Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion, also known as PennWest Clarion, is a

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 ...

campus in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Part of the

Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that oversees 10 state-owned universities. Collectively, it is the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth. All ...

(PASSHE), the institution was founded in 1867 and offers associate, bachelor's, and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s, as well as certificate programs and a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

History

In 2021, PASSHE announced that, due to budget troubles resulting from declining enrollment and revenue, Clarion University would merge with Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and California University of Pennsylvania. On October 14, 2021, the state officially adopted the new name of the combined universities: Pennsylvania Western University, and began operations with a singular accreditation the following year.

Student body

In fall 2016, Clarion University's student body totaled 5,225 students, of which 4,330 were undergraduates and 895 of those were graduate students. Of these students, 35 percent live in university housing. The university's students are mostly female (66 percent), another 830 are minorities (16 percent) and 27 are international (.05 percent). Of the total number of students 4,624, or 88.5 percent, come from the commonwealth of

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, ...

. Students come from 44 states, the District of Columbia and 11 countries around the world.

Faculty and staff

Clarion University has 294 faculty members and 451 administration and staff members.

Other locations

The university maintains a regional campus, Clarion University - Venango in Oil City, and a site in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

at West Penn School of Nursing. Clarion also offers an extended studies program featuring online courses, remote sites, and various hybrid learning situations.

Academics

PennWest Clarion offers 175 degree and certificate programs through its three colleges and two schools, delivered on campus and online.

Student groups

Clarion University offers more than 130 student organizations including academic, athletic, Greek, political, multicultural, service, and other special interest groups.

Athletics

The PennWest Clarion Department of Athletics, which maintains the institution's pre-merger athletic branding as "Clarion", currently sponsors men's intercollegiate baseball, basketball, golf, football, swimming and diving, and wrestling along with women's intercollegiate basketball, softball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, track and field, volleyball and tennis. All sports compete in the

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 ...

, except for

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 ...

which participates in

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 ...

. The athletic director is Dr. Wendy Snodgrass. Notable former Golden Eagles include wrestling great

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former collegiate wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Total Nonstop Action ...

, a former Olympic gold medalist and national champion who went on to a successful professional wrestling career in

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

and Impact Wrestling; former UFC Champion

Frankie Edgar Frankie Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Beginning his career in the Lightweight division, ...

, who was a four-time NCAA Division I tournament qualifier; World Long Driver Justin Moose ranked # 6 in the world;

Reggie Wells Reginald Arness "Reggie" Wells (born November 3, 1980) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Clarion. Wells has also played for the ...

, NFL offensive lineman; Cy Young winner Pete Vuckovich; and Hall of Fame basketball coach John Calipari, who was a point guard for the Golden Eagles from 1980 to 1982.

Notable alumni

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

gold medalist, professional wrestler, and member of the

and Impact Wrestling Halls of Fame. * John Calipari, NBA and college basketball coach, currently at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

(2009–present) * Guy Conti,

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

pitching rehab coordinator *

Adam Earnheardt Adam Christopher Earnheardt is an American academic and author, sports and communication researcher, and social media critic. He is professor and former chair of the Department of Communication at Youngstown State University, located in Youngstown ...

, academic and author *

Frank Edgar Frankie Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Beginning his career in the Lightweight division, ...

(1981–), 4-time D-1 NCAA Wrestling qualifier and Collegiate Freestyle All-American in 2004; 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 ...

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 ...

fighter and former

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. * Joan Marie Engel, Rear Admiral with the Navy Nurse Corps (1994–1998) * Evan John Jones (1872–1952), U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania (1919–1923) *

Joe Kapp Joseph Robert Kapp (born March 19, 1938) is an American former football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of California, Berkeley. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Football Lea ...

, radio producer, Cook and Poni Show,

KDKA-FM KDKA-FM (93.7 MHz, "93.7 The Fan") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. through licensee Audacy License, LLC and broadcasts a sports radio format Format may refer t ...

Rad Martinez Radley Martinez (born March 12, 1978) is retired American mixed martial artist. He was signed with Bellator Fighting Championships, where he competed in their featherweight division. Amateur Wrestling Career Martinez was a standout wrestler in ...

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

fighter for Bellator Fighting Championships and featured on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

's Outside the Lines * Mike Miller, Arizona Cardinals Offensive Coordinator from (2011-2012) *

Ruth Bermudez Montenegro Ruth Bermudez Montenegro (née Ruth Parra Bermudez, born 1967) is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California since 2022. She served as a United ...

, United States federal judge for the

Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are app ...

* Justin Moose, Golfer (

Long Drive Long drive is a sport where players compete to hit or drive a golf ball the farthest. Top long drivers compete professionally in events and exhibitions. Distance Professional long drivers can average over 356 yards (320 m) in competition, compare ...

) *

Donna Oberlander Donna Oberlander is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected to her first term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in November 2008. She serves as the majority whip. She has been appointed to the Rules ...

, Pennsylvania state representative (R-63) *

Larry Richert Larry Richert (born c. 1960 in Millvale, Pennsylvania) is an American journalist. Education and career Born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Millvale, Pennsylvania and raised in nearby McCandless Township, Richert graduated from North Allegheny High ...

, host of the KDKA Morning News * Wade Schalles, all-time record holder for most pins and most wins in amateur wrestling, inventor of the spladle and cement mixer * Randall Silvis, author * Peter Talleri, Major General,

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

(1979-2013) * Pete Vuckovich, former professional baseball player and 1982 A.L. Cy Young Award winner *

, San Diego Chargers offensive lineman

References

External links

*
Clarion Athletics website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1867 Universities and colleges in Clarion County, Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Venango County, Pennsylvania 1867 establishments in Pennsylvania Public universities and colleges in Pennsylvania