Pennsylvania State University facts for kids
Old Main, the main administrative building of Penn State, at University Park.
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Former names
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• Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania (1855–1862) • Agricultural College of Pennsylvania (1862–1874) • Pennsylvania State College (1874–1953) |
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Type | • Public • State-related • Land-grant • Space-grant • Multi-campus |
Established | 1855 |
Endowment | $1.546 billion (systemwide) |
President | Eric Barron |
Academic staff
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6,010 (full time) |
Students | 44,817 University Park 33,977 Commonwealth Campuses 630 Dickinson School of Law 800 College of Medicine 795 Great Valley 6,290 PA College of Tech 8,524 World Campus 95,833 Total |
Undergraduates | 38,594 University Park 32,295 Commonwealth Campuses 6,290 PA College of Tech 4,634 World Campus 77,179 Total |
Postgraduates | 6,223 University Park 1,682 Commonwealth Campuses 795 Great Valley 630 Dickinson School of Law 800 College of Medicine 3,890 World Campus 14,020 Total |
Location |
University Park
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United States
40°47′46″N 77°51′46″W / 40.79611°N 77.86278°W |
Campus | University Park Campus: 5,448 acres (22 km²). TOTAL Campuses: 18,370 acres (74 km²) |
Colors | Dark Royal Blue and White |
Nickname | Nittany Lions |
Affiliations | • Association of American Universities • Committee on Institutional Cooperation • Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association |
Website | psu.edu |
Pennsylvania State University is a college in the state of Pennsylvania. The main campus is in the city of State College, Pennsylvania and it has branch campuses around the state. It was founded in 1855. In 1863, the Pennsylvania state legislature picked the school to be the state's only land grant college. Its purpose is to do teaching, research, and public service. It teaches undergraduate, graduate, professional and continuing education students both in classrooms and online.
Penn State University Park is ranked among the top-fifteen public universities in the United States. Annual enrollment at the main 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.
The university's total enrollment in 2009–10 was approximately 94,300 across its 24 campuses and online through its World Campus. The university offers more than 160 majors among all its campuses Penn State has a US$1.52 billion (as of April 30, 2010) endowment. The university's research budget was more than $765 million for the 2009-2009 fiscal year. In fiscal year 2008, the National Science Foundation ranked Penn State 11th among U.S. universities in research income.
Penn State is a school known for its football team. Penn State is a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Organization and administration
Penn State is a "state-related" university, part of Pennsylvania's Commonwealth System of Higher Education. It receives money from the Commonwealth. The state appoints 10 out of 32 people on its board of trustees. Penn State is 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. As Pennsylvania's land grant college, the state and federal governments provide matching funds for research and cooperative extension in agriculture, home economics and related fields.
The board of trustees selects a president of the University. The president controls the university, including day-to-day management. In practice, the president gives power to other departments of the administration, to the faculty, and to the student body. Provost Rodney Erickson became interim President on November 9, 2011, after President Graham Spanier was fired.
The executive vice president and provost is the chief academic officer of the University. As of 2011, the provost is Rodney Erickson, and the Associate Vice President and Senior Associate Dean For Undergraduate Education is Jeremy Cohen.
Sports
Penn State's sports teams are nicknamed Nittany Lions, except for the women's basketball team, which is known as the Lady Lions. Almost all teams play in the Big Ten Conference. Two teams in sports that the Big Ten does not sponsor play elsewhere. The women's ice hockey team plays in College Hockey America and the men's volleyball team in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.
Images for kids
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Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
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Guion Bluford, first African American to go to space
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Keegan-Michael Key, actor, comedian, writer
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Francisco Sagasti, interim President of Peru
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Mark Parker, former president-CEO of Nike, Inc
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Saquon Barkley, professional football player
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Patricia Woertz, former Executive Vice President of the Chevron Corporation
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Jef Raskin, human-computer interface expert, conceived Macintosh project at Apple, Inc
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Jonathan Frakes, actor and director
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Terry Pegula, billionaire businessman and owner of the Buffalo Bills
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Ty Burrell, actor
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Mike Doyle, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
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Julius J. Epstein, Academy Award winning screenwriter of Casablanca
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Lara Spencer, American co-anchor of Good Morning America
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Paul Berg, biochemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner for research on nucleic acids
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Charlie Dent, former U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
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Jigme Thinley, former Prime Minister of Bhutan
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Ken Frazier, Chairman & CEO of Merck & Co.
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Lisa Salters, sports journalist
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Franco Harris, former professional football player
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David Taylor, wrestler and 2020 Olympic gold medalist
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Kelly Ayotte, former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire
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Ali Krieger Two time Olympian, Two time World Cup champion, professional soccer player
See also
In Spanish: Universidad Estatal de Pensilvania para niños