It is governed by a local Council of Trustees and the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

In 1927, by authority of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, it became State Teachers College at Indiana, with the right to grant degrees.

The decline caused financial difficulties for the university which struggled to cover costs for its 2010 dormitory expansion.

[9] In October 2020, IUP President Michael Driscoll announced restructuring and retrenchment plans related to leadership's NextGen proposal.

[10] Retrenchment or lay-off notices were issued to 81 tenured or tenure-track faculty on October 30, 2020, with another 47 expected before the end of the academic year.

[12][13] In the spring of 2023, in an effort to address decreasing enrollment and a budget deficit of $20 million, IUP eliminated five executive positions including four vice presidents and the chief marketing officer.

Its original building, a Victorian structure named John Sutton Hall once housed the entire school.

In January 2000, former President Lawrence K. Pettit established a board to create the Allegheny Arboretum at IUP.

The Crimson Hawks, formerly known as the Indians, compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) of NCAA Division II.

IUP annually produces teams and individuals that compete for championships on the conference, regional and national levels.

[27] The IUP men's basketball team likewise lost the NCAA Division II national title game twice in 2010 and 2015.

The IUP Men's ice hockey (ACHA Division 1) team won the CHMA season championship in 2018–2019, the CHMA playoff in 2019-2020 awarded a bid to the ACHA National Tournament as the 19th seed,[29] but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[36] The IUP men's lacrosse team were the 2018 and 2019 Three Rivers Conference Champions and were ranked 13th in the nation in Division II for the 2020 season.