Rock Quarry

quarry

Chart Climbers

SRU continues to climb in the rankings for academics. In the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-25 Best Colleges guidebook, SRU ranked No. 44 for Regional Universities in the North, up 41 spots from its ranking in 2022-23. Also within this regional category, U.S. News recognized SRU on the lists for Top Public School (#16), Best Value (#31), Best College for Veterans (#18), Undergraduate Teaching (#9) and Most Innovative (#8).

Washington Monthly ranked SRU in the top 20% of institutions in its category, as well as one of the “Best Bang for the Buck” colleges for affordability. Money.com named SRU one of America’s Best Colleges for 2024, awarding SRU 3.5 out of 5 stars, which was more than several Pittsburgh area institutions, including Pitt, Duquesne, Robert Morris, Chatham and Carlow.

No. 44 Regional Universities in the North

two polaroids of Michael May and Troy Miller headshots

May and Miller named VPs

SRU recently filled two key executive positions on President Karen Riley’s cabinet. Michael May (left) was hired as vice president for enrollment management, July 1, while Troy Miller (right) was appointed vice president for university advancement, Aug. 1.

May, who has served in the role as an interim since March 29 after Amanda Yale’s retirement, has worked as a director in SRU’s Admission Office for the last 12 years. He leads SRU’s efforts to identify, recruit and admit the optimal number and quality of students.

Miller, who previously served as the vice president of development at York College in Pennsylvania, brings more than 30 years of development experience, including a 20-year background in higher education advancement. He is responsible for providing development strategies, building philanthropic partnerships and overseeing the University’s relationship with the Slippery Rock University Foundation, Inc.

Safety in Numbers

Several alumni and faculty from SRU’s safety management program gathered for a photo at the American Society of Safety Professionals’ Annual Safety Conference and Expo in Denver, Colorado, in August. More than 6,000 safety professionals from across the country attend the event each year and with the continued growth of SRU’s safety management program and alumni network, the ASSP conference is a great opportunity for graduates of the program to connect.

group photo consisting of several alumni and faculty from SRU’s safety management program

Fulbright Ahead

Melissa Teodoro, an SRU dance professor, received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for the 2024-25 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

During her sabbatical leave in the spring of 2025, Teodoro will examine specific dance forms that were born and practiced in the South American country of Colombia, specifically along the banks of the Magdalena River, a 950-mile waterway that represents the country’s complex history and fertile culture. Teodoro’s research will be the basis of an evening length production that will feature dance, music, audio visual projection and narrative performed by Palenque, a student-run Colombian dance ensemble at SRU that she leads.

She will also work with students and faculty at her host institution, Universidad del Atlántico in the city of Barranquilla.

2023-24 Dixon Trophy icon featuring background images of the Slippery Rock University cross country team, members of the track team, action during a football game, and a female tennis player

Best in Sports

Slippery Rock University had the No. 1 athletics programs in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference for 2023-24. SRU won the Dixon Trophy, which is awarded annually to one of the 18 Athletics Departments in the PSAC that has the highest average finish in league-sponsored championships.

SRU claimed its second Dixon Trophy since the award’s inception in 1995 and The Rock’s first since the 2007-08 academic year. SRU won two team titles in 2023-24, in women’s cross country and women’s indoor track and field, and six teams earned runner-up finishes.

man and woman holding a Slippery Rock pennant

Riley Goes to Capitol Hill

SRU President Karen Riley met with Pennsylvania representatives in U.S. Congress during a visit to their offices in Washington, D.C., Sept. 10-11. She met with both senators, Bob Casey and John Fetterman (pictured left with Riley), as well as Representative Mike Kelly, who serves Pennsylvania’s 16th District. She shared news and developments at SRU and discussed possible funding opportunities and partnerships for the University and its students.

science teacher teaching three students with a table between them that's covered with rocks, pebbles, sand, and weeds

Engineered for Success

SRU’s Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering programs have been accredited by ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, which is the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.

ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies, and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.

With SRU’s industrial and systems engineering and petroleum and natural gas engineering programs receiving ABET accreditation in 2022, all four of SRU’s undergraduate programs in engineering have now earned ABET accreditation.

Additionally, SRU’s petroleum and natural gas engineering program recently received a major boost through an in-kind gift from an industry partner. SRU Foundation Inc. accepted a software donation valued at $3.8 million on behalf of the University from PE Limited, an international company known as Petex that develops engineering software for the petroleum industry. This donation will allow students at SRU to use the same advanced software that oil and natural gas professionals use in the field.

man dressed as Elvis playing an acoustic guitar

ROCK VEGAS

Slippery Rock became Rock Vegas for SRU’s annual Homecoming celebration, Oct. 11-12, as the University welcomed back hundreds of alumni and hosted a variety of entertaining activities with a Las Vegas theme. Student organizations decorated the windows of local businesses and floats in the Homecoming parade paid tribute to the entertainment capital of the world and featured a few Elvis impersonators.

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