George Washington Atherton — Penn State’s “second founder” — was the longest-serving president in the institution’s history. During nearly a quarter-century, from 1882 to 1906, Atherton took a failing college and transformed it into a stable institution poised for growth in the twentieth century. For all his work in building Penn State, however, perhaps his […]
The Armory, built in 1892 to provide military training for Penn State students, was a landmark campus building until it was demolished in 1964 to provide space for a new wing for undergraduate classrooms in Willard Building.
Chartered by the Commonwealth in 1855, the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania by the early 1860s had become the first successful agricultural college in America. The impetus for the school that became Penn State came from the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society founded to promote the state’s vast farming community.
Evan Pugh was the first president of the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania, the fledgling institution that, under his leadership, would become Penn State. Pugh’s great accomplishment did not come easily. Beginning in the early 1850s, state agricultural societies fueled a movement to establish agricultural colleges. These new institutions seemed oxymoronic to some — college […]
The Arboretum at Penn State is a longtime goal of the university that was finally achieved in 2009 and since then has become one of the most popular campus destinations. The university’s early leaders envisioned the campus as an arboretum in many respects. William G. Waring, the first professor of horticulture who was actively involved […]
Beaver Stadium, the home of Penn State football, provides a venue for the passionate connection of students, alumni, and fans to the University and the communal experience of a football Saturday. With its 106,572-seat capacity, Beaver Stadium is the second-largest stadium in the United States. Penn State football plays a major role in the economy […]