The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service. Its instructional mission[6] includes undergraduate, graduate, professional and continuing education offered through resident instruction and online delivery. Its University Park campus, the flagship campus, lies within the Borough of State College and College Township, Pennsylvania. The Penn State Dickinson School of Law has facilities located in both Carlisle and University Park and the College of Medicine is located in Hershey. Penn State has another 19 commonwealth campuses and 5 special-mission campuses located across the state.[7]
Penn State University Park is ranked among the top-fifteen public universities nationally[8] and is considered to be one of America's Public Ivy universities, which recognizes top public research universities in the United States.[9][10] Annual enrollment at the University Park campus totals more than 44,000 graduate and undergraduate students, making it one of the largest universities in the United States. It has the world's largest dues-paying alumni association.[11]
The university's total enrollment in 2009–10 was approximately 94,300 across its 24 campuses[12] and online through its World Campus.[13] The university offers more than 160 majors among all its campuses[14] and administers a US$1.52 billion (as of April 30, 2010) endowment.[15] The university's research enterprise exceeded $765 million for the 2009-2009 fiscal year,[16] and in fiscal year 2008 Penn State was ranked 11th among U.S. universities in research income[17] by the National Science Foundation.
Annually the university hosts the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), which has been "dubbed by supporters as the world's largest student-run philanthropy."[18] The university's athletics teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Penn State Nittany Lions. They compete in the Big Ten Conference for most sports.
Contents |
The school 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 (0.8 km2) of land – the first of 10,101 acres (41 km2) 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 Act, Pennsylvania selected the school in 1863 to be the state's sole land-grant college. In the following years, enrollment fell as the school tried to balance purely agricultural studies with a more classic education, falling to 64 undergraduates in 1875, a year after the school's name changed once again to the Pennsylvania State College.[19]
George W. Atherton became president of the school in 1882, and broadened the school's curriculum. Shortly after he introduced engineering studies, Penn State became one of the ten-largest engineering schools in the nation.[20] Atherton also expanded the liberal arts and agriculture programs, for which the school began receiving regular appropriations from the state in 1887.[21] Atherton is still honored today by the name of a major road in State College. Penn State's Atherton Hall, a well-furnished and centrally located residence hall, is named not after George Atherton himself, but after his wife, Frances Washburn Atherton.[22] His grave is in front of Schwab Auditorium near Old Main, marked by an engraved marble block in front of his statue.
In the years that followed, Penn State grew significantly, becoming the state's largest grantor of baccalaureate degrees and reaching an enrollment of 5,000 in 1936.[19] Around that time, a system of commonwealth campuses was started by President Ralph Dorn Hetzel to provide an alternative for Depression-era students who were economically unable to leave home to attend college.[19]
In 1953, President Milton S. Eisenhower, brother of then-U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, changed the school's name to The Pennsylvania State University, and the university developed rapidly under his successor Eric A. Walker. Under Walker's leadership (1956–1970), the university acquired hundreds of acres of surrounding land, and enrollment nearly tripled.[19] In addition, in 1967, the Hershey Medical Center, a college of medicine and hospital, was established in Hershey with a $50 million gift from the Hershey Trust Company.[19]
In the 1970s, university became a state-related institution. As such, it now belongs to the Commonwealth System of Higher Education, and is not part of the fully public Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
In recent years, the university's role as a leader in education in Pennsylvania has become very well-defined. In 1989, the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport joined ranks with the university, and in 2000, so did the Dickinson School of Law.[23] The university is now the largest in Pennsylvania, and in 2003, it was credited with having the second-largest impact on the state economy of any organization, generating an economic effect of over $17 billion on a budget of $2.5 billion.[24] To offset the lack of funding due to the limited growth in state appropriations to Penn State, the university has concentrated its efforts on philanthropy (2003 marked the end of the Grand Destiny campaign—a seven-year effort that raised over $1.3 billion).[25]
In 2011, the university and its football team garnered major international media attention and criticism for allegations that several members of its staff, from the university president down to a graduate assistant coach, covered up child sexual abuse by Jerry Sandusky, a former coach. Commentators have claimed that the university covered up the scandal in the interest of protecting its brand.[26] Two university administrators, athletic director Timothy Curley and Gary Schultz, Senior Vice President for Finance and Business, were indicted for perjury and Sandusky was indicted for the abuse. Coach Joe Paterno was fired[27] and school president Graham B. Spanier was forced to resign[28] by the Board of Trustees late the evening of November 9, 2011. In response to Paterno's ouster, thousands of students rioted with some property damage the night of the Trustees meeting. Calls came from outside the university for the cancellation of the rest of the football season[27][29] but the Nebraska game went ahead on November 12. Thousands attended a vigil in support of sexual abuse victims the night before the game near where the earlier disturbances had occurred. At Beaver Stadium, among other special observances, "both teams gathered at the center of the field, and the players dropped to one knee as the crowd fell silent. More than 100,000 hardly made a sound for 60 seconds. Then the fans began rhythmic clapping, cheering as the players rose and dispersed to their sidelines." Nebraska won 17-14 despite a comeback push from Penn State.[30]
As of fall 2010, the racial makeup of the Penn State system including all campuses and special-mission colleges, was 75.4 percent white, 5.5 percent African-American, 4.3 percent Asian-American, 4.4 percent Hispanic-American, 0.2 percent Native American, 0.1 percent Native Hawaiian/Pac Island, 1.7 percent two or more races, 5.8 percent international students and 3.1 percent of an unknown race. Over the period 2000–2010, minority enrollment as a percentage of total enrollments has risen 5.3 percentage points,[31] while minorities as a percentage of total teaching positions rose 2.0 percentage points from 1997 to 2002.[32]
Six-year graduation rates for the 2004 cohort at University Park was 85.3 percent. Graduation rates for by race among this group are 86.6 percent white, 75.0 percent African-American, 81.9 percent Asian-American, 77.4 percent Hispanic-American, 57.1 percent Native American and 76.1 percent international students [33]
The university's Undergraduate Admissions office offers information on a variety of topics for incoming and prospective students including FAQs, costs, financial aid and academic programs. Information on the middle 50 percent GPA and SAT ranges for accepted students is available to assess admission standards at the university.
Current tuition and room-and-board rates are available for University Park and all Penn State campuses.
According to a 2006 survey by USA Today, the university's flagship campus, University Park, has the highest in-state tuition rates among comparable institutions nationwide.[34] While a task force formed in 2001 to study options for tuition projections determined that the university's operating efficiency is among the highest in postsecondary education,[35] it found that tuition increases at Penn State still consistently outpaced increases at other Big Ten Conference institutions.[36] Student leaders of The Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG) have led annual rallies to support lower rate hikes at each of the nineteen commonwealth campuses and at the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg.[37][38] In 2005, the board of trustees proposed a tuition freeze at the commonwealth campus locations as part of its state appropriation request.[39]
Housing is available at eleven Penn State locations – Altoona, Beaver, Berks, Erie, Greater Allegheny, Harrisburg, Hazleton, Mont Alto, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Schuylkill and University Park.[40]
The largest of university's 24 campuses, University Park is almost entirely within the boundaries of State College borough, a site chosen to be near the geographic center of the state. With an undergraduate acceptance rate of 51 percent,[41] it is the most selective campus in the Penn State system, due primarily to the fact that students select University Park as their first-choice campus at a far greater rate than the university's other undergraduate campuses.[42] During the fall 2010 semester, 38,594 undergraduate students and 6,223 graduate students were enrolled at University Park.[43] Of those, 45.3 percent were female[44] and 30.6 percent were not Pennsylvania residents.[45]
There are seven housing complexes located on campus for students attending the University Park campus: East Halls, North Halls, Pollock Halls, South Halls, West Halls, Eastview Terrace, and Nittany Apartments. Each complex consists of a few separate buildings that are dormitories and a commons building, which has lounges, the help desk for the complex, mailboxes for each dormitory room, a small food shop, and a cafeteria-style room. Different floors within a building in the complex may be a Special Living Option, meaning students can sign up for that floor if they are in that major.
As of November 2009, 778 student organizations were recognized at the University Park campus.[46] In addition, the university has one of the largest Greek systems in the country, with approximately 12 percent of the University Park population affiliated. Additional organizations on campus include Thespians, Blue Band, Glee Club and LateNight.[47]
Student media on campus includes La Vie, the university's annual student yearbook; the student-run radio station The LION 90.7 FM (WKPS-FM); Com Radio, independently programmed and operated by university undergraduates; The Daily Collegian, a student-run newspaper; Onward State, a blog related to the Penn State community; and Phroth, a student-run humor magazine. For additional information on media related to Penn State – including Penn State Live, the official news source of the University – see the Media section below.
Penn State Live is the official news source of the university. The student-run newspaper is The Daily Collegian. It is published every weekday while classes are in session. Since the summer of 1996, the traditional paper publication has been supplemented by an online edition, known as The Digital Collegian. Onward State has recently gained standing as an alternative media outlet to The Daily Collegian. It is a blog centered on the Penn State community. Also long-time local web site StateCollege.com has expanded its news coverage of the university and the local community. In addition, Penn State's newspaper readership program provides free copies of USA Today, The New York Times, as well as local and regional newspapers depending on the campus location (for example, the Centre Daily Times in University Park). This program, initiated by then-President Graham Spanier in 1997,[48] has since been instituted on nearly 400 other universities across the country.[49]
La Vie (the Life), the university's annual student yearbook, has been in production documenting student life continuously since 1890.[50] La Vie 1987, edited by David Beagin, won a College Gold Crown for Yearbooks award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.[51]
The student-run radio station is The LION 90.7 fm (WKPS-FM). Founded in 1995 as a replacement for Penn State's original student radio station WDFM, The LION broadcasts from the ground floor of the HUB-Robeson Center, serving the Penn State and State College communities with alternative music and talk programming, including live coverage of home Penn State football games.
In addition, the Penn State College of Communications operates ComRadio. It was founded in the spring of 2003 as an internet-based audio laboratory and co-curricular training environment for aspiring student broadcasters. ComRadio is most well known for its coverage of most major Penn State sporting events. ComRadio also airs student-produced Penn State news. Other programming includes student talk shows, political coverage, AP syndicated news and soft rock music. In recent years, ComRadio broadcasters have won numerous state awards for their on-air work. The station's sports department prides itself on the broadcasts of every home and away football game, including bowl games, and its coverage of the NFL Draft live from New York City.
Onward State is a student-run blog geared towards members of the university's community. The blog provides news, features, and event-listings. Founded in November 2008, U.S. News & World Report named the blog the "Best Alternative Media Outlet" in February 2009. Alison Go, a blogger of U.S. News & World Report organized the contest "Best Alternative Media Outlet" at the beginning of 2009. Onward State, still a fledgling organization, was surprisingly nominated. Pitted against Onward State were seasoned blogs from UC Berkeley, Vassar, Wesleyan, Columbia, Georgetown, Middlebury, Yale, and an Ivy League conglomerate. Snatching 24.76 percent of the vote, Onward State finished in first place, pleasantly surprising the Penn State bloggers.[52][53] The Daily Collegian first acknowledged Onward State at the time of the blog's victory. The two Collegian articles brought greater awareness of the blog to the university's community. In an interview with The Collegian about next year's contest, Davis Shaver explained "We have big ambitions... I think that we're just going to be more established, more of a name within the Penn State community by then. There is a strong possibility of being Alternative Media repeat champions."[54]
The student-run humor magazine is Phroth, which publishes two to four issues each year. Its roots date back to 1909 when it was called Froth. Several Froth writers and editors have gone on to win fame: Julius J. Epstein wrote the screenplay for the film Casablanca (1942) and won three Academy Awards; Jimmy Dugan wrote for the Saturday Evening Post, National Geographic, and The New York Times; and Ronald Bonn was a producer with NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News.[55]
Kalliope is an undergraduate literary magazine produced by students and sponsored by the university's English Department. Kalliope includes works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art.[56] The student-run life and style magazine is Valley.[57]
Penn State has been the subject of controversy for several issues of discrimination. Following some violent attacks on African-Americans in downtown State College in 1988 and complaints that Penn State was not adequately recruiting African-American faculty and students to representative population levels, student activists occupied Old Main and demanded that Penn State do more to recruit minority students and address intolerance toward minority students on campus, as well as in the local community. After President Bryce Jordan canceled a promised meeting with students and organizations in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center on April 8, 1988, 250 students and activists nonviolently occupied Penn State's Telecommunications building on campus. The following morning, 50 state troopers and 45 local and campus police, equipped with helmets, batons, and rubber gloves, entered the building as the crowd outside sang “We Shall Overcome”, arresting 89 individuals for trespassing.[58] All charges were later dismissed.
In 1990 a vice provost for educational equity was appointed to lead a five-year strategic plan to "create an environment characterized by equal access and respected participation for all groups and individuals irrespective of cultural differences."[59][60] Since then, discrimination issues include the handling of death threats in 1992 and 2001,[61][62][63][64] controversy around LGBT issues,[65] and the investigation of a 2006 sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by former Lady Lions basketball player Jennifer Harris, alleging that head coach Rene Portland dismissed her from the team in part due to her perceived sexual orientation.[66][67]
Every February, thousands of students participate in the Penn State Dance Marathon (THON), which has been "dubbed by supporters as the world's largest student-run philanthropy."[18] In previous years, participants stood for 48 hours nonstop and performed a line dance at least once every hour to stay alert. In 2007, THON was moved to the Bryce Jordan Center and now lasts 46 hours. THON raises millions of dollars annually for pediatric cancer care and research, generally through the Four Diamonds Fund. In 2010, THON raised more than $7.83 million,[68] and a record $9,563,016.09 in 2011.[69]
The 22,000+ student section at home football games is the largest concentrated student section in the nation. However, the university has the lowest percentage of students given the opportunity to purchase season in tickets in the Big Ten, and one of the lowest in the nation at just 25.25% (it should be noted that this percentage includes students at all 24 campuses statewide; the student section is approximately 50% of the students attending the University Park campus). Conversely, Ohio State University, with a student section of 29,000 tickets has seats for 57.16% of their students.[70] Penn State students were listed number one in the "students who pack the stands" category of the 2009 Princeton Review survey.[71] Due to a change in the way seating is assigned, beginning in 1993 tradition has been for students to camp outside of the stadium on the days leading up to important games, and beginning in 2005 the campsite has been called "Paternoville."[72]
In addition to the University Park campus, 19 campus locations throughout the state offer enrollment for undergraduate students. Over 60 percent of Penn State first-year students begin their education at a location other than University Park.[73] All of these satellite campuses offer a limited number of degree programs, but any student in good academic standing is guaranteed a spot at University Park to finish his or her degree if required or desired. Most students do complete their degree program at University Park (known as "change of assignment," since commonwealth campuses are subsidiary to University Park and therefore "transferring" is an inaccurate term).[74]
The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University was founded in 1834 and is the oldest law school in Pennsylvania. It merged with Penn State in 2000. Students now have the choice of studying in either Carlisle or University Park, with classes teleconferenced between the two locations using high-tech audiovisual equipment. The school is ranked among the top 100 law schools nationally. It has produced a number of governors, members of congress, and judges. A number of attorneys comprise the faculty and lead several centers and institutes devoted to specific practice areas. The school's alternative dispute resolution program is ranked among the top 10 nationally. The law school also houses the School of International Affairs.
The Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies is a special mission campus offering master's degrees, master's certification, and continuing professional education. Located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, it also offers classes at the old Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
Penn State Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the university's medical school and teaching hospital. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center has become only the ninth hospital in the United States and 16th worldwide to implant the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart when a 60-year-old man suffering from end-stage heart failure received the device in May 2008.
Pennsylvania College of Technology, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, offers certificates as well as degrees in over 10 technical fields.
In 1998, the university launched Penn State World Campus, or Penn State Online, which offers more than 60 online education programs, degrees, and certificates. Distance education has a long history at Penn State, one of the first universities in the country to offer a correspondence course for remote farmers in 1892. Examples of online programs include an MBA, master of professional studies in homeland security, a bachelor of science in nursing, and postbaccalaureate certificates in geographic information systems and applied behavior analysis. Penn State's World Campus offers 18 graduate degrees, 21 graduate certificates, 17 undergraduate degrees, and 11 undergraduate certificates. World Campus students come from all 50 U.S. states, more than 40 countries, and six continents.
The University Park campus is organized into fourteen distinct colleges:[75]
|
|
In addition, the university's Board of Trustees voted in January 2007 to create a School of International Affairs, with the first classes admitted in the fall 2008 semester.[76] The school is part of the Dickinson School of Law at its University Park campus location.[77]
As of 2008, the School of Nursing was added to the list as a separate college.[78]
Penn State is a "state-related" university, part of Pennsylvania's Commonwealth System of Higher Education. As such, although it receives funding from the Commonwealth and is connected to the state through its board of trustees, it is otherwise independent and not subject to the state's direct control. For the 2006–2007 fiscal year, the university received 9.7 percent of its budget from state appropriations, the lowest of the four state-related institutions in Pennsylvania.[79] Initial reports concerning the 2007–2008 fiscal year indicated that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is recommending a 1.6 percent increase in state appropriations.[80] Penn State's appropriation request, submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education in September, requested a 6.8 percent increase in funding.[81]
The university is governed by the 32-member board of trustees. Its members include the university's president, the Governor of the Commonwealth, and the state Secretaries of Agriculture, Education, and Conservation and Natural Resources. The other members include six trustees appointed by the Governor, nine elected by alumni, and six elected by Pennsylvania agricultural societies. Six additional trustees are elected by a board representing business and industry enterprises.[82] Undergraduate students do not elect any trustees; the court case Benner v. Oswald ruled that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not require the undergraduate students be allowed to participate in the selection of trustees.
As of 2009, the chair of the board of trustees was James S. Broadhurst, a 1965 graduate of Penn State and CEO of Eat'n Park Hospitality Group, Inc.[83]
The main responsibilities of the board are to select the president of Penn State, to determine the goals and strategic direction of the University, and to approve the annual budget.[84] Regular meetings of the board are held bi-monthly and take place primarily on the University Park campus, although on occasion meetings are held at other locations within the Commonwealth.[85]
Current Membership as of November 17, 2011[86]
Members ex officio
Note: The date in parentheses following each name below indicates the year in which the term will expire. Trustees appointed by the Governor serve until their successors have been appointed and confirmed.
Appointed by the Governor
Elected by Alumni
Elected by delegates from agricultural societies
Elected by Board representing business and industry
Emeriti trustees
The president of the University is selected by the board and is given the authority for actual control of the university, including day-to-day management. In practice, part of this responsibility is delegated by the president to other departments of the administration, to the faculty, and to the student body.[84] Provost Rodney Erickson became President on November 9, 2011, after President Graham Spanier was fired in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.[2]
The executive vice president and provost is the chief academic officer of the University. As of November 2012, the provost is Rob Pangborn[87], and the Associate Vice President and Senior Associate Dean For Undergraduate Education is Jeremy Cohen.
The university has a long history of student government with student inclusion in university decision-making capacities, as provided for in the Board of Trustee's Standing Orders.[88] The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) is the student government of the 38,594[89] undergraduate students at Penn State's University Park campus.[90] UPUA is composed of an Assembly of Student Representatives, an Executive Board, and a Board of Arbitration. UPUA is currently led by President TJ Bard and Vice President Courtney Lennartz. The Assembly is the legislative body of UPUA and is composed of many elected positions whose constituencies range from all of the academic units of Penn State to the areas of residency.[91]
There are also student governance bodies in each college. The most prominent college councils include the Earth and Mineral Science Student Council[92] and the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Council.[93] In addition, students that live in the residence halls are represented by the Association of Residence Hall Students (ARHS) acts as an independent student organization, addressing on-campus issues.[94] Each of the residence areas on the University Park campus also features its own association.
The commonwealth campuses of the university are governed by the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG), formerly known as the Council of Branch Campus Student Governments (CBCSG).[95] CCSG meets typically three times a semester at University Park, with two representatives from each commonwealth campus. The CCSG Central Staff, while based out of the University Park Campus, deals with issues affecting commonwealth campus students. CCSG is the oldest undergraduate student government at Penn State and is currently led by President Peter Khoury and Vice President Justin Cortes.
| University rankings (overall) | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| ARWU[96] | 31 |
| U.S. News & World Report[97] | 45 |
| Washington Monthly[98] | 7 |
| Global | |
| ARWU[99] | 43 |
| QS[100] | 94 |
| Times[101] | 51 |
The 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks the university 43rd among universities worldwide. U.S. News & World Report ranks the university's undergraduate program 45th in its 2012 American's Best College.[102] In 2011, the university was also ranked 94th in the QS World University Rankings.[103]
According to a Wall Street Journal survey released in September 2010, the university was ranked number 1 among 479 corporate recruiting executives who were asked to identify "whose bachelor degree graduates were the best-trained and educated, and best able to succeed once hired."[104][105]
As of September 2009, only 24 Pennsylvania colleges and universities held Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation in business and only four in accounting. The Smeal College of Business, The Sam and Irene Black School of Business, Penn State Harrisburg, and Penn State Great Valley were among the institutions accredited.[106]
The university offers an accelerated Premedical-Medical Program in cooperation with Jefferson Medical College.[107] Students in the program spend two or three years at the university before attending medical school at Jefferson.
Recently, a joint venture between the Eberly College of Science and the Smeal College of Business created an integrated undergraduate/graduate program to give highly motivated students the opportunity to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Science and an MBA two to five years sooner than those pursuing a traditional path. The BS/MBA Program prepares individuals to be future leaders of the world's scientific organizations and is led by Mr. Peter Tombros and Dr. James Gardner.
According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the university is a research university with very high research activity.[108] Over 10,000 students are enrolled in the university's graduate school (including the law and medical schools), and over 70,000 degrees have been awarded since the school was founded in 1922.[109]
Penn State's research and development expenditure has been on the rise in recent years. For fiscal year 2007, the National Science Foundation reported that Penn State had spent $652,144,000 on R&D and ranked 11th among U.S. universities and colleges in R&D spending.[110] For the 2008–2009 fiscal year, Penn State was ranked ninth among U.S. universities by the National Science Foundation, with $753 million in research and development spending for science and engineering.[111] During the 2009–2010 fiscal year, Penn State received $780 million in research expenditures.[112]
The Applied Research Lab (ARL), located near the University Park campus, has been a research partner with the United States Department of Defense since 1945 and conducts research primarily in support of the United States Navy. It is the largest component of Penn State's research efforts statewide, with over 1,000 researchers and other staff members.[113][114]
The Materials Research Institute was created to coordinate the highly diverse and growing materials activities across Penn State's University Park campus. With more than 200 faculty in 15 departments, 4 colleges, and 2 Department of Defense research laboratories, MRI was designed to break down the academic walls that traditionally divide disciplines and thereby enable faculty to collaborate across departmental and even college boundaries. MRI has become a model for this interdisciplinary approach to research, both within and outside the university.[115][116]
The university was one of the founding members of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), a partnership that includes 17 research-led universities in the United States, Asia, and Europe. The network provides funding, facilitates collaboration between universities, and coordinates exchanges of faculty members and graduate students among institutions. Former Penn State president Graham Spanier is a former vice-chair of the WUN.[117][118]
The Pennsylvania State University Libraries were ranked 14th among research libraries in North America in the 2003–2004 survey released by The Chronicle of Higher Education.[119]
The university's library system began with a 1,500-book library in Old Main. In 2009, its holdings had grown to 5.2 million volumes, in addition to 500,000 maps, five million microforms, and 180,000 films and videos.[120]
The university is the home of CiteSeerX, one of the most prominent open-access repositories and search engines in computer and information sciences.
The campus is also host to a Radiation Science & Engineering Center, which houses the oldest operating university research reactor. Additionally, University Park houses the Graduate Program in Acoustics, the only freestanding acoustics program in the United States.
Penn State's mascot is the Nittany Lion, a representation of a type of mountain lion that once roamed what is now University Park. The school's official colors, now blue and white, were originally black and dark pink. Penn State participates in the NCAA Division I-A and in the Big Ten Conference for most sports.[121] A few sports participate in different conferences: men's volleyball in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA); men's lacrosse in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA); women's lacrosse in American Lacrosse conference; and hockey (American Collegiate Hockey Association). The fencing teams operate as independents.
Athletic teams at Penn State have won 68 national collegiate team championships (37 NCAA, 2 consensus Division I football titles, 6 AIAW, 3 USWLA, 1 WIBC, and 4 national titles in boxing, 11 in men's soccer and one in wrestling in years prior to NCAA sponsorship).[122] There have been another 54 national collegiate championships, by either individuals or club teams. The 40 NCAA Championships ranks seventh all time in NCAA Division I, and is the most of any Big Ten school.[123] Recent championships won include Women's Rugby (2007, 2009, 2010 as a club member of Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU)),[124] Men's Gymnastics (2007),[125] Men's/Women's Fencing (2007, 2009, 2010),[126] Men's Volleyball (2008),[127] Women's Volleyball (2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010),[128] and Wrestling in 2010 won their respective national titles. Since the 2007 season the university has won 10 National Championships in 5 different sports, the most among current Division 1-A teams.
Since joining the Big Ten in 1991, Penn State teams have won 60 regular season conference titles and 13 tournament titles, including fourteen consecutive titles in women's soccer (longest streak in women's Big Ten athletic history),[129] and eighth straight in women's volleyball (the longest streak in Big Ten volleyball history).[130]
Penn State has one of the most successful overall athletic programs in the country, as evidenced by its rankings in the NACDA Director's Cup, a list compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics that charts institutions' overall success in college sports. From the Cup's inception in the 1993–1994 season through the 2007–2008 season, the Nittany Lions have finished in the top 10 eight times and the top five four times, and have finished in the top 25 every year.[131]Since the 2007 season, Penn State has won ten National Championships in 5 different sports, the most among current Division 1-A teams.
In 1999, Sporting News named Penn State as the country's best overall athletic program, citing its consistent and wide-ranging athletic successes along with its athletes' long-standing tradition of excelling in the classroom. Penn State placed 6th in Sports Illustrated's top 25 rankings for athletic success for the 2007–08 academic year, the highest of any Big Ten school.[132][133]
Penn State student-athletes receive academic honors that often far exceed those awarded to other Division 1-A schools. In the 2007–08 academic year, a school record 261 Penn State Student-Athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Penn State leads the Big Ten with 3,069 selections.[134]
Despite widespread success in the overall athletic program, however, the school is best known for its football team, which draws a very large following. Penn State's Beaver Stadium has the second largest seating capacity of any stadium in the nation,[135] slightly behind Michigan Stadium. The football team was led by coach Joe Paterno, who at 84 was fired in 2011, his 45th year as head coach. Joe Paterno was in a close competition with Bobby Bowden, the head coach for Florida State, for the most wins ever in Division I-A (now the FBS) history. This competition effectively ended with Paterno still leading following Bowden's retirement after the 2010 Gator Bowl. Entering the 2010 campaign, Paterno had 394 total career wins.[136] He won his 400th game, a huge comeback with the final score 35–21 against Northwestern University, on November 6, 2010. In 2007, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[137]
In 2009, Cael Sanderson became the head coach of Penn State's wrestling team.
The university opened a new Penn State All-Sports Museum in February 2002. This two-level 10,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) museum is located inside Beaver Stadium.[138] In addition to the school funded athletics, club sports also play a major role in the University, with over 68 club sport organizations meeting regularly to date. Many club teams compete nationally in their respective sports. The Penn State Ski Team, which competes as part of the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) in the Allegheny Conference, as well as the Penn State Swim Club, which competes in the American Swimming Association – University League (ASAU), are just a few examples. Some other clubs include baseball, squash, karate, crew, and sailing.
Penn State's most well known athletic cheer is "We are...Penn State." Typically, the students and cheerleaders shout, "We are," followed by a response of "Penn State" from the rest of the fans. This is typically done three or four times, and followed by "Thank you..." "... you're welcome!" when completed. The cheer is by no means restricted to sporting events, as prospective students touring the campus (with the aid of either the Lion Scouts or Lion Ambassadors) will hear plenty of these chants from current students.
Established in 1870, nine years after the university's first commencement exercises, the Penn State Alumni Association has the stated mission "to connect alumni to the University and to each other, provide valuable benefits to members and support the University's mission of teaching, research and service."[139] The Alumni Association supports a number of educational and extracurricular missions of Penn State through financial support and is the network that connects alumni through over 280 "alumni groups", many of which are designated based on geographical, academic, or professional affiliation.[140]
As of July 1, 2010, the Alumni Association counts 496,969 members within the United States, with an additional 16,180 in countries around the globe.[141][142] About half the United States alumni reside in Pennsylvania, primarily in the urban areas of Philadelphia (and the surrounding counties), the Pittsburgh Area and in the Centre County region surrounding State College, although alumni can be found in every region of the country and abroad. About 34 percent of United States alumni and 21 percent of international alumni are members of the Alumni Association.[143][144] With membership totaling 164,658, the Penn State Alumni Association is the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world, a distinction it has held since 1995.[145]
Since 2001, the university, along with all schools in the Big Ten, has participated in the "Big Ten Challenge" website, which is a "competitive" clearinghouse of alumni donation statistics for member schools. Results are tracked to determine a percentage of each school's alumni from the previous decade who gave to their alma mater each calendar year (during the 2005–2006 year, alumni donations from 1996 to 2005 were tallied). With the exception of 2005–2006, when Penn State fell to second behind Northwestern University,[146] Penn State has won the challenge each year since its inception.[147][148][149][150]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||