PennWest Edinboro is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University, a multi-campus

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Located in the town of Edinboro, the campus has more than 4,600 enrolled students.

History

Edinboro University was founded as the Edinboro Academy, a private training school for Pennsylvania teachers in 1857, by the region's original Scottish settlers. It is the oldest training institution west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

and the second oldest in all of Pennsylvania. In the beginning, Edinboro modestly consisted of one two-story building, six classrooms, three instructors, 110 students and a principal. That original building Academy Hall is currently used as the undergraduate admissions office. In 1861, the Edinboro Academy affiliated with the state government of Pennsylvania to become the second State Normal School in Pennsylvania, occasionally known as the Northwest State Normal School. In 1914, the state purchased the school from the original stockholders and renamed it the Edinboro State Normal School. By 1927, the advancement of academic programs to include liberal arts study required the school to rename itself Edinboro State Teachers College. Further development of the liberal arts to include degree programs outside the field of education resulted in Edinboro becoming Edinboro State College in 1960. Continued development of undergraduate

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

programs and advanced graduate degrees earned Edinboro university status in 1983. In July 2021, the university was officially merged with fellow Western Pennsylvania institutions

Clarion University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion, also known as PennWest Clarion, is a public university campus in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the institution was founded in 1867 and offers ...

and California University of Pennsylvania. On October 14, 2021, the state officially adopted the new name of the combined universities: Pennsylvania Western University. Edinboro-Ross-Hall

Campus

The campus is located from

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

and within of the educational and population centers of McKean,

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, and Albion. The main campus has 42 buildings on a campus which includes a lake, open fields and woods, 11 on-campus residence halls (Highlands 1~8, Rose Hall and Earp Hall (used for summer sports camps) and Towers (only one being used currently)) for approximately 2,500 students, and the seven-story Baron-Forness Library. Edinboro University offers 150 degree programs and 57 minors. The student-faculty ratio is 18:1. In 2007 the university announced a plan to build dormitories for $115 million. The Highland Complex had eight halls, with the first four beginning operations in 2008 and 2009 and the remainder doing so in 2010 and 2011. They opened at a time when enrollment peaked. By 2022 enrollment had sharply declined and Edinboro University was merging with other universities. That year the university announced that Buildings 7 and 8 of the Highland Complex were to be sold; at the time the two buildings had no students.

Athletics

Edinboro University offers 17 varsity sports: women's basketball, cross country, lacrosse, volleyball, swimming, soccer, softball, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field, and men's football, wrestling, cross country, basketball, swimming, tennis, wheelchair basketball and outdoor track and field. All but the

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and wheelchair basketball are

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

programs and members of the

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

. Wrestling competes on the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

level, and as of the 2019 season will no longer actively compete against Division II level PSAC wrestling programs as a result of their new affiliation with the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

in wrestling. Its wheelchair basketball team competes in the NWBA Intercollegiate Division.

Notable alumni

Jack R. Anderson Jack R. Anderson was appointed Director of Bands at the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 after serving as assistant director at Pitt for 9 years. His responsibilities include directing the Varsity Marching Band, leading the Pep Band, and conduct ...

, former director of the University of Pittsburgh bands *

Leo Bemis Leo Bemis (December 26, 1918 - September 29, 2007) was a former American collegiate soccer coach. He was notable for serving as the University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university i ...

, former head coach of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

men's soccer team, 1954-1983 *

Ryan Bizzarro Ryan A. Bizzarro (born ) is an American politician and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and has represented the 3rd district since 2013. His district is located in Erie County and includes the townships of Millcreek and F ...

, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 2013–present *

Jim Booros James Daniel Booros (born April 22, 1951) is an American professional golfer who played full-time on the PGA Tour for nine years. Booros played in about 250 events between 1977 and 1991 finishing in the top-125 on the money list five times. He wo ...

, an American professional golfer who played full-time on the PGA Tour for nine years * Karl Boyes, former member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1981-2003 * Samuel Myron Brainerd, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, 1883-1885 * Shawn Bunch, All-American wrestler and MMA fighter *

Adda Burch Adda Burch (January 6, 1869 – February 18, 1929) was an American missionary-teacher in Latin America. She was also a Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) leader, serving in various positions in the U.S. as well as president of the World WCTU ...

, teacher, missionary, temperance activist, reporter * Robert Carothers, President of

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

, 1991-2009 *

Henry Alden Clark Henry Alden Clark (January 7, 1850 – February 15, 1944) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Career After admission to the bar in 1878, Clark was associated with the Edison electric light interests ...

, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, 1917-1919 * Mark Corey, professional baseball player *

Kathy Dahlkemper Kathleen Ann Dahlkemper ( née Steenberge; born December 10, 1957) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected the county executive of Erie County, Pennsylvania, in 2013 and served as the U.S. representative for ...

, U.S. Congresswoman from Pennsylvania, 2009-2011 * Denayne Davidson-Dixon, former

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

player *

Jakim Donaldson Jakim Nestekaya Donaldson (born September 3, 1983), nicknamed "The Machine", is an American professional basketball player, who lastly played for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for Edinboro U ...

(born 1983), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League *

Mari K. Eder Mari K. Eder is a retired major general of the United States Army. She served as the Deputy Chief of the United States Army Reserve and Deputy Chief of United States Army Public Affairs, prior to be appointed Commanding General of the United States ...

, United States Army Major General (retired) * John Evans, former sportscaster at

WJET-TV WJET-TV (channel 24) is a television station in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to Fox affiliate WFXP (channel 66) under a local marketing agreement ...

Erie, PA Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, former representative in Pennsylvania House of Representatives *

Dave Filoni David Filoni (born June 7, 1974) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor. He has worked on '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', '' The Mandalorian'', and on the theatrical film and television series of '' Star Wars: The Clon ...

, American film writer, and animator; director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and series *

Teresa Forcier Teresa E. Forcier (formerly Teresa E. Fosburg Brown) (born October 6, 1953) is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She represented the 6th legislative district, which consists of parts of Crawford County, fr ...

, member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1991-2006 *

LaToya Ruby Frazier LaToya Ruby Frazier (born 1982) is an American artist and professor of photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. From Braddock, Pennsylvania, Frazier began photographing her family and hometown at the age of 16, revising the socia ...

, photographer, Guggenheim Fellow, MacArthur Fellow *

Gregor Gillespie Gregor Volz Gillespie (born March 18, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and graduated collegiate wrestler who currently competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since ...

, NCAA Champion wrestler; professional

Mixed Martial Artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

David Green David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, former NFL and

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

football player *

Trevor Harris Trevor Harris (born May 31, 1986) is an the United States, American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free ...

, former NFL player for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and starting quarterback in the CFL for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

James T. Harris III James T. Harris III is the fourth president of the University of San Diego. Previously, he served as president of Widener University (2002-2015) and Defiance College (1994-2002), where he was named one of the top 50 character-building presidents i ...

, President of University of San Diego, former president of

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

and

Defiance College Defiance College is a private college located in Defiance, Ohio and affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The campus includes eighteen buildings and access to the Thoreau Wildlife Sanctuary. History The college began as Defiance Female ...

* Merritt Eldred Hoag, former president of

University of North Georgia The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a public senior military college with multiple campuses in Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. The university was established on January 8, 2013 by a merger of North Georgia College ...

* Richard Holmes, professional football player *

Chris Honeycutt Chris Honeycutt (born July 25, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly fought in Bellator's Middleweight division. Background Born in Brook Park, Ohio, Honeycutt began wrestling at the age of four. Honeycutt attended North Ando ...

, All-American wrestler; professional

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

fighter for Bellator MMA * Josephine Brawley Hughes, early women's rights advocate *

L. C. Hughes Louis Cameron "L. C." Hughes (May 15, 1842 – November 24, 1915) was an American newspaper editor, lawyer, union organizer, and politician who served as the eleventh Governor of Arizona Territory. A Gilded Age Democrat, he was an active suppo ...

, newspaper editor, lawyer, union organizer, and politician who served as the eleventh

Governor of Arizona Territory The governor of Arizona is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arizona. As the top elected official, the governor is the head of the executive branch of the Arizona state government and is charged with faithfully executing state laws. The ...

* Bill Jacobs, biologist who made genetic engineering of mycobacteria including

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

possible. *

Kenneth Jadlowiec Kenneth M. Jadlowiec (born January 12, 1951) is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is a 1968 graduate of North Hills High School. He attended Edinboro University PennWest Edinboro is a campus of Penns ...

, member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1987-2002 * Mike Kelly, football coach for numerous NCAA, CFL, and NFL teams * Miles Brown Kitts, Mayor of

(1916-1924), Pennsylvania State Senator 1924-1932 *

Josh Koscheck Edinboro Fighting Scots Josh D. Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA. Koscheck made his debut with the UFC on the first season of the realit ...

, NCAA D-1 Wrestling Champion; professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

, former

Welterweight Contender *

Pat Monahan Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, '' Las ...

, lead singer of alternative-rock band

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

* Andrew Muldoon, retired professional

pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

* Rajee Narinesingh, transgender actress, activist, author, singer, and reality television personality * Sean O'Brien, former member of Ohio House of Representatives, 2011–2016, former member of Ohio Senate 2016-2020 *

Jeremy O'Day Jeremy O'Day (born August 31, 1974 in Buffalo, New York) is the current general manager and vice president of football operations for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and a former Canadian Football League offensive lineman. He grew up in Lockport, New ...

, General Manager & Vice President of Football Operations,

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

, former

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

player,

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and Saskatchewan Roughriders *

Joseph Newton Pew Joseph Newton Pew (July 20, 1848 – October 12, 1912) was the founder of Sun Oil Company (now Sunoco) and a prominent philanthropist. Early life Joseph N. Pew was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, to John Pew and Nancy Glenn. He worked on ...

, founder of Sun Oil Company, now Sunoco * Frank Polaski, former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1964-1970 * Dr. Sian Proctor,

Inspiration4 Inspiration4 (stylized as Inspirati④n) was a 2021 human spaceflight operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. The mission launched the Crew Dragon ''Resilience'' on 16 September 2021 at 00:02:56 UTC from Kennedy S ...

Astronaut, first black female pilot on a spacecraft *

Tara Seibel Tara Seibel (born February 4, 1973) is an American cartoonist, graphic designer and illustrator from Cleveland. Her work has been published in '' Chicago Newcity, Funny Times, The Austin Chronicle, Cleveland Scene, Heeb Magazine, SMITH Maga ...

, cartoonist, graphic designer, and illustrator * R. Tracy Seyfert, Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1997-2000 *

Milton William Shreve Milton William Shreve (May 3, 1858 – December 23, 1939) was a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Milton W. Shreve was born in Plum Township, Pennsylvania, Chapm ...

, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, 1913–1915,1919–1933 * Keith Skelton, former member of Oregon House of Representatives, 1957–1973 * Danny Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers' Special Teams Coordinator *

David Steadman David William Steadman is a paleontologist and ornithologist, and serves as the curator of ornithology at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. His research has concentrated on the evolution, biogeography, conservation ...

, curator of ornithology at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

, actress (attended briefly; honored with honorary degree in 2006) * Laura Temple, missionary teacher and archaeologist based in Mexico * Vicki Van Meter, Youngest female pilot to cross the continental United States * Justin Wilcox, professional

formerly competing in

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

, currently fighting for Bellator * John Williams, CFL football player * Mike S. Zafirovski, former CEO of

Nortel Networks Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Queb ...

and former president of

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial athletics website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1857 Universities and colleges in Erie County, Pennsylvania 1857 establishments in Pennsylvania Public universities and colleges in Pennsylvania