York College of Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
York College of Pennsylvania is a private college located in York, Pennsylvania. Founded originally in 1787 as the York Academy, the college has approximately 4,700 students. The school colors are green and white, the maschot is the spartan. The college paper is "The Spartan" and the student lounge in the student union is named "Spart's Den".
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[edit] History
York College was previously known as the York Technical Institute and York Junior College. It was not until the 1960's that the college obtained four-year accredidation status. Its accreditation coincided with the complete relocation of the institution to a vast tract of undeveloped land just south of the City of York, in neighboring Spring Garden Township. The college also owns and operates nearby York Country Day School. Currently, the college is undertaking a massive capital improvement project by finishing the construction of a state-of-the-art sports arena, gymnasium, and residence complexes on its West Campus and a retrofitting of its current gymnasium into a performing arts theatre. This progress follows the renovation of the college's Schmidt Library, which was completed in September of 2004. The school completed the construction of the Grumbacher Center, the new sports center, in April of 2006 and has since began work on the Humanities and Social Sciences Building.
There is wide speculation that these projects, along with the addition of graduate courses, are part of a more grandiose plan for the college to finally ascend to university status, presumably under the name of the University of Southern Pennsylvania. Alternatively, it has been rumored that the school may be renamed as York University of Pennsylvania (YUP) or South Central University, in relation to its geographic location in the state.
[edit] Academics
York College has over 50 undergraduate majors in ten academic departments.
York College is known for its nursing and business administration programs.
York College is also the host campus for WVYC as well as over 80 other clubs and organizations.
The school has been recently called a "best buy" by US News & World Report and a "hidden gem" by the Wall Street Journal[citation needed].
[edit] Sports
Recently, the school gained tremendous recognition when the men's basketball team reached the NCAA Division III Final Four and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) named York's Jeff Gamber Division III National Coach of the Year. Gamber earned the national honor after leading the Spartans to a record of 28-4.
During the summer of 2006, the finishing touches were made on a 160,000 square foot, multi-million dollar facility known as the Grumbacher Fitness Center. The Grumbacher Center includes three court field house, a state of the art strength and fitness center, 12 recreational lane natatorium, elevated jogging track, two-story climbing wall, classroom space, multipurpose rooms and the new Charles Wolf Gymnasium. The center was recently complimented by two artificially surfaced playing fields and an all-weather running track complete with throwing circles and jumping pits.
In recent years, the men's and women's Rugby clubs have received recognition for their numerous Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union championships, as well as several trips to National Championship tournaments, with both teams placing in the top 10 nationally. This includes the Women's team going to the National Division II Elite 8 championships in Iowa in 2003. The clubs' ability to compete with much larger universities despite the small student body has been an area of great respect for both clubs.
[edit] The Rock
A large rock about 6 feet tall sits next to the student union. This rock is painted green every December and May a week before graduation. After commencement graduating students paint their names and messages in white.
The Rock, or "Old Spart" as it was once known, was brought to campus by the class of 1972. The original rock was dropped while attempting to move it for construction in 1996. The college obtained a new rock close to the same size and placed it on the same spot the original rock stood.
[edit] York College Football
York College does not have a football team, but the book store does sell York College Football t-shirts and hoodies. On the back of these it reads "Undefeated since 1787". These are one of the more popular clothing items sold by the York College Bookstore.
The reason York college has no football team is most likely because of it's small size. As college legend has it there is also another meaning. A story that is told to freshmen sometimes tells about a contribitor to the school who gives a large sum of money to York College every year but only if the school continues to not have a football team. The reason being for this is that the contributor had a son who died while playing football. It is unknown how this rumor began or if it is true.
