Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient Continues Support to IUP

A 1973 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient has continued his financial support to IUP with a recent gift of more than $30,000.

Col. Stephen G. Abel, US Army (retired), of Washington Crossing, has been a long-time supporter of IUP. He is a 1973 education graduate originally from Tamaqua and Morrisville who majored in social sciences and minored in geography and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army upon his graduation.

His gift was directed to the IUP Veterans Assistance Fund, which he established at IUP in 2014; IUP's ROTC program, the Fund for IUP; the IUP Office of Alumni and Friends; the Dean's Innovation fund in three IUP colleges-the College of Education and Human Services; the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs; and the John J. and Char Kopchick College of Natural Science and Mathematics. His gift also supports the history program in the Department of History, Political Science, Philosophy, and Religious Studies and the geography and regional planning program in the Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences.

The IUP Veterans Assistance Fund provides financial assistance to full-time students who are veterans, including veterans enrolled in ROTC, in order to help alleviate financial emergencies that may be impacting the students' academic progress.

Since fall 2014, IUP has increased its enrollment of veteran and military-affiliated students by 54 percent; there were 841 veteran and military-affiliated students enrolled for fall 2023.

During IUP's 2014 Military Resource Center (now Military and Veterans Resource Center) opening celebration, Col. Abel was honored for his guidance and support for the center; he was inducted into IUP's ROTC Hall of Fame the day following the April 4 opening.

In addition to this recent gift, Col. Abel has provided matching funds for several IUP initiatives over the years, including matching student donations during IUP Giving Day to inspire students to become lifelong supporters of IUP.

"Col. Abel's generosity has been life-changing for our students, especially our veterans and military-affiliated students," IUP Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Lara Luetkehans said. "His support for departments and programs across the university enables us to offer unique academic and extracurricular opportunities that enrich the academic experience," she said.

"I believe that IUP provided me with a solid foundation that I was able to build three successful careers: as an Army officer; as the deputy director of a Department of State veterans organization; and as the founding director of a Department of Veteran Services at a major research university," Col. Abel said. "I owe this success to IUP and feel obligated to 'paying back' in the hope that future graduates will have the same success that I have and that my example will motivate them to be generous to IUP.

"IUP provided me with a top-notch liberal arts education, in that it taught me these three things well: first, to 'think critically;' then to 'communicate effectively,' and finally to 'problem solve.' I believe if you can do these things, you will stand out to your superiors and ultimately succeed," he said.

Col. Abel's military career with the United States Army took him around the world, from Fort Riley, Kansas, to Hawaii, to Korea, and back home again to the United States. His assignments included service in the Office of the Chief of Field Artillery; the Chief of Staff, Army's Office; and Headquarters, United Nations Command, Korea. His military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit, and six awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon with numeral three-device, and the Army Staff Badge.

He was appointed as deputy commissioner for Veterans Affairs in November 2004. In this capacity, Commissioner Abel administered all of New Jersey's veteran programs to New Jersey's 650,000 veterans. His responsibilities included the administration of five department divisions: the Division of Veterans Healthcare Services, the Division of Veterans, the Fiscal Division, the Human Resources Division, and the Information and Administrative Services Division, as well as the Affirmative Action Office.

In July 2010, Col. Abel was appointed the director of Veteran and Military Programs and Services at Rutgers University, a department that he founded to care for the university's veterans. In this role, he was responsible for the development and coordination of a comprehensive program of support services for veteran students at all three campuses of the university. He served as the principal advocate for student veterans, ensuring the quality of policies, programs, activities, and services designed to enhance their educational experiences and served as the university's liaison with outside agencies and offices whose work impacts the lives of veteran students. He established and served as cochair of the myVANJ Veteran and Community Network Board, which helps veterans understand their Veterans Administration benefits and access services. He is a contributing author for Called to Serve: A Handbook on Veterans and Higher Education and a coordinating producer of the feature documentary The War After.

In June 2010 he was honored by the New Jersey Senate and also by the New Jersey General Assembly with resolutions given in both branches for his more than 10 years of dedicated service to New Jersey's veterans. He was named by the Marine Corps League as the New Jersey Marine of the Year (Honorary) in 2010 and the Jewish War Veterans New Jersey 2006 Citizen of the Year. He served as the national aide-de-camp to the commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 2006-07, received the VFW Distinguished Silver Medal in 2007, and was named the VFW-s national deputy chief of staff for 2007-08. In October 2013, Col. Abel was inducted into the IUP at Northpointe Hall of Distinction. In addition to his IUP degree, he completed a master of science in national security strategy at the National War College at the National Defense University.

Since 2018, he has been a volunteer with Senior Adults for Greater Education of Newtown, a nonprofit organization that custom matches community members with volunteer opportunities in their local school districts-he coaches reading for first and second grade students in the Council Rock School District.

"I believe my overall legacy is knowing that the people I trained are ready to take over and succeed," Col. Abel said. "Here at IUP, it is knowing that the endowment I established, the IUP Veterans Assistance Fund, helps ensure that veterans who are under financial stress are able to complete their IUP degrees and succeed at IUP and well into the future."