Penn State University Park

Last updated

Penn State University Park
Penn State University Park campus in the snow, January 2019.jpg
Type Public
Established1855
President Neeli Bendapudi
Administrative staff
2,787 full-time [1]
Undergraduates 40,363 (2017) [2]
Postgraduates 6,342 (2018) [3]
Location, ,
40°48′24″N77°52′49″W / 40.80667°N 77.88028°W / 40.80667; -77.88028
Campus College town
Nickname Nittany Lions
Affiliations Big Ten Conference and Independent
Mascot Nittany Lion
Website psu.edu

University Park, also referred to as Penn State University Park, is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania. The campus post office was designated "University Park, Pennsylvania" in 1953 by Penn State president Milton Eisenhower, after what was then Pennsylvania State College was upgraded to university status.

Contents

History

Old Main, c. 1855 Farmer's High School and Old Main.jpg
Old Main, c.1855

The school that later became Penn State University was founded as a degree-granting institution on February 22, 1855, by act P.L. 46, No. 50 of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania. Centre County, Pennsylvania, became the home of the new school when James Irvin of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, donated 200 acres (80.9 ha) of land the first of 10,101 acres (4,088 ha) the school would eventually acquire. In 1862, the school's name was changed to the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, and with the passage of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Pennsylvania selected the school in 1863 to be the state's sole land-grant college. The school's name changed to the Pennsylvania State College in 1874; enrollment fell to 64 undergraduates the following year as the school tried to balance purely agricultural studies with a more classic education.

In 1953, the university sought a name change for the town called State College to reflect the new status of the school as a university. As the name change referendum failed to pass, the resolution ended with a new postal address to be called "University Park".

Student-run media

Media originating from University Park include Onward State ; the world's most-read student-run news website, WKPS, a student run radio station; and The Daily Collegian , a student run newspaper.

Student government

Old Main-Penn State Old Main - Penn State.png
Old Main-Penn State

Within the campus, a student government is a set of elected positions by the student body to represent the students with relations with the university. It is divided between undergraduate and graduate students.

Special interest groups representing minorities also exist within the campus also have an influence towards university policies that get enacted by the university.

Major buildings

Landmarks

Athletics

Penn State University has won 54 NCAA team national championships, as well as 34 national team titles in current and former NCAA sports that were not bestowed by the NCAA.

SportClubFoundedVenueNational championshipsChampionship years
Basketball Penn State Nittany Lions Men's Basketball 1897 Bryce Jordan Center 0N/A
Basketball Penn State Lady Lion's Women's Basketball 1965Bryce Jordan Center0N/A
Football Penn State Nittany Lions football 1887 Beaver Stadium 21982, 1986
Ice Hockey Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey 1939 Pegula Ice Arena 0N/A
Ice Hockey Penn State Nittany Lions women's ice hockey 1996Pegula Ice Arena0N/A
Soccer Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer 1911Jeffrey Field12ISFA: 1926*, 1929, 1933*, 1949*, 1954, 1955*; Claimed: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940; Soccer Bowl: 1949 (tie), 1950 (* shared)
Volleyball Penn State Nittany Lions men's volleyball 1976 Rec Hall 21994, 2008
Volleyball Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball 1976Rec Hall71999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014
Wrestling Penn State Nittany Lions Wrestling 1909Rec Hall131921, 1953, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024

In addition to the above, Penn State women's and coed fencing teams have won 16 national championships, and the men's and women's gymnastics teams have won 15 national titles, including NCAA, AIAW, and AAU titles. University teams have also won national titles in men's boxing and cross country and women's bowling, field hockey, lacrosse, rifle, and soccer.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State College, Pennsylvania</span> Home rule municipality in Pennsylvania, United States

State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally, and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaver Stadium</span> American football stadium at Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Beaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in Penn State University Park. It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of the stadium date back to 1909. It was also the site of university commencements until 1984. The stadium, as well as its predecessors, is named after James A. Beaver (1837–1914), a governor of Pennsylvania (1887–91), president of the university's board of trustees, and native of nearby Millerstown. Officially, the stadium is part of the municipality known as College Township, Pennsylvania, although it has a University Park address.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania State University</span> Public university in Pennsylvania, US

The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State and sometimes by the acronym PSU, is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State was named the state's first land-grant university eight years later, in 1863. Its primary campus, known as Penn State University Park, is located in State College and College Township.

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Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, officially known as the Pennsylvania State University at Erie, The Behrend College and often shortened as Penn State Behrend, is a public satellite campus of Penn State University and is located just outside Erie, Pennsylvania. It is among the largest of Penn State's commonwealth campuses, with about 4,400 students enrolled in Behrend programs on campus and online. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in four academic schools: The Sam and Irene Black School of Business, the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Science, which includes the Nursing Program. Penn State Behrend also offers five master's degrees, as well as a diverse range of continuing education trainings through its Community and Workforce Programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Coaly</span>

Old Coaly was a mule who helped to build the original Old Main building on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University and gained fame as an early Penn State mascot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rec Hall</span> Field house at Pennsylvania State University

Recreation Building, often referred to as Rec Hall, is a field house on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. The building was opened on January 15, 1929, and remains in active use. Penn State's gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling teams compete in Rec Hall. The university's men's and women's basketball teams moved to the Bryce Jordan Center in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Nittany Lions</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Penn State University

The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.

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Lacrosse has been played in Pennsylvania since the 19th century. There are many amateur programs at the club, college, and high school level, as well as several past and present professional teams in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Major League Lacrosse (MLL).

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The Penn State Nittany Lions men's lacrosse team represents Pennsylvania State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college lacrosse.

Penn State Nittany Lions women's ice hockey is a college ice hockey program that has represented Penn State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I since the 2012–13 season. The Nittany Lions were members of College Hockey America (CHA) from their first season through the 2023–24 season, after which CHA merged with the Atlantic Hockey Association to form Atlantic Hockey America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey, formerly known as the Penn State Icers, is a college ice hockey program that represents the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to the 2012–13 season the program was designated a club sport and competed at the ACHA Division I level. PSU was previously a member of the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL, although the team competed as an independent ACHA D-I member for the 2011–12 season before moving to the NCAA D-I level. They play at the Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegula Ice Arena</span>

The Pegula Ice Arena is a 6,014-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania on the campus of Penn State University. The facility is located on the corner of Curtin Road and University Drive near the Bryce Jordan Center. The arena is named after Kim and Terry Pegula for their donations to fund the arena and it replaced the 1,350-seat Penn State Ice Pavilion.

The Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Pennsylvania State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Penn State Nittany Lions women's lacrosse team is an NCAA Division I college lacrosse team representing Pennsylvania State University as part of the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Panzer Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

The Penn State Nittany Lions field hockey team is the intercollegiate field hockey program representing Pennsylvania State University. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), although it was also previously a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). The Penn State field hockey team plays its home games at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on the university campus in State College, Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions captured the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship twice, in 1980 and 1981, and have won 10 regular-season conference titles as well as eight conference tournament championships. While Penn State has qualified for the NCAA tournament 30 times, and has made seven appearances in the semifinals and two in the championship game, it has never won the NCAA national championship. The team is currently coached by Charlene Morett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer</span> Womens soccer team of Penn State University

The Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team at Pennsylvania State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Nittany Lions play at Jeffrey Field in State College, Pennsylvania on the campus of Pennsylvania State University.

References

  1. "The Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus Student to Faculty Ratio & Faculty Composition".
  2. "Admission and University Statistics".
  3. "Statistics on Graduate Study at Penn State".