Pennsylvania State University

{{short description|Public university with multiple campuses in Pennsylvania, United States}}

{{Infobox university

| name = The Pennsylvania State University

| image = Pennsylvania State University seal.svg

| image_upright = .7

| former_name = {{•}}Farmer's High School of Pennsylvania (1855-62) {{•}}Agricultural College of Pennsylvania (1862-74) {{•}}The Pennsylvania State College (1874-1953)

| motto = Making Life Better

| established = {{start date and age|1855}}

| type = [[Public university|Public]] [[Commonwealth System of Higher Education|state-related]] [[Land-grant university|land-grant]] [[flagship]] [[research university]]

| parent =

| endowment = $3.40 billion (2020)<ref name=endowment>As of June 30, 2020. {{cite report |url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Documents/Research/2020-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL-FEBRUARY-19-2021.ashx |title=U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers and [[TIAA]] |date=February 19, 2021 |access-date=February 19, 2021}}</ref>

| budget = $7 billion (2020)<ref>{{cite web|title=Penn State Budget Overview|url=https://budget.psu.edu/openbudget/default.aspx}}</ref>

| president = [[Eric J. Barron]]<ref name=presoffice>{{cite web|url=http://president.psu.edu/ |title=Office of the President |work=President.psu.edu|access-date=February 12, 2018}}</ref>

| provost = Nicholas P. Jones<ref>[http://www.psu.edu/provost/ Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122204544/http://www.psu.edu/provost/ |date=January 22, 2014 }}. Psu.edu (July 2, 2013). Retrieved on April 12, 2014.</ref>

| students = 96,408<ref name=Enrollment2019>{{cite web|url= https://factbook.psu.edu/factbook/StudentDynamic/UGGREnrollSummary.aspx?YearCode=2019Enr&FBPlusIndc=N |title=Undergraduate and Graduate/First Professional Fall Enrollment 2019 and 2018|website=Budget.psu.edu |access-date=November 14, 2019}}</ref> {{•}}46,723 (University Park)

| undergrad = 81,080<ref name=Enrollment2019 /> {{•}} 40,639 (University Park)

| postgrad = 15,328<ref name=Enrollment2019 /> {{•}} 6,084 (University Park)

| city = [[University Park, Pennsylvania|University Park]]

| state = [[Pennsylvania]]

| country = United States

| campus = [[Rural area|Rural]]/[[College town]], {{convert|7343|acre|km2}} Total (statewide), {{convert|22484|acre|km2}}<ref>{{cite web|title= Penn State OPP|url=https://www.opp.psu.edu/sub-division/university-real-estate-services}}</ref>

| nickname = [[Penn State Nittany Lions|Nittany Lions]]

| mascot = [[Nittany Lion]]

| free_label = Newspaper

| free = ''[[The Daily Collegian]]''

| sporting_affiliations = [[NCAA Division I]] – [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]]

[[Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association|MAISA]]

| website = {{url|www.psu.edu}}

| academic_affiliations = {{hlist

|[[Association of American Universities|AAU]]

|[[APLU]]

|[[Big Ten Academic Alliance|BTAA]]

|[[CDIO Initiative|CDIO]]

|[[Center for Research Libraries|CRL]]

|[[Oak Ridge Associated Universities|ORAU]]

|[[University Corporation for Atmospheric Research|UCAR]]

|[[Universities Research Association|URA]]

|[[National Sea Grant College Program|Sea-grant]]

|[[Space-grant university|Space-grant]]

|[[Sun Grant Association|Sun-grant]]

}}

| faculty = 8,864<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/HRDynamic/FacultyStaffTableOfContents.aspx|title=Penn State Factbook – Faculty & Staff |website=Budget.psu.edu|access-date=September 3, 2011}}</ref>

| coor = {{coord|40|47|54|N|77|51|36|W|region:US-PA_type:edu|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| colors = Nittany Navy and [[White Out (Penn State)|White Out]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://brand.psu.edu/design-essentials.html|title=Penn State Brand Book - Design Essentials|access-date=April 21, 2020}}</ref> {{color box|#1E407C}} {{color box|#FFFFFF}}

| logo = Pennsylvania State University logo.svg

| logo_upright = 1.0

| embedded = {{designation list

|embed=yes

| designation1 = NRHP

| designation1_offname = Ag Hill Complex

| designation1_type = Building

| designation1_criteria = Event, Architecture/Engineering

| designation1_date = January 12, 1979<ref>{{cite web|url=https://focus.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/79002191|title=Asset Detail |website=focus.nps.gov|access-date=May 31, 2018}}</ref>

| delisted1_date =

| designation1_partof =

| designation1_number = 79002191

| designation2 = NRHP

| designation2_offname = [[Farmers' High School]]

| designation2_type = District

| designation2_criteria = Event, Architecture/Engineering

| designation2_date = September 11, 1981<ref>{{cite web|url=https://focus.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/81000538|title=Farmers' High School|access-date=May 31, 2018}}</ref>

| delisted2_date =

| designation2_partof =

| designation2_number = 81000538

| designation3 = Pennsylvania

| designation3_offname = Pennsylvania State University, The

| designation3_type = Roadside

| designation3_criteria =

| designation3_date = April 30, 1947<ref name="PAHMDB">{{cite web |url=http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pennsylvania_historical_marker_program/2539/search_for_historical_markers|title=PHMC Historical Markers Search|work=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission|publisher=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|format=Searchable database|access-date=January 25, 2014}}</ref>

| delisted3_date =

| designation3_partof =

| designation3_number =

}}

'''The Pennsylvania State University''' ('''Penn State''' or '''PSU''') is a [[Public university|public]] [[Commonwealth System of Higher Education|state-related]] [[Land-grant university|land-grant]] [[research university]] with campuses and facilities throughout [[Pennsylvania]]. Founded in 1855 as the '''Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania''',<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://news.psu.edu/story/399523/2016/03/23/pennsylvania/farmers-high-school | title=The Farmers' High School | Penn State University}}</ref> Penn State became the state's only [[Land-grant university|land-grant]] university in 1863. Today, Penn State is a major [[research university]] which conducts teaching, research, and public service. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional and continuing education offered through resident instruction and online delivery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psu.edu/this-is-penn-state/leadership-and-mission|title=Leadership and Mission {{!}} Penn State University |access-date=November 1, 2018|work=PennState}}</ref> In addition to its land-grant designation, it also participates in the [[sea-grant]], [[space-grant]], and [[sun-grant]] research consortia; it is one of only four such universities (along with [[Cornell University]], [[Oregon State University]], and [[University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]]). Its [[University Park, Pennsylvania|University Park]] campus, which is the largest and serves as the administrative hub, lies within the [[State College, Pennsylvania|Borough of State College]] and [[College Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|College Township]]. It has two law schools: [[Penn State Law]], on the school's University Park campus, and [[Pennsylvania State University – Dickinson Law|Dickinson Law]], in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania|Carlisle]]. The [[Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center#Penn State College of Medicine|College of Medicine]] is in [[Hershey, Pennsylvania|Hershey]]. Penn State is one university that is geographically distributed throughout Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Pennsylvania State University |url=https://news.psu.edu/story/363251/2015/07/17/administration/commonwealth-campuses-world-campus-deliver-promise-access|title=Commonwealth Campuses, World Campus deliver on promise of access, affordability|access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref> There are 19 [[Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth Campus|commonwealth campuses]] and 5 special mission campuses located across the state.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|url=http://www.psu.edu/ur/cmpcoll.html|title=Penn State University – Campuses and Colleges|access-date=September 3, 2011|archive-date=July 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731150005/http://www.psu.edu/ur/cmpcoll.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The University Park campus has been labeled one of the "[[Public Ivy|Public Ivies]]," a publicly funded university considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the [[Ivy League]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Moll|first=Richard|title=Public Ivys: A Guide to America's best public undergraduate colleges and universities|url=https://archive.org/details/publicivysguidet0000moll|url-access=registration|year=1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Greene, Howard and Matthew |title=The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities|year=2001}}</ref>

Annual enrollment at the University Park campus totals more than 46,800 graduate and undergraduate students, making it one of the [[List of largest United States university campuses by enrollment|largest universities in the United States]].<ref name=Enrollment2016>{{cite web|url=http://budget.psu.edu/factbook/studentdynamic/UGGREnrollSummary.aspx?YearCode=2016Enr&FBPlusIndc=N|title=Undergraduate and Graduate/First Professional Fall Enrollment 2016 and 2015|website=Budget.psu.edu |access-date=December 3, 2016}}</ref> It has the world's largest dues-paying alumni association.<ref>Penn State Alumni Association. [http://alumni.psu.edu/about_us "Alumni Association Overview"]. Retrieved October 30, 2012.</ref> The university's total enrollment in 2015–16 was approximately 97,500 across its 24 campuses<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/StudentDynamic/StudentTableofContents.aspx#HeadcountEnrollment&FBPlusIndc=N|title=Penn State Factbook – Table of Contents|publisher=Budget Office – Pennsylvania State University}}</ref> and online through its [[Penn State World Campus|World Campus]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Penn State World Campus |url=https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu|publisher=Pennsylvania State University}}</ref> The university offers more than 160 majors among all its campuses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.registrar.psu.edu/programs_majors/programs_majors_index.cfm|title=Office of the University Registrar – Programs and Majors|publisher=Pennsylvania State University}}</ref> The university's research expenditures totaled $836 million during the 2016 fiscal year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.research.psu.edu/sites/default/files/2016_OVPR_Annual_Report.pdf|title=Penn State Annual Report of Research Activity Fiscal Year 2016|website=Office of the Vice President for Research|access-date=April 2, 2017}}</ref>

Annually, the university hosts the [[Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon]] (THON), which is the world's largest student-run philanthropy.<ref name="THONam" /> This event is held at the [[Bryce Jordan Center]] on the University Park campus. In 2014, THON raised a program record of $13.3 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.psu.edu/story/305308/2014/02/23/impact/thon-2014-redefines-possibilities-133-million-pediatric-cancer|title=THON 2014 'redefines the possibilities' with $13.3 million for pediatric cancer | Penn State University|website=news.psu.edu}}</ref> The university's athletics teams compete in [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] of the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] and are collectively known as the [[Penn State Nittany Lions]], competing in the [[Big Ten Conference]] for most sports. Penn State students, alumni, faculty and coaches have received a total of [[List of Pennsylvania State University Olympians|54 Olympic medals]].

== History ==

=== Early years ===

[[File:Farmer's High School and Old Main.jpg|thumb|left|Old Main {{circa}} 1855]]

The school was sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society and founded as a degree-granting institution on February 22, 1855,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.psu.edu/story/560465/2019/02/22/academics/penn-state-world-campus-helps-university-stay-true-founding|title=Penn State World Campus helps University stay true to founding mission {{!}} Penn State University|website=news.psu.edu|language=en|access-date=2019-03-08}}</ref> by Pennsylvania's state legislature as the '''[[Farmers' High School]] of Pennsylvania'''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Penn State University|last=Range II|first=Thomas|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4671-1695-4|location=Charleston, South Carolina}}</ref> The use of "college" or "university" was avoided because of local prejudice against such institutions as being impractical in their courses of study. [[Centre County]], Pennsylvania, became the home of the new school when [[James Irvin]] of [[Bellefonte, Pennsylvania|Bellefonte]], Pennsylvania, donated {{convert|200|acre|km2|1}} of land<ref name=":0" />{{spaced ndash}}the first of {{convert|10101|acre|km2|0}} 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 Acts]], Pennsylvania selected the school in 1863 to be the state's sole [[Land-grant university|land-grant]] college.<ref name=":0" /> The school's name changed to the '''Pennsylvania State College''' in 1874;<ref name=":0" /> enrollment fell to 64 undergraduates the following year as the school tried to balance purely [[Agricultural science|agricultural studies]] with a more classic education.<ref name="history_short" />

[[File:Penn State - Electrical Engineering and Chemistry Building - Cassier's 1894-06.png|thumb|The Electrical Engineering and Chemistry Building]]

[[George W. Atherton]] became president of the school in 1882, and broadened the curriculum. Shortly after he introduced [[Engineering|engineering studies]], Penn State became one of the ten largest engineering schools in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=History Of Mechanical Engineering – Chapter 1: 1886–1907 (L. E. Reber) |publisher=Pennsylvania State University, Department of Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering |url=http://www.mne.psu.edu/History/chapter1.html |access-date=August 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104200643/http://www.mne.psu.edu/History/chapter1.html |archive-date=November 4, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Atherton also expanded the [[liberal arts]] and agriculture programs, for which the school began receiving regular appropriations from the state in 1887.<ref name=atherton>{{cite web|title=George W. Atherton |url=http://www2.libraries.psu.edu/psul/speccolls/psua/pshistory/presidents/atherton.html|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=September 18, 2010}} {{dead link|date=January 2016}}</ref> A [[U.S. Route 322|major road]] in [[State College, Pennsylvania|State College]] has been named in Atherton's honor. Additionally, Penn State's [[Atherton Hall (Penn State)|Atherton Hall]], a well-furnished and centrally located residence hall, is named not after George Atherton himself, but after his wife, Frances Washburn Atherton.<ref name="intercom_atherton">{{cite web |title=Descendants of Atherton and Buckhout Discover Their Roots at University Park|url=http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/intercom_2002/Oct10/atherton.html|work=Penn State Intercom, October 10, 2002 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=September 18, 2010}}</ref> His grave is in front of Schwab Auditorium near [[Old Main (Pennsylvania State University)|Old Main]], marked by an engraved [[marble]] block in front of his statue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.psu.edu/story/166077/2010/07/19/athertons-grave-penn-states-campus|title=Atherton's Grave on Penn State's campus | Penn State University|website=news.psu.edu}}</ref>

=== Early 20th century ===

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.<ref name="history_short">{{cite web|title=Pennsylvania State University – Mission and Public Character|url=http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/historyshort.html|publisher=Pennsylvania State University |access-date=September 18, 2010}}</ref> Around that time, a system of commonwealth campuses was started by President [[Ralph Dorn Hetzel]] to provide an alternative for [[Great Depression|Depression]]-era students who were economically unable to leave home to attend college.<ref name="history_short" />

In 1953, President [[Milton S. Eisenhower]], brother of then-[[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], sought and won permission to elevate the school to university status as '''The Pennsylvania State University'''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bezilla|first1=Michael|title=Penn State: An Illustrated History|date=1985|publisher=Pennsylvania State university Press |isbn=978-0-271-00392-4}}</ref> Under his successor [[Eric A. Walker (engineer)|Eric A. Walker]] (1956–1970), the university acquired hundreds of acres of surrounding land, and enrollment nearly tripled.<ref name="history_short" /> In addition, in 1967, the [[Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center]], a college of medicine and hospital, was established in [[Hershey, Pennsylvania|Hershey]] with a $50 million gift from the [[Hershey Trust Company]].<ref name="history_short" />

{{wide image|PennStateCollege 1922.tif|600px|Students sit outside Pennsylvania State College ({{circa}} 1922)|100|center|alt=Students sit outside Pennsylvania State College (c.1922)}}

=== Modern era ===

[[File: 2009-365-123 Scoping Out Old Main (3498558458).jpg|thumb|Old Main Entrance]]

In the 1970s, the university became a [[Commonwealth System of Higher Education|state-related]] institution. As such, it now belongs to the [[Commonwealth System of Higher Education]]. In 1975, the lyrics in Penn State's alma mater song were revised to be gender-neutral in honor of [[International Women's Year]]; the revised lyrics were taken from the posthumously-published autobiography of the writer of the original lyrics, Fred Lewis Pattee, and Professor Patricia Farrell acted as a spokesperson for those who wanted the change.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/almamater.html|title=For The Glory of Old State|website=psu.edu}}</ref>

In 1989, the [[Pennsylvania College of Technology]] in [[Williamsport, Pennsylvania|Williamsport]] joined ranks with the university, and in 2000, so did the Dickinson School of Law.<ref name="dickinson_history">{{cite web|title=Penn State Law – History |url=http://law.psu.edu/prospective_students/history|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=September 18, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609222249/http://law.psu.edu/prospective_students/history|archive-date=June 9, 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref name="economic_impact">{{cite web|title=The Pennsylvania State University Economic Impact Statement|url=http://econimpact.psu.edu/|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=September 18, 2010}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite news|title=Historic Grand Destiny Campaign Raises $1.371 Billion for Penn State |url=http://news.psu.edu/story/219453/2003/07/11/historic-grand-destiny-campaign-raises-1371-billion-penn-state|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=September 18, 2010}}</ref>

==== Child sex abuse scandal ====

In 2011, the university and its football team garnered major international media attention and criticism due to a [[Penn State sex abuse scandal|sex abuse scandal]] in which university officials were alleged to have covered up incidents of [[child sexual abuse]] by former football team defensive coordinator [[Jerry Sandusky]]. Athletic director [[Timothy Curley]] and Gary Schultz, Senior Vice President for Finance and Business, were indicted for perjury. In the wake of the scandal, coach [[Joe Paterno]] was fired<ref name=BG01>[[Dan Shaughnessy|Shaughnessy, Dan]] (November 10, 2011). [https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2011/11/10/penn-state-should-cancel-season-fire-staff/5Sor57F73lE0dOvDPjG7EO/story.html "Penn State Should Cancel Season, Fire Staff"]. ''[[The Boston Globe]]''. Retrieved November 10, 2011.</ref> and school president [[Graham Spanier|Graham B. Spanier]] was forced to resign<ref>McGill, Andrew; Assad, Matt; Sheehan, Daniel Patrick (November 10, 2011). [http://articles.mcall.com/2011-11-10/news/mc-penn-state-spanier-20111109_1_joe-paterno-president-graham-spanier-joepa "Penn State President Graham Spanier Resigns in Wake of Scandal"]. ''[[The Morning Call]]''. Retrieved November 10, 2011.</ref> by the [[#Board of trustees|board of trustees]]. Sandusky, who maintained his innocence,<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15730317 BBC News – Jerry Sandusky regrets showers with boys at Penn State]. BBC News (November 15, 2011). Retrieved on August 17, 2013.</ref> was indicted and subsequently convicted in June 2012 on 45 counts for the abuse.

A subcommittee of the board of trustees engaged former [[FBI]] director [[Louis Freeh]] to head an independent investigation on the university's handling of the incidents. Freeh released his findings in July 2012, announcing that Paterno, along with Spanier, Curley and Schultz "conceal[ed] Sandusky's activities from the board of trustees, the university community and authorities" and "failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade".<ref name=FreehReport>[http://media.pennlive.com/midstate_impact/other/REPORT_FINAL_071212.pdf Report of the Special Investigative Counsel Regarding the Pennsylvania State University Related to the Child Sexual Abuse Committed by Gerald A. Sandusky]. Jul 2012. p. 14-15.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Johnson |first1=Kevin |last2=Marklein |first2=Mary Beth |title=Freeh report blasts culture of Penn State |date=July 13, 2012 |newspaper=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-07-12/louis-freeh-report-penn-state-jerry-sandusky/56181956/1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713110430/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-07-12/louis-freeh-report-penn-state-jerry-sandusky/56181956/1 |archive-date=July 13, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> On July 23, 2012, the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] announced a series of sanctions against Penn State and the Nittany Lions football team for the role of their leadership in the Penn State sex abuse scandal. The [[NCAA]] penalized Penn State football with a $60 million fine, a ban from bowl games and post-season play for 4 years, a reduction in [[scholarship]]s from 25 to 15 per year for four years, the vacating of all wins from 1998 to 2011 and a 5-year probationary period.<ref>{{cite web|title=NCAA: Penn State Gets 4-Year Bowl Ban, Must Vacate Wins From 1998–2011|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/07/23/penn-state-sanctions-from-ncaa-in-wake-of-freeh-report/ |publisher=CBS News New York|access-date=July 23, 2012|date=2012-07-23 }}</ref>

The validity of the sanctions later came into question, and emails surfaced that indicated highly ranked officials within the NCAA did not believe the organization had the jurisdiction to pass down the original sanctions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/sports/ncaafootball/ncaa-questioned-its-authority-in-penalizing-penn-state.html |title=NCAA questioned its authority in Penalizing Penn State|work=The New York Times|date=November 6, 2014|access-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref> Subsequent emails, brought forward under subpoena, quoted an NCAA vice-president, "I characterized our approach to PSU as a bluff when talking to Mark [Emmert, NCAA president] ... He basically agreed [because] I think he understands that if we made this an enforcement issue, we may win the immediate battle but lose the war."<ref>{{cite web|first=Mark|last=Wogenrich|url=http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-ncaa-penn-state-emails-corman-lawsuit-20141105-story.html#page=1|title=NCAA emails suggest bluff to Penn State in Sandusky sanctions|publisher=The Morning Call|date=November 5, 2014|access-date=December 5, 2014}}</ref> On September 8, 2014, the sanctions, following a report by former U.S. Senator and athletics integrity monitor [[George J. Mitchell]] citing progress by Penn State in implementing reforms, were officially repealed by the NCAA,<ref name=sanctionsreduced2014>{{cite news|title=NCAA lifts Penn State's bowl ban, restoring scholarships in 2015 |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ncaa-lifts-penn-states-bowl-ban-restoring-scholarships-in-2015/|access-date=September 8, 2014 |work=CBS News|date=September 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2014-09-08/ncaa-restores-penn-state-football-postseason-scholarships |title=NCAA restores Penn State football postseason,scholarships|date=September 8, 2014|publisher=NCAA|access-date=September 8, 2014}}</ref> and on January 16, 2015, all previous records were restored.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Van Natta|first1=Don|title=Joe Paterno is now winningest coach|url=http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12179571/joe-paterno-111-wins-were-vacated-restored|website=ESPN|access-date=16 January 2015}}</ref>

An investigation led by former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, who was retained by the Paterno family to review the Freeh report,<ref name="usatoday2013" /> concluded that the report that placed so much blame on Penn State and Paterno was a "rush to injustice" that could not be relied upon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thinktank/Penn-State-release-Freeh-report-documents.html|title=Thornburgh: Penn State, release Freeh report documents|date=April 16, 2015|access-date=October 2, 2015}}</ref> He found that not only did the evidence "fall far short" of showing Paterno attempted to conceal the Sandusky scandal, but rather that "the contrary is true".<ref name="usatoday2013">{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/02/11/paterno-report-thornburgh/1910529/|author=Dick Thornburgh|title=Freeh hastily misjudged Paterno: Column |work=USA Today |publisher=ESPN |date=February 11, 2013|access-date=October 2, 2015}}</ref> In November 2014, state Sen. Jake Corman released emails showing "regular and substantive" contact between NCAA officials and Freeh's investigators, suggesting that the Freeh conclusions were orchestrated.<ref name="mcall.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.mcall.com/sports/college/psu/mc-penn-state-president-review-freeh-report-20141115-story.html|title=Penn State President Eric Barron to review Freeh Report – The Morning Call|author=The Morning Call|date=November 15, 2014|work=The Morning Call}}</ref>

====Death of Timothy Piazza====

On February 2, 2017, Timothy Piazza, a pledge of the [[Beta Theta Pi]] fraternity at the university died while undergoing hazing activities at the university. Eighteen members of the Penn State Beta Theta Pi fraternity were charged in connection with Piazza's death and the fraternity was closed and banned from campus indefinitely.

The [[Penn State Nittany Lions football]] Head Athletic Trainer played a large role in the organizing and facilitating of hazing pledges between the 2016 and 2017 academic school years.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Davis|first=Kordel|date=2020-01-15|title=Hazed by the Penn State Football Head Athletic Trainer|url=https://medium.com/@kordeldavis/hazed-by-the-penn-state-football-head-athletic-trainer-18ecf30d403c|access-date=2020-09-02|website=Medium|language=en}}</ref>

====Coronavirus====

On January 24, 2020, Penn State announced it was monitoring an outbreak of [[COVID-19]] as it had begun to spread inside of the United States. In February, Penn State restricted travel to China, Italy and Japan as well as requiring students returning from level 3 countries to be quarantined.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collegian.psu.edu/coronavirus-graphic/image_0f9a1fee-5c0f-11ea-87fe-3bbae1c78cc5.html|title=Coronavirus graphic|first=Erin|last=Hogge/Collegian|website=The Daily Collegian}}</ref> During Spring Break, on March 11, 2020, Penn State canceled all in-person classes at its 20 campuses until at least April 3 which was later extended to the remainder of their spring and summer semesters.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/campus/penn-state-suspends-in-person-classes-through-april-3-due-to-coronavirus-concerns-opts-for/article_d285f1b8-63c6-11ea-b9ed-d3136809e250.html|title=Penn State suspends in-person classes through April 3 due to coronavirus concerns, opts for online learning|first=Collegian|last=Staff|website=The Daily Collegian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/coronavirus/penn-state-extends-online-learning-period-through-spring-semester-postpones-commencement/article_64fe74f2-692b-11ea-ad04-cb67343deba4.html|title=Penn State extends online learning period through spring semester, postpones commencement|first=Chelsea Kun | The Daily|last=Collegian|website=The Daily Collegian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/campus/penn-state-cancels-in-person-summer-2020-classes-will-continue-remote-learning-due-to-coronavirus/article_012c94e6-7fb4-11ea-a65b-7f55b53db5c0.html|title=Penn State cancels in-person summer 2020 classes, will continue remote learning due to coronavirus|first=Michael Sneff | The Daily|last=Collegian|website=The Daily Collegian}}</ref>

== Campuses ==

=== University Park ===

[[File: Ag Hill Panoramic.jpg|thumb|Panoramic view of Ag Hill Complex]]

[[File:Nittany Lion Shrine (3).JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|Nittany Lion Shrine]]

The largest of the university's 24 campuses, [[University Park, Pennsylvania|University Park]] is located in [[State College, Pennsylvania|State College]] borough and [[College Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|College Township]] in [[Centre County, Pennsylvania|Centre County]], a site chosen because it is near the geographic center of the state. University Park is a city within Pennsylvania with its own ZIP code (16802). With an undergraduate acceptance rate of 49 percent,<ref>{{cite web |title=Penn State University--University Park |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/penn-state-6965|work=[[US News and World Report]]|access-date=September 26, 2018}}</ref> it is the most selective campus in the Penn State system, primarily due 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.<ref name="upark competitive">{{cite web |url=http://www.psu.edu/admissions/counselors/campuses/uppopularity.htm |title=Why Is Admission to University Park So Competitive? |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910113143/http://www.psu.edu/admissions/counselors/campuses/uppopularity.htm |archive-date=September 10, 2006 |date=August 29, 2006 |author=Undergraduate Admissions Office |access-date=August 2, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> During the fall 2018 semester, 40,363 undergraduate students and 5,907 graduate students were enrolled at University Park.<ref name="enrollment upark">{{cite web|url=https://budget.psu.edu/factbook/StudentDynamic/UGGREnrollSummary.aspx?YearCode=2018Enr&FBPlusIndc=N|title=Undergraduate and Graduate/First Professional Fall Enrollment|work=Penn State Fact Book|publisher=University Budget Office. Pennsylvania State University|access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref> Of those, 46.5 percent were female<ref name="enrollment upark gender">{{cite web|url=https://budget.psu.edu/factbook/StudentDynamic/gendersummarynew.aspx?yearcode=2018&FBPlusIndc=N|title=Enrollment by Gender, Fall 2018|work=Penn State Fact Book|publisher=University Budget Office. Pennsylvania State University|access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref> and 42.4 percent were non-Pennsylvania residents.<ref name="enrollment upark residency">{{cite web|url=https://budget.psu.edu/factbook/StudentDynamic/PANonPASummary.aspx?YearCode=2018Enr&FBPlusIndc=N|title=Enrollment by Residency, Fall 2018|work=Penn State Fact Book|publisher=University Budget Office. Pennsylvania State University|access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref>

The University Park campus is centrally located at the junction of [[Interstate 99]]/[[U.S. Route 220 in Pennsylvania|U.S. Route 220]] and [[U.S. Route 322 in Pennsylvania|U.S. Route 322]], and is due south of [[Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania|Interstate 80]]. Before the arrival of the Interstates, University Park was a short distance from the [[Lock Haven, PA|Lock Haven]] – [[Altoona, Pennsylvania|Altoona]] branch line of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]. The last run of long-distance trains from Buffalo or Harrisburg through Lock Haven was in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|first=Christopher T.|last=Baer|title=Named Trains of the PRR including Through Services|year=2009|url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR%20NAMED%20TRAINS.pdf|website=prrths.com}}</ref> Today, the nearest [[Amtrak]] passenger rail access is in [[Tyrone, PA|Tyrone]], 25 miles to the southwest. Intercity bus service to University Park is provided by [[Fullington Trailways]], [[Greyhound Lines]], [[Megabus (North America)|Megabus]], and [[OurBus]]. The [[University Park Airport]], serving four [[regional airlines]], is near University Park.

=== Commonwealth campuses ===

{{Location map many | USA Pennsylvania

| width = 400

| caption = Map depicting the locations of Penn State's 19 [[Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth Campus|commonwealth campuses]] and the University Park campus.

| lat4 = 40.67753 | long4 = -80.29359 | label4 = [[Penn State Beaver|Beaver]]

| lat8 = 39.946686 | long8 = -79.658114 | label8 = [[Penn State Fayette|Fayette]]

| lat14 = 40.551138 | long14 = -79.69727 | label14 = [[Penn State New Kensington|New Kensington]]

| lat17 = 41.234954 | long17 = -80.508993 | label17 = [[Penn State Shenango|Shenango]]

| lat18 = 41.308056 | long18 = -76.012222 | label18 = [[Penn State Wilkes-Barre|Wilkes-Barre]]

| lat20 = 40.05399 | long20 = -75.52289 | label20 = [[Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies|Great Valley]]

}}

In addition to the University Park campus, 19 [[Satellite campus|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Students Adapt to University Park |url=http://admissions.psu.edu/life/stories/?story=77 |author=Dana Bubonovich |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720033818/http://admissions.psu.edu/life/stories/?story=77 |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |access-date=September 18, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Each of these commonwealth campuses offer a unique set of degree programs based on the student demographics. Any student in good academic standing is guaranteed a spot at University Park to finish his or her degree if required or desired, known as "change of campus" or more accurately "the 2+2 program"; where a Penn State student may start at any Penn State campus, including University Park, for 2 years and finish at any Penn State the final 2 years.<ref name="whycampus2006">"Why Should You Start Your Education at a Penn State Campus?" Published by the Undergraduate Admissions Office, Pennsylvania State University. 2006.</ref>

=== Special mission campuses and World Campus ===

[[File:Dickinson Law Exterior Day.tif|thumb|upright=1.3|Penn State University – Dickinson Law]]

==== Special mission campuses ====

[[Pennsylvania State University – Dickinson Law|Dickinson Law]], founded in 1834 as The Dickinson School of Law in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania|Carlisle]], is the oldest law school in Pennsylvania<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/apps/historical-markers.html|title=PA Historical Markers Program|date=October 20, 1949|publisher=Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission|access-date=January 11, 2018}}</ref> and the fifth oldest in the country. Over the years, its graduates have included the nation's finest attorneys, judges, government and corporate leaders, and legal educators. The Dickinson School of Law's 1997 merger with Penn State was completed in 2000 and expanded its reputation, network, and joint degree programs—complementing Dickinson Law's legacy as an innovative leader in experiential education.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/experience/history |title=History|website=dickinsonlaw.psu.edu|language=en|access-date=January 12, 2018|date=2013-09-27}}</ref> In 2006 a second campus was opened at University Park. The school was split in 2014 into two separately accredited law schools: [[Pennsylvania State University - Dickinson Law|Dickinson Law]] in Carlisle and [[Penn State Law]] at University Park.<ref>{{cite news|title=Penn State's Dickinson School of Law receives approval for separate law schools|url=http://news.psu.edu/story/318636/2014/06/18/academics/penn-state%E2%80%99s-dickinson-school-law-receives-approval-separate-law |website=Penn State News|date=June 18, 2014|access-date=November 13, 2014}}</ref> The last students to attend the dual-campus Penn State Dickinson School of Law graduated in May 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/penn-state-law/our-history|title=Our History|work=Penn State Law {{!}} University Park, Pa. |access-date=January 12, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Penn State Great Valley - Main Building.jpg|thumb|left|Main Building at Penn State Great Valley]]

* The [[Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies]] is a special mission campus offering master's degrees, graduate certification, and continuing professional education. Located in [[Malvern, Pennsylvania|Malvern]], Pennsylvania, it also offers classes at the old [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]].

* [[Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center#Penn State College of Medicine|Penn State College of Medicine]] in [[Hershey, Pennsylvania|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|Williamsport]], Pennsylvania, offers certificates as well as degrees in over 10 technical fields. Pennsylvania College of Technology became an affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University in 1989, after establishing a national reputation for education supporting workforce development, first as a technical institute and later as a community college.

==== World Campus ====

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 post-baccalaureate certificates in geographic information systems and applied behavior analysis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/about-us|title=Penn State World Campus | About Us|website=www.worldcampus.psu.edu}}</ref>

== Organization and administration ==

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.<ref name="state approps">{{cite web |url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/03/03-01-06tdc/03-01-06dnews-07.asp |title=Spanier Testifies for More Funding |last=Horan |first=Kevin |date=March 1, 2006 |access-date=January 27, 2007 |work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031041834/http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/03/03-01-06tdc/03-01-06dnews-07.asp |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Initial reports concerning the 2007–2008 fiscal year indicated that Pennsylvania Governor [[Ed Rendell]] is recommending a 1.6 percent increase in state appropriations.<ref name="approps 0708">{{cite web|url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2007/02/02-06-07tdc/02-06-07dweb-03.asp |title=Penn State To Receive Increased Appropriations |last=Boyer |first=Lauren |date=February 6, 2007 |access-date=February 6, 2007 |work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031041856/http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2007/02/02-06-07tdc/02-06-07dweb-03.asp |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Penn State's appropriation request, submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education in September, requested a 6.8 percent increase in funding.<ref name="approp request 07-08">{{cite web|url=http://www.budget.psu.edu/President/AppropRequest200708/Table2.asp |title=2007–08 Appropriation Request |access-date=February 6, 2007 |publisher=University Budget Office. Pennsylvania State University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205134231/http://budget.psu.edu/President/AppropRequest200708/Table2.asp |archive-date=February 5, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=April 2020}}

=== Colleges ===

[[File:Schreyers Honors College.png|thumb|right|Schreyer Honors College]]

[[File:CarnegieBuildingPennStateUniversity.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Carnegie Building]]

[[File:Penn State University Huck Institute of the Life Sciences 6.jpg|thumb|Huck Institute of the Life Sciences - Gateway to the Sciences]]

Penn State has eighteen colleges, including three at special-mission campuses. The University Park campus is organized into fourteen distinct colleges, plus the Graduate School and the Division of Undergraduate Studies:<ref name="campusescolleges">{{cite web|url=http://www.psu.edu/academics/colleges|title=Penn State Colleges|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=January 11, 2018}}</ref>

{|

|-

|valign="top"|

*[[Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences|College of Agricultural Sciences]]

*[[Penn State College of Arts and Architecture|College of Arts and Architecture]]

*[[Smeal College of Business]]

*[[Penn State College of Communications|Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications]]

*[[Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences|College of Earth and Mineral Sciences]]

*[[Penn State College of Education|College of Education]]

*[[Penn State College of Engineering|College of Engineering]]

*College of Health and Human Development

*[[Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology|College of Information Sciences and Technology]]

|valign="top"|

*[[Pennsylvania State University - Dickinson Law|Dickinson Law]]

*[[Penn State Law]]

*[[Penn State College of the Liberal Arts|College of the Liberal Arts]]

*[[Penn State College of Medicine|College of Medicine]]

*College of Nursing

*[[Eberly College of Science]]

*[[Schreyer Honors College]]

*[[Penn State Graduate School|Graduate School]]

*[[Pennsylvania College of Technology]]

|}

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.<ref name="intl affairs announce">{{cite news |url=http://news.psu.edu/story/198805/2007/01/19/university-establish-school-international-affairs|title=University To Establish School of International Affairs |publisher=Pennsylvania State University|date=January 19, 2007|access-date=January 23, 2007}}</ref> The school is part of Penn State Law.<ref name="intl affairs director">{{cite web |url=http://news.psu.edu/story/198805/2007/01/19/university-establish-school-international-affairs|title=Penn State Names Inaugural Director for School of International Affairs|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|date=March 28, 2007|access-date=March 28, 2007}}</ref>

Formerly the School of Nursing, on September 25, 2013, the board of trustees granted the nursing program college status.<ref name="college of nursing">{{cite news|url=http://www.sn.psu.edu/Information/News/31766.htm |title=Nursing program granted college status by PSU Board of Trustees |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |date=September 25, 2013 |access-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-date=October 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215358/http://www.sn.psu.edu/Information/News/31766.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Board of trustees ===

The university is governed by the 32-member board of trustees. Its members include the university's president, the [[Governor of Pennsylvania|Governor of the Commonwealth]], and the state Secretaries of Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, and Education. 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.<ref name=trusteesmembership>{{cite web|url=http://www.psu.edu/trustees/selection.html|title=Membership Selection|publisher=Penn State Board of Trustees|access-date=August 2, 2009|archive-date=July 6, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706135122/http://www.psu.edu/trustees/selection.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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|2013}}, the chair of the board of trustees is Keith E. Masser, a graduate of Penn State and the chairman and chief executive officer of Sterman Masser, Inc.<ref name="trusteescommittees">{{cite web |url=http://www.psu.edu/trustees/committees.html |title=Committee Memberships & Other Assignments|publisher=Penn State Board of Trustees|access-date=February 26, 2013}}</ref>

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.<ref name=trusteesrole>{{cite web|url=http://www.psu.edu/trustees/governance.html|title=Role of the Board of Trustees in University Governance|publisher=Penn State Board of Trustees|access-date=August 2, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 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.<ref name="trusteesmeetings">{{cite web |url=http://www.psu.edu/trustees/meetings.html|title=Meeting Dates, Agendas, and Minutes|publisher=Penn State Board of Trustees |access-date=August 2, 2009}}</ref>

=== Administration ===

[[File:Old Main - Penn State.png|thumb|[[Old Main (Pennsylvania State University)|Old Main]], the main administrative building of Penn State, located at University Park.]]

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.<ref name=trusteesrole /> [[Eric J. Barron]] became the university's 18th and current president on May 12, 2014, upon the departure of [[Rodney Erickson]].<ref name=presoffice /><ref>{{cite news|last=Dent |first=Mark and Chute, Eleanor|title=Barron vows to make Penn State even greater|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2014/02/17/Eric-J-Barron-named-president-of-Penn-State-University/stories/201402170132|access-date=May 12, 2014|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=February 18, 2014}}</ref> The executive vice president and provost is the chief academic officer of the university. The current provost, Nicholas P. Jones, assumed office on July 1, 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Penn State names executive vice president and provost |url=http://news.psu.edu/story/273867/2013/04/19/administration/penn-state-names-executive-vice-president-and-provost|access-date=May 15, 2014 |newspaper=Pennsylvania State University|date=April 19, 2013}}</ref>

=== Student government ===

[[File:Penn State University HUB 10.jpg|thumb|Penn State's student union building, the [[HUB-Robeson Center]]]]

Penn State has a long history of student governance. Elected student leaders remain directly involved in the decision-making of the university administration, as provided for in the board of trustees' standing orders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.psu.edu/trustees/pdf/standingorders.pdf|title=Standing Orders (PDF)}}</ref> As of February 2020,{{When|date=February 2020}} there are three student governments recognized by the university administration: the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), and the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG).

The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) is the representative student government of the 40,639 undergraduate students at Penn State's University Park campus, which was established in 2006 after the former student government, Undergraduate Student Government (USG), lost its recognition by way of a student referendum.<ref>{{cite web|title=UPUA History |url=http://upua.org/history/|publisher=The University Park Undergraduate Association|access-date=October 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227101957/http://upua.org/history/|archive-date=February 27, 2015}}</ref> Graduate and professional students at the university are represented by the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), the oldest continuously existing student governance organization at Penn State.<ref name=gpsa>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpsa.psu.edu |title=GPSA – Home |website=GPSA.PSU.EDU |access-date=July 24, 2012 |archive-date=August 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806081621/http://gpsa.psu.edu/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 19 [[Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth campuses|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).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psuccsg.org/ |title=CCSG | Council of Commonwealth Student Governments |website=Php.scripts.psu.edu |access-date=January 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929032127/http://php.scripts.psu.edu/clubs/up/ccsg/index.php |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Academics ==

Penn State is [[regional accreditation|regionally accredited]] by the [[Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools]]. The [[Smeal College of Business]], The [[Sam and Irene Black School of Business]], [[Penn State Harrisburg]], and [[Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies|Penn State Great Valley]] are accredited by the [[Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business]] (AACSB).<ref name=aacsb>{{cite web|url=http://www.aacsb.edu/General/InstLists.asp?lid=3 |title=Schools Accredited in Business – ordered by country, state, name |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222080454/http://www.aacsb.edu/General/InstLists.asp?lid=3 |archive-date=February 22, 2007 |access-date=February 28, 2007 |publisher=The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The university offers an accelerated [[Pre-medical|Premedical]]-[[Medical education in the United States|Medical]] Program in cooperation with [[Thomas Jefferson University|Sidney Kimmel Medical College]].<ref name="pmm">{{cite web |url=http://www.science.psu.edu/premed/6yrpremedprogram.html |title=Penn State's Accelerated Premedical-Medical Program |publisher=Penn State Eberly College of Science |access-date=April 28, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050414083712/http://www.science.psu.edu/premed/6yrpremedprogram.html |archive-date=April 14, 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.

=== Student demographics ===

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 black, 4.3 percent Asian, 4.4 percent Hispanic, 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,<ref name="Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity">{{cite web|url=http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/StudentDynamic/minorityenrolbyethnicity.aspx?YearCode=2010&FBPlusIndc=N |title=Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity |work=Penn State Fact Book |publisher=University Budget Office. Pennsylvania State University |access-date=August 3, 2009 |archive-date=December 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216054219/http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/StudentDynamic/MinorityEnrolbyEthnicity.aspx?YearCode=2010&FBPlusIndc=N |url-status=dead}}</ref> while minorities as a percentage of total teaching positions rose 2.0 percentage points from 1997 to 2002.<ref name="faculty diversity growth">{{cite web |url=http://www.equity.psu.edu/Framework/archive/2004_09/appendix_2.asp |title=Appendix 2: Faculty Employment, by Rank, by Ethnicity, 1997/2002, All Locations |work=A Framework to Foster Diversity at Penn State, 2004–2009 |publisher=Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity. Pennsylvania State University |date=December 12, 2005 |access-date=August 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614164455/http://www.equity.psu.edu/Framework/archive/2004_09/appendix_2.asp |archive-date=June 14, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref>''[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]]''. April 11, 1988.</ref> 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."<ref name="vp ed equity">{{cite web|url=http://www.equity.psu.edu/|title=Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=February 13, 2007}}</ref><ref name="framework mission">{{cite web|url=http://equity.psu.edu/framework/campus-climate|title=Campus Climate and Intergroup Relations |work=A Framework To Foster Diversity at Penn State, 2004–2009|author=Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|date=December 12, 2005 |access-date=April 3, 2016}}</ref> Since then, discrimination issues include the handling of death threats in 1992 and 2001,<ref name="village threats">{{cite news |url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_153a562b-d9da-559a-86df-1d7ccdea836d.html|title=University, students respond to threats|last=Grote|first=Danielle|date=April 29, 2002|work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]] |access-date=April 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_d4ef9159-6474-5dcd-9a29-a32e2e458921.html|title=African Americans Should Not Trust 'Devilish' White People|work=The Daily Collegian|access-date=April 3, 2016 |date=January 28, 1992}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Thompson|first=Amanda|url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_2e86668d-40a5-594d-8cfc-956d4018f24c.html|title=Collegian columnist generating national stir|date=February 3, 1992|work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]]|access-date=April 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Andron|first=Scott |url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_397eb196-3e9e-51ba-8db3-9d586b9aa7df.html|title=Case might affect policy|work=The Daily Collegian|date=August 4, 1992|access-date=April 3, 2016}}</ref> controversy around [[LGBT]] issues,<ref>{{cite news|first=Patrick R. |last=Gibbons |title=My Opinion: Conservatives Are the Group in the Closet |url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2003/04/04-08-03tdc/04-08-03dops-column-01.asp |work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603030213/http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2003/04/04-08-03tdc/04-08-03dops-column-01.asp |archive-date=June 3, 2009 |date=April 8, 2003 |access-date=August 2, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name=amicable>{{cite news |url=http://news.psu.edu/story/198428/2007/02/05/harris-claim-settled |title=Harris Claim Settled|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|date=February 5, 2007|access-date=February 13, 2007}}</ref><ref name="old main protest">{{cite news |url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/image_3a5265c9-f4d8-5c3e-8a75-02f77779bd61.html|title=Activists Protest Diversity Policies |author1=MGll, Andrew |author2=Owens, Alyssa |work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]]|access-date=April 3, 2016 |date=February 12, 2007}}</ref>

Six-year graduation rates for the 2004 cohort at University Park was 85.3 percent. Graduation rates by race among this group are 86.6 percent white, 75.0 percent black, 81.9 percent Asian, 77.4 percent Hispanic, 57.1 percent Native American and 76.1 percent international students.<ref name="Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity" /> According to a 2006 survey by ''USA Today'', the university's administrative hub campus, University Park, has the highest in-state [[tuition]] rates among comparable institutions nationwide.<ref name="tuition1">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-08-30-tuition-survey_x.htm|title=USA Today's 2006 College Tuition & Fees Survey|date= September 5, 2006|work=USA Today |access-date=February 13, 2007}}</ref> While a task force formed in 2001 to study options for tuition projections determined that the university's operating [[Economic efficiency|efficiency]] is among the highest in postsecondary education,<ref name=tuition2>{{cite web |url=http://www.budget.psu.edu/Tuition/futuretuitionplanning.asp|title=Approval of Future Tuition Planning Recommendations|date=July 11, 2002|author=Board of Trustees|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=February 13, 2007}}</ref> it found that tuition increases at Penn State still consistently outpaced increases at other [[Big Ten Conference]] institutions.<ref name=tuition3>{{cite web|url=http://www.budget.psu.edu/Tuition/BackgroundInfo.htm|title=Report of the Tuition Task Force|date=May 10, 2002|author=Board of Trustees|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=February 13, 2007}}</ref> 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, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]].<ref name=tuition4>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/03/03-24-06tdc/03-24-06dnews-06.asp |title=USG Senators Rally for Lower Tuition |last=Horan |first=Kevin |date=March 24, 2006 |work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031041851/http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/03/03-24-06tdc/03-24-06dnews-06.asp |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=February 13, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=tuition5>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archives/article_803d8ced-2fd0-5448-85f1-dcfd20c44097.html |title=Students request funds at Capitol |last=Pfister |first=Ryan |date=March 15, 2006 |work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]] |access-date=April 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031041839/http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/03/03-15-06tdc/03-15-06dnews-09.asp |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2005, the board of trustees proposed a tuition freeze at the [[Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth Campus|commonwealth campus locations]] as part of its state appropriation request.<ref name=tuition6>{{cite news|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=February 13, 2007 |url=http://news.psu.edu/story/208583/2005/09/09/penn-state-proposes-tuition-freeze-20-campuses-funding-request |title=Penn State Proposes Tuition Freeze at 20 Campuses Through 2006–07 Funding Request|date=September 9, 2005}}</ref>

=== Rankings ===

{{Infobox US university ranking

| ARWU_NU = 42–56

| Forbes = 117

| USNWR_NU = 63

| Wamo_NU = 108

| THE_WSJ = 109

| ARWU_W = 101–150

| QS_W = 101

| THES_W = 114

| USNWR_W = 75

}}

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed" style="float:right;clear:right;" "text-align:center"

|-

! colspan=4 style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Penn State Nittany Lions|color=white}}" |National Program Rankings<ref name=USNWR>{{cite magazine|title=Pennsylvania State University--University Park|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/pennsylvania-state-university-main-campus-214777/overall-rankings}}</ref>

|-

! Program

! Ranking

|-

| Biological Sciences || 46

|-

| Business || 36

|-

| Chemistry || 20

|-

| Clinical Psychology || 10

|-

| Computer Science || 30

|-

| Criminology || 5

|-

| Earth Sciences || 5

|-

| Economics || 25

|-

| Education || 36

|-

| Engineering || 35

|-

| English || 27

|-

| Fine Arts || 64

|-

| Health Care Management || 23

|-

| History || 44

|-

| Law || 60 (University Park) 62 (Dickinson)

|-

| Mathematics || 32

|-

| Medicine: Primary Care || Unranked (Hershey)

|-

| Medicine: Research || Unranked (Hershey)

|-

| Nursing: Master's || 30

|-

| Nursing: Doctor of Nursing Practice || Unranked

|-

| Physics || 25

|-

| Political Science || 33

|-

| Psychology || 26

|-

| Public Affairs || 90

|-

| Public Health || 56 (Hershey)

|-

| Rehabilitation Counseling || 4

|-

| Sociology || 17

|-

| Speech-Language Pathology || 25

|-

| Statistics || 20

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed" style="float:right;clear:right;" "text-align:center"

|-

! colspan=4 style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Penn State Nittany Lions|color=white}}" |Global Program Rankings<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Pennsylvania State University--University Park (Global)|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/pennsylvania-state-university-university-park-214777#rankings}}</ref>

|-

! Program

! Ranking

|-

| Agricultural Sciences || 50

|-

| Art and Humanities || 26

|-

| Biology and Biochemistry || 98

|-

| Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology || 88

|-

| Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems || 201

|-

| Cell Biology || 163

|-

| Chemical Engineering || 81

|-

| Chemistry || 65

|-

| Civil Engineering || 75

|-

| Clinical Medicine || 178

|-

| Computer Science || 62

|-

| Economics and Business || 32

|-

| Electrical and Electronic Engineering || 232

|-

| Endocrinology and Metabolism || 169

|-

| Energy and Fuels || 83

|-

| Engineering || 74

|-

| Environment/Ecology || 83

|-

| Geosciences || 34

|-

| Immunology || 130

|-

| Materials Science || 29

|-

| Mathematics || 32

|-

| Mechnical Engineering || 66

|-

| Microbiology || 64

|-

| Molecular Biology and Genetics || 77

|-

| Nanoscience and Nanotechnology || 58

|-

| Oncology || 232

|-

| Pharmacology and Toxicology || 231

|-

| Physics || 89

|-

| Plant and Animal Science || 18

|-

| Psychiatry/Psychology || 59

|-

| Public, Environmental, and Occupational Health || 129

|-

| Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Medical Imaging || 197

|-

| Social Sciences and Public Health || 35

|-

| Space Sciences || 31

|-

| Surgery || 183

|-

|}

The [[Academic Ranking of World Universities]] ranked Penn state 101–150th among universities worldwide and 42–56th nationally for 2020. ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' ranked the university 63rd (tie) among national universities and 23rd (tie) among public schools in the United States for 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/pennsylvania-state-university-university-park-6965 |title=Pennsylvania State University--University Park Rankings|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|year=2021}}</ref> In 2021, the university is ranked 101st in the [[QS World University Rankings]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.topuniversities.com/universities/pennsylvania-state-university|title=Pennsylvania State University|publisher=Top Universities|access-date=June 10, 2020}}</ref> The 2021 "World University Rankings" by ''[[Times Higher Education]]'' ranked the university as the 114th best university in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/name/Penn/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats|title=World University Rankings 2021|publisher=THE Education Ltd.}}</ref>

=== Research ===

[[File:Forum PSU.jpg|thumb|left|The Forum Building is a classroom building with four classrooms, each capable of containing over 300 students.]]

[[File:Penn State University Osmond Laboratory 2.jpg|thumb|Osmond Laboratory]]

[[File:Penn State University Millennium Science Complex 5.jpg|thumb|Millennium Science Coomplex]]

Penn State is [[Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education|classified]] among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".<ref>{{cite web |title= Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus |url=http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=214777|publisher=Center for Postsecondary Education |website=carnegieclassifications.iu.edu |access-date=July 19, 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=About the Graduate School|url=http://www.gradschool.psu.edu/about-us/|date=January 19, 2009|publisher=Pennsylvania State University |access-date=July 30, 2014}}</ref>

Penn State's research and development expenditure has been on the rise in recent years. For [[fiscal year]] 2013, according to institutional rankings of total research expenditures for science and engineering released by the [[National Science Foundation]], Penn State stands second in the nation, behind only Johns Hopkins and tied with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the number of fields in which it is ranked in the top ten. Overall, Penn State ranked 17th nationally in total research expenditures across the board. In 12 individual fields, however, the university achieved rankings in the top ten nationally. The fields and sub-fields in which Penn State ranked in the top ten are materials (1st), psychology (2nd), mechanical engineering (3rd), sociology (3rd), electrical engineering (4th), total engineering (5th), aerospace engineering (8th), computer science (8th), agricultural sciences (8th), civil engineering (9th), atmospheric sciences (9th), and earth sciences (9th). In eleven of these fields, moreover, the university has repeated top-ten status every year since at least 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.research.psu.edu/osp/documents/other/2012-quilt-chart.pdf|title=Office of Sponsored Programs|website=Office of the Senior Vice President for Research at Penn State}}</ref> For [[fiscal year]] 2011, the [[National Science Foundation]] reported that Penn State had spent $794.846 million on [[R&D]] and ranked 15th among U.S. universities and colleges in R&D spending.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf09303/pdf/tab33.pdf |title=Table 33. R&D expenditures at universities and colleges, ranked by all R&D expenditures, by the source of funds: FY 2007 |work=Academic Research and Development Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2007. Detailed Statistical Tables NSF 09-303 |publisher=National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics |location=Arlington, VA |date=March 2009 |access-date=August 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514090544/https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf09303/pdf/tab33.pdf |archive-date=May 14, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf10329/|title=NSF 10329|publisher=[[National Science Foundation]]|access-date=November 11, 2010|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007073615/https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf10329/ |archive-date=October 7, 2010}}</ref> During the 2015–2016 fiscal year, Penn State received $836 million in research expenditures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.research.psu.edu/sites/default/files/2016_OVPR_Annual_Report.pdf|title=Annual Report of Research Activity Fiscal Year 2016|work=Office of the Vice President for Research|access-date=April 2, 2017}}</ref>

The [[Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory|Applied Research Lab]] (ARL), located near the [[University Park, Pennsylvania|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.<ref name="research 2007">{{cite web|date=January 8, 2007 |access-date=January 25, 2007|url=http://www.research.psu.edu/about/annrep06.pdf|title=Annual Report of Research Activity, FY 2006|publisher=Office of the Senior Vice President for Research, Pennsylvania State University |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070125173658/http://www.research.psu.edu/about/annrep06.pdf|archive-date=January 25, 2007}}</ref><ref name=arl>{{cite web|url=http://www.arl.psu.edu/about.html |title=About ARL: Who and What We Are |author=Applied Research Lab |access-date=January 27, 2007 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202083733/http://www.arl.psu.edu/about.html |archive-date=February 2, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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. Dr. Richard E. Tressler was an international leader in the development of high-temperature materials. He pioneered high-temperature fiber testing and use, advanced instrumentation and test methodologies for thermostructural materials, and design and performance verification of ceramics and composites in high-temperature aerospace, industrial and energy applications. He was founding director of the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM) which supported many faculty and students from the College of Earth and Mineral Science, the Eberly College of Science, the College of Engineering, the Materials Research Laboratory and the Applied Research Laboratories at Penn State on high-temperature materials. His vision for Interdisciplinary research played a key role in the creation of the Materials Research Institute, and the establishment of Penn State as an acknowledged leader among major universities in materials education and research.<ref name="aboutmri">{{cite web|url=http://www.mri.psu.edu/AboutMRI/index.asp |title=About MRI |author=Materials Research Institute |access-date=August 2, 2009 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912072004/http://www.mri.psu.edu/AboutMRI/index.asp |archive-date=September 12, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="mri">{{cite web|url=http://www.mri.psu.edu/|title=Materials Research Institute|author=Materials Research Institute|access-date=August 27, 2008|publisher=Pennsylvania State University}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.matse.psu.edu/ret/tresslerbio |title=Dr. Richard E. Tressler | Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State |website=Matse.psu.edu |access-date=July 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115174436/http://www.matse.psu.edu/ret/tresslerbio |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref name="psu wun">{{cite journal|last=Pacchioli|first=David|date=September 2003 |title=World of Opportunity: A Growing Alliance Aims To Give University Researchers Global Reach|journal=Research/Penn State |volume=24|issue=3|url=http://www.rps.psu.edu/0309/opportunity.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031103130555/http://www.rps.psu.edu/0309/opportunity.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 3, 2003 |access-date=January 27, 2007}}</ref><ref name="wun about">{{cite web|url=http://www.wun.ac.uk/aboutus.php |title=About Us |author=Worldwide Universities Network |access-date=January 27, 2007 |archive-date=January 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124163800/http://www.wun.ac.uk/aboutus.php |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Pattee Mall PSU.jpg|thumb|left|Pattee Library]]

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]].<ref name="libraries chronicle highered">{{cite journal|title=Holdings of University Research Libraries in U.S. and Canada, 2003-4|journal=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]|volume=51|issue=37|pages=A19|date=May 20, 2005|issn=0009-5982}}</ref> The university's library system began with a 1,500-book library in Old Main.{{citation needed|date=August 2009}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=University Libraries: Statistics |url=http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/about/statistics.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081115202227/http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/about/statistics.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 15, 2008|date=May 11, 2009|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=August 2, 2009}}</ref>

The university's [[Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology|College of Information Sciences and Technology]] is the home of [[CiteSeerX]], an open-access repository and search engine for scholarly publications. The university is also the host to the [[Pennsylvania State University Radiation Science & Engineering Center|Radiation Science & Engineering Center]], which houses the oldest operating university [[research reactor]]. Additionally, University Park houses the Graduate Program in Acoustics,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acs.psu.edu/|title=Penn State Engineering: Graduate Program in Acoustics|website=www.acs.psu.edu}}</ref> the only freestanding acoustics program in the United States. The university also houses the Center for Medieval Studies, a program that was founded to research and study the [[European Middle Ages]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psu.edu/dept/medieval/members.html|title=Members of the Center for Medieval Studies|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=September 12, 2012|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503163535/http://www.psu.edu/dept/medieval/members.html|archive-date=May 3, 2012}}</ref> and the [[Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE)]], one of the first centers established to research postsecondary education.

== Student life ==

=== Housing ===

[[File:PSU residence hall.JPG|thumb|right|upright|The Irvin residence hall in West Halls]]

[[File:Penn State University Brill Hall 1.jpg|thumb|left|Brill Hall]]

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 convenience store, a food court, an all-you-care-to-eat buffet. Different floors within a building may be designated as a Special Living Option (SLO). SLOs are offered to members of certain student groups (such as sororities), students studying particular majors, students who wish to engage in a particular lifestyle (such as the alcohol-free LIFE House), or other groups who wish to pursue similar goals.

=== Student organizations ===

{{as of|2014|September}}, 864 student organizations were recognized at the University Park campus.<ref name="listoforgs">{{cite web |title=Index of Student Organizations at Penn State |url=http://www.sa.psu.edu/usa/studentactivities/allrsos.asp |access-date=November 23, 2009 |author=Division of Student Affairs |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |archive-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831110911/http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/studentorgs/orgdirectory/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition, the university has one of the largest [[Greek organizations|Greek]] systems in the country, with approximately 12 percent of the University Park population affiliated. Additional organizations on campus include [[Penn State Thespians|Thespians]], [[Penn State Blue Band|Blue Band]], Chabad, [[The Pennsylvania State University Glee Club|Glee Club]], Aish HaTorah,<ref>[[Aish HaTorah]]</ref> Student Programming Association (SPA), Lion's Pantry, Boulevard, Apollo, 3D Printer Club, Digi Digits, and the Anime Organization, which hosts a Centre County anime convention, [[Setsucon]].<ref name="greeks">{{cite news|title=Greek Pride Initiative Seeks a Return to Glory for Fraternities, Sororities|url=http://news.psu.edu/story/212553/2005/01/21/greek-pride-initiative-seeks-return-glory-fraternities-sororities|date=January 21, 2005|access-date=February 6, 2007|publisher=Pennsylvania State University}}</ref>

==== THON ====

[[File:THON 2007 BJC.jpg|Penn State Dance MaraTHON|thumb|right]]

Every February, thousands of students participate in the [[Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon]] (THON), which has been "dubbed by supporters as the world's largest student-run philanthropy."<ref name="THONam">{{cite news|first=David|last=Hurst|title=PSU Gives Back with THON|date=September 22, 2009|work=[[Altoona Mirror]] |url=http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/516354.html|access-date=February 23, 2009}}</ref> 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 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 2014, THON raised a program record of $13.3 million.

==== The Lion's Pantry ====

The Lion's Pantry is an undergraduate student-run on-campus food pantry (and a registered student organization). The Lion's Pantry serves undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. With increasing awareness of hunger on college campuses, the Lion's Pantry is one of the most successful startup food pantries in the nation. They partner with groups ranging from Boulevard, UPUA, Greek Life, and more to receive over 8,000 food donations a year. The club was also awarded the Class Gift of 2017 in the form of an endowment.<ref name="2017 Class Gift">{{cite news|first=Laura|last=Waldhier|title=Class of 2017 Pledges Support to Lion's Pantry, the Student Food Bank|date=October 26, 2016|work=[[PSU News]]|url=http://news.psu.edu/story/434135/2016/10/26/campus-life/class-2017-pledges-support-lions-pantry-student-food-bank|access-date=June 29, 2017}}</ref>

=== Student media ===

Student media groups on campus include ''[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]]'', Penn State's student-run newspaper; ''[[Onward State]]'', a student-run blog; ''The Underground'', a multi-cultural student media site; [[WKPS|The LION 90.7 FM (WKPS-FM)]], a student-run radio station; CommRadio, a student-run, internet-based radio program; ''La Vie'', the university's annual student yearbook; ''Kalliope'', a student-produced literary journal; ''Valley'', a student-run style and life magazine; ''Phroth'', a student-run humor magazine; and ''Penn State Live'', the official news source of the university published by its public relations team.

''[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]]'' has continuously been ranked as one of the top college newspapers by the Princeton Review. The paper, which was founded in 1904, provides news, sports and arts coverage, and produces long-form features. It publishes in print on Mondays and Thursdays while classes are in session. Since the summer of 1996, the traditional paper publication has been supplemented by an online edition. Online content is published every day. Penn State's commonwealth campuses receive a weekly copy of the paper, titled ''The Weekly Collegian''.

''[[Onward State]]'' is a student-run blog geared towards members of the university's community. The blog, which was founded in 2008, provides news, event coverage and opinion pieces. ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' named the blog the "Best Alternative Media Outlet" in February 2009.

The Underground is a multicultural student-run media site devoted to telling the untold stories within the Penn State community. The publication seeks to foster the multicultural student voice through creating an open forum of discussion and promoting diversity and community involvement. The media site was founded in 2015.

[[WKPS|The LION 90.7 FM (WKPS-FM)]] was 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.

CommRadio is operated by the [[Penn State College of Communications]]. It was founded in the spring of 2003 as an internet-based audio laboratory and co-curricular training environment for aspiring student broadcasters. It airs both sports coverage and 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.

''La Vie'' (the Life), the university's annual student yearbook, has been in production documenting student life continuously since 1890.<ref name="psu_lavie">{{cite web|title=Home|url=http://psulavie.org/|publisher=PSU Lavie|access-date=November 4, 2010}}</ref> ''La Vie 1987,'' edited by David Beagin, won a College Gold Crown for Yearbooks award from the [[Columbia Scholastic Press Association]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1988 Collegiate Crown Recipients |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cspa/docs/contests-and-critiques/crown-awards/recipients/1988-collegiate-crown.html |publisher=[[Columbia Scholastic Press Association]] |access-date=August 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114110936/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cspa/docs/contests-and-critiques/crown-awards/recipients/1988-collegiate-crown.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

''Kalliope'' is an undergraduate literary journal produced by students and sponsored by the university's English Department. It is published in the spring. ''Kalliope'' includes works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art.<ref name="Kalliope Magazine">{{cite web|title=Kalliope Magazine |url=http://english.la.psu.edu/kalliope/about.html |access-date=December 8, 2008 |author=Kalliope |publisher=Penn State English Department |archive-date=December 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225033947/http://english.la.psu.edu/kalliope/about.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition, ''Klio'', an online publication, provides students with literary pieces in the fall semester.

''Valley'' is Penn State's student-run life and style magazine.<ref>{{cite web|title=Valley Magazine |url=http://www.valleymagazinepsu.com|access-date=September 18, 2010}}</ref> It was founded in 2007.

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 (film)|Casablanca]]'' (1942) and won three [[Academy Award]]s; [[Jimmy Dugan]] wrote for the ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'', ''[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]'', and ''The New York Times''; and [[Ronald Bonn]] was a producer with ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' and ''[[CBS Evening News]]''.<ref name="Phroth Magazine">{{cite web|title=Phroth Magazine |url=http://www.phroth.com/history/ |access-date=December 8, 2008 |author=Phroth |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611065006/http://www.phroth.com/history/ |archive-date=June 11, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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,<ref name="newspaper">{{cite web |url=http://www.newspapers.psu.edu/|title=Newspaper Readership Program|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|access-date=February 11, 2007}}</ref> has since been instituted on several other universities across the country.<ref name="newspaper2">{{cite web|title=The Collegiate Readership Program: Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://college.usatoday.com/the-collegiate-readership-program-frequently-asked-questions/|website=USAToday.com|access-date=August 9, 2016}}</ref>

== Athletics ==

[[File:Pennsylvania State University monument outside Beaver Stadium.jpg|thumb|Wall near Beaver Stadium]]

[[File:PSU Senior Section.JPG|thumb|The "S-Zone", within the student section, represents "State".]]

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 [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Division I|Division I FBS]] and in the [[Big Ten Conference]] for most sports.<ref name="ncaa directory">{{cite web|title=NCAA Members by Division|url=http://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec/divisionListing|publisher=[[National Collegiate Athletic Association]]|quote=Select Division I and press Run Report|access-date=August 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611161846/http://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec/divisionListing|archive-date=June 11, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Two sports participate in different conferences: men's volleyball in the [[Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association]] (EIVA)<ref>{{cite web|title=EIVA, Penn State Member Page|url=http://www.eivavolleyball.com/members/penn_state/index|website=Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association|access-date=November 27, 2015}}</ref> and women's hockey in [[College Hockey America]] (CHA).<ref>{{cite web|title=2015 Women's Hockey Quick Facts|url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/psu/sports/w-hockey/auto_pdf/2015-16/quick_facts/quick_facts.pdf|website=GoPSUsports.com|publisher=Penn State Athletics |access-date=November 27, 2015}}</ref> The fencing teams operate as independents.

Athletic teams at Penn State have won 79 national collegiate team championships (51 [[NCAA]], 2 consensus [[NCAA Division I-A national football championship|Division I football]] titles, 6 [[AIAW Champions|AIAW]], 3 USWLA, 1 [[Women's International Bowling Congress|WIBC]], and 4 national titles in boxing, 11 in men's soccer and one in wrestling in years prior to NCAA sponsorship).<ref>"[http://www.gopsusports.com/trads/national-champions.html Penn State championship history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324043952/http://www.gopsusports.com/trads/national-champions.html |date=March 24, 2009 }}". Penn State Athletics.</ref> The 51 NCAA Championships ranks fifth all time in NCAA Division I, and is the most of any [[Big Ten]] school.<ref>"{{cite web |url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/champs_records_book/summaries/combined.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=April 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627170832/http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/champs_records_book/summaries/combined.pdf |archive-date=June 27, 2010}}" [[NCAA]].</ref>

Since joining the [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten]] in 1991, Penn State teams have won 103 conference regular season and tournament titles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gopsusports.com/trads/big-ten-champions.html|title=Penn State Has Won 103 Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championships|website=GoPSUsports.com|publisher=Penn State Athletics|access-date=April 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704120746/http://www.gopsusports.com/trads/big-ten-champions.html|archive-date=July 4, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

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, the Nittany Lions have finished in the top 25 every year.<ref name=dcup>{{cite web|title=Nittany Lions No. 9 in Final Directors' Cup Standings; Penn State Earns Eighth Top 10 Finish in the Survey's 15 Years|url=http://www.gopsusports.com/genrel/062608aab.html|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|date=June 26, 2008|access-date=August 2, 2009}}</ref>

Despite widespread success in the overall athletic program, however, the school is best known for its [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|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,<ref>{{cite web|last=Fortuna |first=Matt |access-date=September 24, 2008 |url=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/03/17/beaver_to_rule_arenas.aspx |title=Beaver To Rule Arenas |date=March 17, 2008 |work=[[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202110638/http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/03/17/beaver_to_rule_arenas.aspx |archive-date=December 2, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> with an official capacity of 106,572 slightly behind Michigan Stadium with an official capacity of 107,601. For decades, the football team was led by coach [[Joe Paterno]]. 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]]. In 2007, he was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Paterno inducted into College Football Hall of Fame |url=http://news.psu.edu/story/192048/2007/11/30/paterno-inducted-college-football-hall-fame|publisher= Pennsylvania State University |date=November 30, 2007|access-date=August 3, 2009}}</ref> Paterno amassed 409 victories over his career, the most in NCAA Division I history.<ref>{{cite news|title=With Penn State wins restored, Joe Paterno the winningest coach again |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/bigten/2015/01/16/ncaa-joe-paterno-wins-restored-penn-state-settlement/21867685/ |access-date=November 27, 2015|publisher=USA Today|date=January 16, 2015}}</ref> Paterno died on January 22, 2012, at the age of 85. Paterno was posthumously honored by Penn State during the September 17, 2016 football game that marked the 50th anniversary of his first game as head coach.<ref name="Guardian-honor">{{cite news|title=Penn State marks Joe Paterno milestone amid criticism over sex abuse scandal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/17/penn-state-joe-paterno-anniversary-sex-abuse-scandal|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=September 17, 2016|date=2016-09-17|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref name="Slate-honor">{{cite web|last1=Politi|first1=Daniel|title=The Slatest Your News Companion Sept. 17 2016 4:35 PM Penn State Fans Give Joe Paterno a Standing Ovation as Protesters Turn Backs |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/09/17/penn_state_fans_give_joe_paterno_standing_ovation_as_protesters_turn_their.html|website=Slate.com|date=2016-09-17}}</ref><ref name="Time-protest">{{cite web|last1=Reilly|first1=Katie|title=Penn State's Joe Paterno Tribute Met With Standing Ovation and Protest|url=http://time.com/4498286/penn-state-joe-paterno-tribute/|website=Time|access-date=September 17, 2016}}</ref><ref name="LAtimes-protests">{{cite web |last1=Hiserman|first1=Mike|title=Joe Paterno tribute ignites positive and negative passions |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-joe-paterno-tribute-20160917-snap-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=September 17, 2016}}</ref>

The school's wrestling team has also become noticed. Under [[Cael Sanderson]], the Nittany Lions won eight national titles in a nine-year span, from 2011 to 2019.

The university opened a new [[Penn State All-Sports Museum]] in February 2002. This two-level {{convert|10000|sqft|m2|-3|adj=on}} museum is located inside Beaver Stadium.<ref name="sports museum">{{cite web|title=GoPSUsports.com – Official Home of Penn State Athletics |url=http://www.gopsusports.com/hallfame/psu-hallfame.html |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |access-date=July 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723052027/http://www.gopsusports.com/hallfame/psu-hallfame.html |archive-date=July 23, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 (sport)|squash]], [[karate]], [[crew (sport)|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. By tradition, this is done three times, and followed by "Thank you..." "... You're welcome!"

{{wide image|BlueBandPano.jpg|1000px|alt=Beaver Stadium|Beaver Stadium}}

== Notable people ==

The list of eminent past and present individuals associated with Penn State—as alumni, faculty, and athletic staff—can be found in the [[list of Pennsylvania State University people]].

File:Keegan-Michael Key Peabody 2014 (cropped).jpg|[[Keegan-Michael Key]], actor, comedian, writer

File:Ty Burrell 3 2014.jpg|[[Ty Burrell]], actor

File:Mark Parker - World Economic Forum 2008.jpg|[[Mark Parker]], former president-CEO of [[Nike, Inc]]

File:Steve McCurry (5824371040).jpg|[[Steve McCurry]], photographer, photographed the ''[[Afghan Girl]]''

File:Patricia Woertz - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012.jpg|[[Patricia Woertz]], prominent businesswoman

File:Jef Raskin holding Canon Cat model.png|[[Jef Raskin]], human-computer interface expert, conceived [[Macintosh]] project at [[Apple, Inc]]

File:Jonathan Frakes Photo Op GalaxyCon Minneapolis 2019.jpg|[[Jonathan Frakes]], actor and director

File:Francisco Sagasti - 50727430858 (cropped).jpg|[[Francisco Sagasti]], interim President of Peru

File:Julius Epstein.jpg|[[Julius J. Epstein]], [[Academy Award]] winning screenwriter of ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]''

File:Lara Spencer May 2014.jpg|[[Lara Spencer]], American co-anchor of ''[[Good Morning America]]''

File:Paul Berg in 1980.jpg|[[Paul Berg]], biochemist, [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] winner for research on nucleic acids

File:Jigme Thinley (cropped).jpg|[[Jigme Thinley]], former Prime Minister of [[Bhutan]]

</gallery>

== Alumni association ==

[[File:presidenthouse.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Former President's house, now adjoined to the Hintz Alumni Center]]

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."<ref name="psaa mission">{{cite web|title=About the Penn State Alumni Association |url=http://www.alumni.psu.edu/about_us/default.htm |access-date=January 23, 2007 |publisher=Penn State Alumni Association |archive-date=January 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070123010417/http://www.alumni.psu.edu/about_us/default.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="psaa groups">{{cite web|title=Alumni Groups |url=http://www.alumni.psu.edu/groups/default.htm|access-date=January 23, 2007|publisher=Penn State Alumni Association}}</ref>

{{as of|2010|July|1}}, the Alumni Association counts 496,969 members within the United States, with an additional 16,180 in countries around the globe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alumni.psu.edu/about_us/overview|title=At a Glance — Penn State Alumni Association|website=Alumni.psu.edu|access-date=September 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://alumni.psu.edu/about_us/alumnimaps.pdf].</ref> 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, Pennsylvania|Centre County]] region surrounding [[State College, Pennsylvania|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.<ref name="psaa membership snapshot">{{cite web|title=Alumni and Membership Snapshot|publisher=Penn State Alumni Association|access-date=January 23, 2007 |url=http://www.imakenews.com/psaanews/e_article000652275.cfm|work=Alumni Volunteer Update: September 2006|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927051614/http://www.imakenews.com/psaanews/e_article000652275.cfm|archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref><ref name="psaa membership map">{{cite web|title=Penn State Alumni: Geographic Distribution and Membership Penetration Rates |url=http://www.alumni.psu.edu/about_us/maps06.pdf |publisher=Penn State Alumni Association |access-date=January 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070117195657/http://www.alumni.psu.edu/about_us/maps06.pdf |archive-date=January 17, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> With membership totaling 176,426 as of FY2016, the Penn State Alumni Association is the largest dues-paying [[alumni association]] in the world, a distinction it has held since 1995.<ref name="psaa history">{{cite web |url=http://alumni.psu.edu/about_us/sourcebook-2016-17|title=Alumni Association Sourcebook 2016–17 |website=alumni.psu.edu |publisher=Penn State Alumni Association|access-date=April 2, 2017}}</ref>

Since 2001, the university, along with all schools in the [[Big Ten Conference|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]],<ref name="big ten challenge 2005">{{cite web|url=http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2005.aspx |title=2005–2006 Year-End Results |publisher=Big Ten GOLD Challenge |access-date=February 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428113545/http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2005.aspx |archive-date=April 28, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Penn State has won the challenge each year since its inception.<ref name="big ten challenge 2004">{{cite web|url=http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2004.aspx |title=2004–2005 Year-End Results |publisher=Big Ten GOLD Challenge |access-date=February 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428162152/http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2004.aspx |archive-date=April 28, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="big ten challenge 2003">{{cite web|url=http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2003.aspx |title=2003–2004 Year-End Results |publisher=Big Ten GOLD Challenge |access-date=February 27, 2007 |archive-date=October 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006135007/http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2003.aspx |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="big ten challenge 2002">{{cite web|url=http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2002.aspx |title=2002–2003 Year-End Results |publisher=Big Ten GOLD Challenge |access-date=February 27, 2007 |archive-date=April 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428113111/http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2002.aspx |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="big ten challenge 2001">{{cite web|url=http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2001.aspx |title=2001–2002 Year-End Results |publisher=Big Ten GOLD Challenge |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428113023/http://www.bigtenchallenge.org/archive-standings-2001.aspx |archive-date=April 28, 2007 |access-date=February 27, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Palmer Museum of Art]]

*[[List of colleges and universities in Pennsylvania]]

== References ==

== External links ==

{{Commonscatinline}}

{{Official website}}

*[http://www.gopsusports.com/ Penn State Athletics website]

{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Pennsylvania State College|short=x}}

{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Pennsylvania State College|short=x}}

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