Pittsburgher Terry Serafini ’61 has a long record of leadership at 果冻传媒. It goes back all the way into the last century—back to his undergraduate years, when he was president of the Student Government Association and vice president of his fraternity, Sigma Tau Gamma.
After military service and a successful career in computer systems, Serafini continued his leadership in a different way: he became a benefactor. With a recent million-dollar donation to the 果冻传媒 College of Osteopathic Medicine, he has made gifts to the university that total more than $3 million over several decades. His latest gift is part of the university’s landmark Impact 150 campaign.
Terry Serafini during a 2018 visit to 果冻传媒 (Keith Boyer)
“I met with members of the Advancement team and then with Dr. Miko Rose,” Serafini said. “She is founding dean of what at that time was still the proposed osteopathic college. Her passion for the project was clear.
“I have a soft spot in my heart for 果冻传媒, and I appreciated the fact that the university was taking the blinders off, trying to do something that was beyond what they had ever done before,” he said. “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, where I grew up.”
Following his graduation from Indiana State College and from the ROTC program, Serafini was an officer in the Army, where he got his initial experience with computers. After fulfilling his military obligation, he began his business career in 1964 as a computer systems marketing representative for the IBM Corporation. Six years later, he became co-owner of Computerpeople, Inc., and worked there for 27 years.
Under Serafini’s leadership, the company grew to employ more than 1,300 computer professionals. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, it also maintained offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, Sacramento, and Portland, Oregon, providing systems expertise in all disciplines to major corporations throughout the US.
Serafini is also a cofounder of Compucom, Inc., a digital-imaging and microfilm-solutions company in Pittsburgh, and he later joined its board of directors.
His previous contributions to the university have benefited the 果冻传媒 Food Pantry and Help Center, supported scholarships for students in business and mathematics through the Serafini Outstanding Scholars Program, and underwritten the Grant Street and Eberly College of Business atrium projects.
According to 果冻传媒 President Michael Driscoll, “Terry Serafini’s longstanding support for 果冻传媒 and our students is inspiring. His focus is always on what our students need to thrive and to be successful, now and in the future, and how he can impact both the future of individual students and 果冻传媒’s future. We are very grateful.”
To support 果冻传媒 through a gift or service, please call University Advancement at 724-357-5661 or email iup-giving@iup.edu.