In Joe Paterno’s extraordinary career as Penn State’s head football coach from 1966 to 2011, Paterno was the most recognizable Penn Stater and citizen of Centre County. Not only was the longevity of his career at one institution exceptional in the world of intercollegiate football, but his success was unequaled as well: No other NCAA […]
The embodiment of the Penn State spirit for many is the statue of the Nittany Lion, situated in a small grove of trees to the east of Rec Hall. It is quite likely the most photographed place on the campus. Hundreds of thousands of students in caps and gowns at graduation, couples in wedding garb, […]
The Nittany Lion is Penn State’s beloved mascot, “storied in song and legend.” It takes its name from Mount Nittany and the mountain lions that once roamed there and across Pennsylvania. Today, the Lion mascot is ubiquitous across campus for sporting, philanthropic, or any event that inspires the cheer “WE ARE … PENN STATE!”
Thelma Price was the first Black woman to serve as assistant vice president for Student Affairs at Penn State. She was known for her advocacy of minority students. The native of Detroit, joined Penn State in 1964 as an assistant dean of students at the New Kensington campus. In 1971, she became the acting director […]
Creamery is beloved institutional symbol of Penn State. Its ice cream and dairy products are legendary among alumni, students, and visitors. The Ice cream short courses have attracted students from every continent.
Ralph Dorn Hetzel lead Penn State from 1926 to 1947, a period of exceptional growth in enrollment and campus construction, despite the twin crises of the Great Depression and World War II. During his tenure, enrollment grew from about 4,000 to more than 12,000, including a several new satellite campuses. The university also embarked on […]
Calvin H. Waller is considered the first Black graduate of Penn State. The native of Macon, Georgia, graduated in 1905 with a bachelor of science degree in agriculture. At the time, relatively few black students enrolled at state colleges and no official records indicated the racial identities of students during the time Waller was enrolled. […]
James Addams Beaver was a widely known attorney, a Civil War officer, and the governor of Pennsylvania from 1887-1891. He also played a leading role in Penn State’s early decades and served as interim president for two years; today, the football stadium bears his name. Beaver was born on October 21, 1837, in Millerstown, Perry […]
The Centre County Library, founded in 1939, serves readers with four locations and a bookmobile. The creation of what is now a county library system began with the generosity of Bellefonte resident, Ann Elmira Humes,who agreed to donate her home, the historic Miles-Humes House, for a public library.
The Palmer Museum of Art is Penn State’s art museum. It is the largest art museum between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. A new $85 million, 73,000-square-foot museum opened in June 2024 within the Penn State Arboretum. It nearly doubles the museum’s size and includes twenty galleries, as well as new education and event spaces, a museum store and café, and a sculpture path.