (Interim)
1974 - 1993 Dr. Frank H. Blackington III

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1927 -1959

1960 - 1970

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1970 - 1971

1970: The Programming Board is created to plan and schedule yearly activities for the entertainment and cultural enlightenment of the student body.
December 13 1970: The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown celebrates its first “graduation” consisting of twenty-three education students. Speaker: Dr. Horton C. Southworth, Chairman, Department of Elementary Education.
March 3 1971: Honors Day. Speaker: Robert E. McClure, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry.
April 2, 1971: The Brothers of Phi Delta Psi are sworn into the pledge program of Delta Chi.
April 2, 1971: Phi Delta Psi ceases to exist as a local fraternity.
May 15, 1971: Twenty Four (24) pledges are fully initiated into the Bond of Delta Chi Brotherhood at Penn State University.
May 24 1971: North Hall and South Hall are renamed Krebs Hall and Biddle Hall, respectively.
June 13 1971: A $2 million library building is dedicated. The first and second floors can house 200,000 volumes. There are study areas, audio-visual and microfilm rooms, a rare book room, personnel offices, and two smoking lounges. The ground floor houses the Bookstore and classrooms.

DEVELOPER NOTES: THIS column, the right hand column of each academic year has an image place holder. Once we have more than one image for an academic year the images will be converted to slideshows.

1971 -1972

1971 - 1972

July 1 1971: Jack E. Freeman assumes his duties as the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s second president, following Dr. Biddle’s retirement.
Summer 1971: President Freeman appoints the first faculty-dominated search committee in the institution’s history to seek a replacement for Paul D. Walter, Academic Dean. He also organizes a faculty-student committee to assist him in a “fundamental reevaluation of institutional philosophy and objectives.”
1971: The faculty is organized into academic divisions from discipline-specific programs. Division chairs are: Gerald Brown, Humanities; John D. Wilson, Education; N. Lewis Buck; Engineering Technology; Robert J. Hunter, Social Sciences; and Edward Vizzini, Natural Sciences.
September 22 1971: Zeta Sigma Tau social sorority is chartered by UPJ.
October 23 1971: The first annual Homecoming. Donna Jean Wells, Zeta Sigma Tau's candidate, is crowned Homecoming Queen.
November 24 1971: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Education approves Johnstown College as the first regional college in Pennsylvania to grant a four-year degree.
December 6 1971: Delta Chi Colony unanimously voted into the Interfraternity Council at UPJ. The FIRST national fraternity on the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown campus.

December 12 1971: Convocation. Diplomas for 31 elementary and secondary education graduates are presented for the first time by the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Speaker: Dr. Ryland W. Crary, Chairman, Department of Foundations of Education in Pittsburgh.
January 23, 1972: Inter Sorority Council declared Zeta Sigma Tau the 4th Sorority on the UPJ campus.
March 22-25 1972: The Music Department, under the leadership of Thomas Furlong, presents its first musical, Man of La Mancha.
April 9 1972: Honors Day Convocation includes the first 19 Arts and Sciences students to graduate from this campus as well as 44 students in elementary and secondary education. Speaker: Dr. Rhoten A. Smith, Provost, University of Pittsburgh.

1972 - 1973

1972: Faculty Senate and Faculty Council are organized. Dr. George R. Walter is elected as the first president of the Faculty Senate. The first Faculty Council includes Dr. Carroll Grimes, Catherine Kloss, Robert Sukenik, Dr. William Doncaster, Thomas Sigmund, Dr. Christopher Chweh, Larry Rodgers, and Dr. Anthony Tilmans.
September 1972: Bruce J. Haselrig, first black administrator in the school’s history, is appointed to the newly created position of Assistant to the Dean of Students.
September 19 1972: Jack E. Freeman is inaugurated as the second president of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
October 13 1972: Delta Chi fraternity is chartered. It becomes the FIRST International Fraternity at UPJ as a result of local Fraternity Phi Delta Psi electing to become affiliated with an International Fraternal Association.
October 14 1972: Dianne Falvo, Delta Chi's candidate, is crowned Homecoming Queen. The Log Cabin, a new recreational facility, opens during Homecoming weekend.
February 1973: Emanon is the first student yearbook published since the 1962 edition of The Sentinel.
April 8 1973: The first academic convocation, honoring the graduating class, is held in the Cambria County War Memorial Arena. 260 graduates hear greetings from President Freeman, remarks from senior class president, Larry Widmer, Delta Chi, and a student address by Vicki Kimmel. Speaker: Dr. Charles U. Walker, ’50, President, Russell Sage College.
Summer 1973: Four new townhouses are built, adding 30 apartment units with the capacity to house 120 students. (We need to know which units and what they where called: cross reference current name to Letter: A, B, C, D Block see 1976 for names)

1973 - 1974

1973: Alpha Xi Delta is chartered.

Fall 1973: Wrestling is added as an intercollegiate sport.
September 1973: Backroads, the University literary magazine featuring student writing, is first published.
September 29 1973: Angela Rabatin, Delta Chi's candidate, is crowned Homecoming Queen.
December 2 1973: Acacia social fraternity is chartered.
January 16 1974: "The Panther" is renamed "The Advocate" in order to create a separate identity from Pitt’s main campus. Athletic teams choose the name “Golden Panthers.”
January 31 1974: President Freeman resigns to become Vice Chancellor of the University for Planning and Budget in Pittsburgh. He simultaneously continues his University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown presidential duties through April.
April 7 1974: Academic Convocation. Speaker: Jack E. Freeman, President, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
April 8 1974: David J. Brewer is appointed interim president.
June 2 1974: The Rocky Run Nature Area is dedicated in honor of Dr. Henry J. Idzkowsky, retired Biology professor. The area offers more than a mile of trails through approximately 40 acres of fields and woodlands, for use by the Terrestrial Ecology Program and public visitors.

1974 - 1975

August 1 1974: Dr. Frank H. Blackington, III, assumes his duties as the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s third president. Dr. Blackington passed away on June 19, 2012. Obituary Link

September 1 1974: UPJ joins the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
The Humanities Division offers five new degree programs: English Literature, Writing/Journalism, American Studies, Speech, and Communications/Theater. The Natural Sciences Division offers five new degree programs: Biology, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Broad Natural Sciences.
Fall 1874: Full-time enrollment is 2,439 students.
October 1974: WUPJ-Radio broadcasts for the first time.
October 5 1974: Sonja Streich, Delta Chi's candidate, is crowned Homecoming Queen.

November 16 1974: Jim Morgan, cross-country, is the first UPJ athlete to compete in a NAIA championship.
January 1975: Women’s gymnastics and basketball are organized.
March 20: Student Awards Dinner for academic achievement.
April 1975: UPJ is the first regional campus of a major university voted into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) without having “separate accreditation.”
April 6 1975: Academic Convocation for the graduating class of 400 students includes the first 64 engineering technology graduates. Speaker: Dr. Walter Adams, Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Economics, Michigan State University.
Spring and Summer 1975: Two additional townhouses are built, adding 16 apartment units. (We need to know which units and what they where called: cross reference current name to Letter (A, B, C, D Block see 1976 for names) Housing shortages continue to be an issue as the student population grows.

1975 - 1976

September 16 1975: Inauguration ceremony for Dr. Frank H. Blackington, III, is held.
Fall 1975: The Women’s Volleyball Club is organized. Men’s soccer team wins the Division II title of Western Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Soccer League.
October 11 1975: Pam Hutzell, Delta Chi's candidate, and a Delta Zeta sister, is crowned Homecoming Queen. [NEWS: Farewell & Parting]
January 1976: Library staff, under new director Rodney Ferguson, begin to reclassify the entire collection from the Dewey Decimal Classification System to the Library of Congress Classification System. The project is completed in the summer of 1981.
March 1976: Ed Sherlock, Athletic Director, is elected Secretary-Treasurer of NAIA.
March 14 1976: The Engineering and Science Building is dedicated. The building provides a 230 seat amphitheater-type classroom-auditorium, classrooms, laboratories, and office spaces for the Engineering Technology and Natural Sciences Divisions.
April 4 1976: Academic Convocation. Speaker: Dr. Eric F. Goldman, Rollins Professor of History, Princeton University.
March-September 1976: Five group housing residence buildings are built to provide living spaces for 256 students courtesy of Myron & Inez Fetterolf, parents of Mitch Fetterolf (Delta Chi). Three of the buildings accommodate Delta Chi, Lambda Sigma Rho, Acacia, and Delta Sigma Chi social fraternities and Alpha Xi Delta, Zeta Sigma Tau, and Delta Zelta social sororities.

1976 -1977

1976 - 1977

Townhouses 1976: Timberline Manor (C), Highland Manor, Cascade Manor, Woodland Manor (B), Summit Manor (F), and Wilderness Manor.
Fall 1976: Group-housing units open: Heather Lodge (Delta Sigma Chi, Delta Zeta, Alpha Xi Delta), Foxfire Lodge (Delta Chi), Larkspur Lodge (Lambda Sigma Rho, Zeta Sigma Tau, Omega Alpha Tau), Hawthorn Lodge (Acacia), and Briar Lodge.

October 2 1976: Anne Uschak, Delta Chi's candidate, is crowned Homecoming Queen. (Crowned Miss Central Pennsylvania 1980)

October 16 1976: UPJ hosts the NAIA District Championships in cross-country.
October 25 1976: Names for the five new group housing buildings and six townhouses are chosen in a campus-wide contest.
January 1977: The basketball program becomes known as the “Mountain Cats.”
April 23 1977: Academic Convocation. Speaker: Robert MacNeil.

1977 - 1978

July 20, 1977 Johnstown flood, UPJ serves as a Red Cross disaster center until
August 15 1977, housing approximately 430 local townspeople and 540 volunteers and workers from various relief organizations.
Fall 1977: Steve Littleton, cross-country, achieves All-American status when he places 11th in the NCAA Division II National Championship meet.
October 1 1977: Cindy Malysko, Delta Chi's candidate and a Chi Delphia Little Sister, is crowned Homecoming Queen.

November 30 1977: Men’s basketball defeats Point Park College, 75-72, in the historic opener in the new $1.2 million, 2,700 seat Sports Center. The Center includes a wrestling room, conditioning room, dance studio, ticket office, and four basketball courts.
1978: The soccer team wins the Western Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Soccer League Division II championship.
April 22 1978: The Academic Convocation ceremony is held for the first time at the Sports Center. Speaker: Dr. Harold Delaney, Associate Executive Director, American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Cindy Malysko, Delta Chi's candidate and a Chi Delphia Little Sister, is crowned Homecoming Queen 1977 UPJ

1978 - 1979

Fall 1978: Buckhorn and Sunset Lodges are constructed, housing 96 students.
Fall 1978: The Student Union building is renovated, providing a student lounge with dining spaces and a game room, a commuter lounge, and offices for the Catholic and Protestant campus ministries.
1978: A Learning Skills Center is created to help students with academic problems and to teach good study strategies and habits.
October 28 1978: Anne Foster, Omega Alpha Tau, is crowned Homecoming Queen.
April 21 1979: Academic Convocation. Speaker: Caryl M. Kline, Past Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

1979 - 1980

1979: Alpha Xi Delta charter expires
Fall 1979: Henry Winger, cross-country, sets a new NAIA District 18 course record on the UPJ course. He is named All-American for the third time in his career upon finishing eighth out of 384 runners in the NAIA national championships at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside.
October 20 1979: Toni Giallonardo, Omega Alpha Tau, is crowned Homecoming Queen.
March 23 1980: UPJ Chapter of Phi Eta Sigma, a National Honors Society for first-year students, is chartered. In April, 84 UPJ students are inducted.
March 1980: Lisa Britt, women’s basketball, closes her career with over 1900 points and an invitation to the Olympic tryouts in Colorado Springs. She is named All-American by the EAIAW (Eastern Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) Coaches Association. She is drafted by the Minnesota Fillies of the Women’s Professional Basketball League.
April 20 1980: Academic Convocation. Speaker: William A. Verrochi, President, Pennsylvania Electric Company.

Toni Giallonardo Homecoming Queen 1979 UPJ

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Original List Compiled from "The Evolution of a College" by Robert J. Hunter, Delta Chi, The Advocate, The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, and various other sources in the Pitt-Johnstown Archive at Owen Library.