Patrick Cloonan
An Indiana University of Pennsylvania history major, 2022 Indiana Area High School graduate and IUP Reserve Officers Training Corps cadet is the 2025 recipient of the Theta Chi Heroes Scholarship.
Fox Vanleer, son of Jeffrey Vanleer and Carlie Vanleer, was honored at a recent dinner with a scholarship presented in memory of three IUP graduates, two of whom were fraternity members.
First Lt. James Flannery, Class of 1969 and a Theta Chi member, and Capt. Robert Young, Class of 1967, both were killed during the Vietnam War.
Also remembered is FBI Special Agent Gregory Spinelli, Class of 1970 and a Theta Chi member, who was killed in the line of duty in 1973.
Vanleer shared the podium at the university’s Veterans’ Day dinner with a Distinguished IUP Alumnus who grew up in Westmoreland County, Lt. Col. Barry Gasdek, who currently makes his home in Laramie, Wyo.
Gasdek was honored in 2015 with the Distinguished Alumni Award and at the spring commencement he received a Doctor of Public Service honorary degree from IUP.
He has provided decades of support to the university, including to its proposed college of osteopathic medicine, and a lifetime of service to others.
A portrait of Gasdek was dedicated at the Veterans Day dinner. As noted by IUP President Dr. Michael A. Driscoll, the event marked other milestones.
“This year marks the 75th anniversary of ROTC at IUP, a program that has shaped generations of leaders — men and women who have gone on to serve with distinction in every branch of the military,” Driscoll said. “ROTC’s legacy is woven into the fabric of our university, and tonight, we celebrate its enduring impact. This year we are also marking the 150th anniversary of IUP’s opening –– a milestone that reminds us of our deep roots and our forward-looking mission.”
Gasdek said he was “humbled to be honored alongside these fallen brothers who all paid the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country.” He shared stories of his service in the military, and called to mind another notable who served in the military.
“Teddy Roosevelt said it best in his ‘Man in the Arena’ speech,” Gasdek said. “it’s not the critic who counts, but one who steps forward — who risks, learns but dares greatly, whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly even when he fails.’ Those words still resonate. True growth and achievement come only when we step into the arena — to do the right thing — whether in the military, in sports, in the classroom, or in our communities. Character is forged not by comfort but by challenge. I know mine was shaped not just on the battlefield, but at home in Loyalhanna and Derry, in Pennsylvania’s public schools, and right here at IUP.”
Gasdek ended his remarks by thanking those in attendance for “your friendship, your support, and for keeping ROTC and IUP strong.”
Since 1951, when the first lieutenants were commissioned from the then-Indiana State Teachers College, Indiana’s ROTC has commissioned more than 2,300 lieutenants. Twelve of those lieutenants have risen to the highest ranks of the Army and Air Force as general officers.
