Penn State Greater Allegheny

Penn State Greater Allegheny
Type Public
Established 1952
Parent institution
 Pennsylvania State University
Chancellor Dr. Andrew F. Egan
President Eric J. Barron
Administrative staff
 151
Students 783
Location McKeesport, PA, United States
Colors Navy Blue and White
Nickname PSUGA
Mascot Nittany Lion
Affiliations PSUAC (USCAA)
Website www.ga.psu.edu

Penn State Greater Allegheny, commonly referred to as PSUGA, is a Commonwealth Campus of the Pennsylvania State University in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Penn State McKeesport, the Penn State Board of Trustees initially voted to rename the campus to Penn State Greater Allegheny during its September 2006 meeting.[1] The board subsequently approved the current name in January 2007.[2]

Campus History

As early as 1934, The Pennsylvania State College has offered technical courses in the Pittsburgh and McKeesport region to train industry workers for the booming technology and steel industries surrounding Pittsburgh.[3] In 1948, the Penn State McKeesport Center opened in Dravosburg, offering courses in occupational training and self-enrichment for returning veterans. The center eventually moved to McKeesport in 1952 and established complete associate degree programs with the first graduates in 1955.

Also in 1955, a group of area businessmen formed the Penn State McKeesport Advisory Board whose purpose was to search for a permanent location for the McKeesport Center. In 1957, the current location was obtained and the Main building was constructed. Since then, Penn State Greater Allegheny continues to play a large role in education the population of the Greater Pittsburgh area.

Degree programs

Penn State Greater Allegheny offers a select few complete programs. For those students interested in a major that is not offered, the Change of Campus program is available. The complete programs that are offered are as follows:[4]

Bachelor's Degree Programs

Options: Management/Marketing, Individualized Business
Options: Corporate Communications
Options: Integration & Application; People, Organizations and Society
Options: Liberal Studies
Note: Includes some online courses through Penn State's World Campus

2+2 Plan

In addition to the full programs offered at Penn State Greater Allegheny, nearly all of Penn State's 160 bachelor's degree programs can be started at the commonwealthcampus. Students may complete the first four semesters of their degree program locally and then transfer to Penn State's University Park campus to complete their studies. To be eligible for transfer, students must complete a set of core curriculum requirements as well as a maintain the cumulative grade point average minimum set by the individual majors.

Honors Program

Penn State Greater Allegheny offers a prestigious honors program which has many benefits such as early class registration, special library privileges, small class sizes and advanced research projects. Students that are a part of this program may earn honors credits by taking honors courses, participating in honors options or pursuing independent studies.

Admission to the honors program is by invitation and based on quality of academic performance as well as experiences outside of the classroom. Eligible incoming first year students will receive a letter of invitation during the admission process. For current students, the invitation is made by the Honors Committee at the end of each academic year.

Each honors student must meet the set requirements each year to remain a part of the program. Generally, a student must maintain a 3.33 GPA, complete at least one Honors course each semester and participate in activities sponsored by the Honors program.[5]

Scholarships

More than 45 scholarship funds have been established by the generous alumni and friends of PSUGA. Penn State uses these funds to offer both merit and need-based scholarships to students who display exceptional academic performance, leadership abilities or commitment to community.

Scholarships ranging from $1,000 to full tuition are available. Many scholarships are renewable if the recipient continues to fulfil the requirements of the scholarship. Most scholarship recipients often participate in the Honors Program as well as in leadership and service activities. All freshman offered admission to Penn State Greater Allegheny will automatically be considered for these scholarships. [6]

Campus Buildings

Constructed in 1957, Main building was the first building on campus. Formerly containing the campus administrative offices, Main now houses the Education, English, Communications, Psychology and other Liberal Arts departments as well as the continuing education office and three multimedia equipped classrooms.
Crawford is the technology hub of campus, containing three computer labs, the technology help desk and the digital commons (funded by the Digital Commons Initiative) as well as two large multimedia equipped classrooms and the offices for the Theatre Department.

It was named after George Crawford.

The crawford computer labs include over 80 computers with a mix of Macintosh and PC platforms. The Computer labs can also double as classrooms and contain digital projectors.
Named in honor of Milton Frable, the first campus Advisory Board president, Frank Building houses most of the campus administration offices including the chancellor's office, academic affairs, admissions and police services. The second and third floors are home to the Business, Engineering, Information Sciences and Technology, and Mathematics departments along with several classrooms and technology related labs. In addition, many guest speakers and special performances are held in Frank's multi-room conference center on the first floor.
Named in honor of John M. Wunderley, the Wunderley Gymnasium contains both classrooms and faculty offices in addition to the gymnasium. The building is located directly across from McKeesport Hall on a hill overlooking the center of campus.
The Kelly Library contains the campus library as well as the Ladrin Learning Center and the Academic and Cultural Enrichment (ACE) program. Some computers are also available for student use.
Ostermayer houses the Biology and Chemistry departments. In addition to several dedicated lab classrooms, there is a large multimedia equipped classroom used for science as well as psychology and CTE (State Vocational Education Program) lectures.
The new Student Community Center, commonly referred to as the SCC, was constructed in 2003 with a total cost of $5.5 Million. The building is located at the center of campus and contains the dining commons as well as the student book store, game room with pool table, campus radio station and the Student Government Association (SGA). The SCC features many student and campus programs ranging from live music and theatre productions to guest speakers and job fairs.
The Penn State Nittany Lion is the heart of Penn State pride. The campus Lion Shrine was dedicated on October 18, 2003 as a result of a gift from the alumni association. The shrine is located at the front of the Student Community Center and is open to the public for pictures.
The New Student Community Center, which opened in 2003.
The Wunderley Gymnasium during the 2005 graduation ceremony.

Living on Campus

Penn State Greater Allegheny offers housing for out of the area students in McKeesport Hall. All rooms in the residence hall are identical. Rooms come uncarpeted with curtains and offer free basic cable, microwave, refrigerator, high speed internet, individual thermostats, furniture, mattress, trash can and mirror. McKeesport hall also contains a recreation room with ping pong, foos ball, air hockey and pool tables as well as a dart board.

Students living in the residence hall have an opportunity to become Resident Assistants (RAs). In exchange for reduced housing costs, students are trained to become para-professional leaders who help develop a sense of community among the students living in the dorms.[7]

McKeesport Hall, Constructed in 1969.
The hill leading from McKeesport hall to central campus.

Athletics

Penn State Greater Allegheny offers many different varsity and intramural sports including:[8]

Varsity Sports

• Men's and Women's Cross Country

Intramural Sports

Fitness Facilities

A new state of the art fitness center was recently constructed at Penn State Greater Allegheny in the spring of 2005. The fitness center is located next to McKeesport Hall and contains a variety of fitness equipment totaling $130,000. Some of the equipment includes: treadmills, exercise bikes, ellipticals, free weights and weight machines.

Student Clubs

Many student run organizations are active at PSUGA. There is an involvement fair held at the beginning of every semester where current and prospective clubs recruit new members. Some active clubs include:[9]

References

  1. ↑ "McKeesport campus to get new name: Penn State Allegheny". Penn State University. 2006-02-15. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  2. ↑ "Trustees approve new name for McKeesport campus". Penn State University. 2007-01-19. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  3. ↑ Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus History
  4. ↑ Penn State Greater Allegheny: Majors and Minors
  5. ↑ Penn State Greater Allegheny Honors Program
  6. ↑ Penn State Greater Allegheny Scholarships
  7. ↑ Penn State Greater Allegheny Living on Campus
  8. ↑ Penn State Greater Allegheny Fitness Facilities
  9. ↑ Penn State Greater Allegheny Student Organizations
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