Terry A. Serafini, an East Deer native and Pittsburgh businessman, has donated $1 million to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine as the university plans a fall 2027 opening for the new school.
“I have a soft spot in my heart for IUP, and I appreciate the fact that IUP was taking the blinders off, trying to do something that was beyond what they had ever done before,” said Serafini in a statement. He graduated from IUP in 1961 with a degree in mathematics education and physics.
“The osteopathic field seems to be aligned with rural communities, and that struck a chord with me — the fact that a college of osteopathic medicine could help not so much the research centers of the world but the Punxsutawneys, the Clymers, and places like Creighton, Pennsylvania, where I grew up — those smaller communities. So a number of boxes were checked,” he said, adding praise for College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean Miko Rose and her team.
Serafini became co-owner of Computerpeople Inc., a Robinson-based company, in 1970. He also co-founded Compucom Inc., a digital imaging and microfilm company in Pittsburgh’s South Side.
In 2022, IUP’s Council of Trustees endorsed exploring the potential development of osteopathic medicine at the school, in an effort to address health care access in rural areas.
In December 2025, IUP trustees approved the doctor in osteopathic medicine degree, which would be offered through the proposed school, said university spokeswoman Michelle Fryling. The next step in the approval process is a review by the state system of higher education’s board of governors.
If approved by the board, IUP’s medical school would be the fourth college of osteopathic medicine in the state, and the first affiliated with a public university.
The proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine has “candidate status” from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, Fryling said. IUP is now seeking “pre-accreditation status,” which, once obtained, will allow IUP to start recruiting students.
Part of the accreditation process is securing clinical training sites, Fryling said. IUP has secured nearly double of the needed clinical training spots required at 19 different sites, she said.
Fryling said that, typically, students in colleges of osteopathic medicine spend the first two years of their schooling in the classroom, and the last two years at clinical sites. IUP has also secured a pre-clinical training agreement with the Indiana County Coroner’s Office for future osteopathic medicine students.
IUP hosted a site visit with the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation in late February, Fryling said.
The university expects to hear the results of that visit in April. IUP anticipates recruiting students later this year.
The College of Osteopathic Medicine’s projected opening is fall 2027.
Serafini’s donation is part of IUP’s “Impact 150” fundraising campaign, which has a goal of raising $150 million to the university. IUP reports that, including Serafini’s donation, the campaign has raised around $102 million so far.
Outside funding for the proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine totals around $48 million, according to IUP, with donations coming from individuals, foundations and agencies. In addition, IUP has worked with state and federal legislators to direct government funding to the project.