The Memorial Field House swimming pool will be named in honor of the late John A. Pidgeon, formerly of Saltsburg and Indiana.
The Council of Trustees approved the naming during its public meeting September 25, 2009.
In the resolution, the trustees noted that Pidgeon provided “extraordinary support for and commitment to the university's athletic department,” including a gift in 2004 to establish the John A. Pidgeon Scholarship for men and women swimmers.
The resolution also recognized that Pidgeon was responsible for securing additional contributions to the Pidgeon Scholarship and gave “considerable time in his service as a volunteer coach for the IUP men's and women's swim teams and as a volunteer coach of a youth swim team.”
Pidgeon died on May 12, 2008. He volunteered as an IUP swimming coach from 2002 to 2007.
Pidgeon retired from his position as headmaster of the Kiski School in 2002 after forty-five years of service. A native of Massachusetts, he was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a graduate of Bowdoin College. He held honorary doctoral degrees from Bethany College and Washington and Jefferson College. In addition to his work as headmaster at Kiski, he also taught English and coached several sports teams and numerous prep school All-American swimmers.