Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a

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

Millersville, Pennsylvania Millersville is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 7,629 and in 2021 it was estimated at 7,593. Geography Millersville is located in central Lancaster County at (40.006148, -76.35134 ...

. It is one of the fourteen schools that comprise 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). Founded in 1855 as the first Normal School in Pennsylvania, Millersville is accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional accreditation of public and private schools in the Mid-Atl ...

and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. First established in 1854 as the Millersville Academy out of the since-demolished Old Main, the academy specialized in a series of workshop-style teacher institutes in response to the 1834 Free School Act of Pennsylvania.

History

Millersville University was established in 1855 as the Lancaster County Normal School, the first state

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

in Pennsylvania. It subsequently changed its name to Millersville State Normal School in 1859 and Millersville later became a state teachers' college in 1927. It was renamed Millersville State College in 1959 and officially became the Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 1983. In November 1852, the Lancaster County Educational Association met in Strasburg to form an institute for teacher training. The first institute, which led to the Lancaster County Normal School and received significant support from Thomas H. Burrowes, was held in January 1853. While the Association was working to organize, Lewis M. Hobbs, a popular teacher of the Manor district, lobbied heavily in Manor township for a more permanent training facility for teachers. Jacob Shenk, a local farmer, donated a tract of five acres (the present-day site of Ganser Library, Biemesderfer Executive Center, and Dutcher Hall) with Hobbs collecting investments from local residents. On April 17, 1855, Lancaster County Normal School opened with James P. Wickersham as principal and a peak of 147 teachers in attendance. The school president was Thomas H. Burrowes and the vice president was Lewis M. Hobbs. November 5, 1855, marked the start of the first full session, with a new expansion of the original Academy building that made 96 rooms available for nearly 200 students and their teachers. Completed in 1894, the Biemesderfer Executive Center, also known as the Old Library, is the centerpiece of Millersville University's campus. The executive committee of the Board of Trustees designated $27,500 for the construction of the library in 1891, with the contract awarded to Lancastrian D.H. Rapp, who submitted the lowest bid in a blind auction. The Millersville University Library is housed in Ganser Hall. In September 2011, the university closed Ganser Hall for two years for renovations. On August 26, 2013, the Ganser Library reopened as the McNairy Library and Learning Forum at Ganser Hall. In August 2021, a Millersville student by the name of Matthew Mindler was reported dead. He had been reported missing after not showing up for classes, and having cut off contact with his family. His body was found in Manor Township, Pennsylvania, near the Millersville campus. He was a 19-year-old freshman, and had been a child actor in the past, starring in the film "My Idiot Brother". His death was ruled a suicide.

School principals

John Fair Stoddard John Fair Stoddard (July 20, 1825 – August 6, 1873) was an American educator and author. Stoddard was born in Greenfield, New York. His early years were passed on a farm, and, after attending the public schools, he began teaching in 1843. Late ...

(1855-1856) * James Pyle Wickersham (1856-1866) * Edward Brooks (1866-1883) * Benjamin Franklin Shaub (1883-1887) *

Eliphalet Oram Lyte Eliphalet Oram Lyte (June 29, 1842 – January 3, 1913) was an American teacher and author of grammar and composition textbooks. He is credited as the composer of the tune to the popular song " Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in the publication ''The Fra ...

(1887-1912) *

Peter Monroe Harbold Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

(1912-1918) * Charles H. Gordinier (1918-1928)

College/university presidents

* Charles H. Gordinier (1928-1929) *

Landis Tanger Landis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur H. Landis, American science fiction and fantasy writer *Bill Landis, American baseball player *Carole Landis, American film actress * Charles B. Landis, U.S. Representative from ...

(1929-1943) * D. Luke Biemesderfer (1943-1965) * Robert A. Christie (1965-1968) * William H. Duncan (1968-1981) * Joseph A. Caputo (1981-2003) * Francine G. McNairy (2003-2013) * John M. Anderson (2013-2018) * Daniel A. Wubah (2018-)

Campus

Lombardo Welcome Center

On August 29, 2015, local community members Samuel and Dena Lombardo announced a gift to Millersville University of $1.2M for the creation of the university's new Welcome Center and the first state-of-the-art Net-Zero energy building on campus. Then university president, Dr. Anderson, appropriated over $6.3M in university funds, bringing the final cost to over $7.5M. This building, named the Lombardo Welcome Center, opened in January 2018. Equipped with solar panels, state-of-the-art energy-efficient glass, and an interior design inspired by feng shui principles, the Lombardo Welcome Center will produce as much energy as it consumes. On the grounds of former Hull Hall, the Lombardo Welcome Center houses the offices of Admissions, Housing & Residential Life, University Marketing and Communications, and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management.

Francine G. McNairy Library & Learning Forum

McNairy Library at Millersville University

Originally built from 1965 to 1967 on the grounds of Old Main, the Helen Ganser Library closed its doors in 2011 for an extensive 2-year renovation project and re-opened in 2013 as the Francine G. McNairy Library & Learning Forum. The entire complex is named after Millersville's 13th President, Dr. Francine McNairy, who began her career at Millersville first as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs before becoming president in 2003. Ganser Hall, named for Helen A. Ganser (1911-1952), librarian and head of the Library Science Department, is the 9-story building that houses the university's academic collection. Serving as the academic heart of campus for over 40 years, Ganser Hall began with the two famous "Bookwalks" of 1967. Currently, the Library offers a laptop borrowing service for students, has rooms available for reservation, is home to a 24-hour study room and is a part of the EZ-Borrow network, where students, faculty and staff can request a book from another library and arrives in as little as four days to the circulation desk. The Library also hosts several student-worker positions each semester.

Bus service

The Red Rose Transit Authority (RRTA) provides bus service to Millersville University via the Route 16, MU Xpress, and MU Park City Xpress routes. The Route 16 bus operates daily year-round and connects the university to Lancaster. The MU Xpress bus operates on weekdays while the university is in session as a loop route around the campus. The MU Park City Xpress operates daily while the university is in session and connects the university to the Park City Center shopping mall. Students with their university ID can ride Route 16, MU Xpress, and MU Park City Xpress for free when the university is in session.

Performing arts

Millersville's Office of Visual and Performing Arts manages two performing arts centers in Lancaster County: The Ware Center and Winter Visual & Performing Arts Center.

Winter Visual & Performing Arts Center

Built as an expansion of Lyte Auditorium in Alumni Hall, the new Charles R. and Anita B Winter Visual and Performing Arts Center has a new entrance off Cottage Avenue in Millersville. The grand opening occurred on Friday, October 12, 2012, after two years of renovations to the original structure, Lyte Auditorium. Named for local philanthropist Charles Winter, whose daughters are both Millersville graduates, The new Visual and Performing Arts Center, a $26 million construction and renovation project, enhances the original 29,041-square-foot building of 700 seats with a 59,452-square-foot addition. Part of the university's master plan to effectively use and reuse existing land, facilities, and infrastructure, the new Winter Visual & Performing Arts Center houses features a concert hall, recital hall, performance hall, classrooms, a recording studio, piano lab, a music library, faculty offices and more. Known by students as the VPAC (for Visual and Performing Arts Building), other features of the state-of-the-art building are a scenery shop, soundproof classrooms, several sitting areas, a music library and approximately 20 Soundlok rooms, which are modular sound-isolation rooms for practicing.

The Ware Center

The Ware Center is a performing arts center in

Lancaster, PA Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population among ...

and the Lancaster city campus of Millersville University. Located on North Prince Street at the end of Lancaster's Gallery Row, the center is part of the Millersville University's Department of Visual & Performing Arts. Originally designed by architect

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the po ...

, the $32 million building opened in 2008 as the home of the now defunct Pennsylvania Academy of Music. Since 2010, it has hosted classes for nearly 1,000 Millersville University students during Fall and Spring semesters. Various art exhibits and live performances are held at this venue throughout the year, and the facility can be rented out as a private event venue and banquet hall.

Academics

Millersville University has 8,725 students with a student-faculty ratio of 19:1 and an average class size of 26.

Degree programs and certifications

According to the 2020-2021 undergraduate course catalog Millersville University offers: * 150+ bachelor's degree programs According to the Graduate and Professional Studies program finder, Millersville University offers 74 graduate programs: * 3 doctoral degree programs * 25 master's degree programs * 46 certificates and certifications

Colleges

* College of Science and Technology * College of Education and Human Services * College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences * The Lombardo College of Business * College of Graduate Studies and Adult Learning * Honors College *The Tell School of Music

Athletics

Millersville University sponsors 19 intercollegiate varsity sports which compete in

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 ...

Men's

* Baseball * Basketball * Football * Golf * Soccer * Tennis * Wrestling For rivalry information, see Rupp Cup

Women's

* Basketball * Cross Country * Field Hockey – 2014 Division II National Champions * Golf * Lacrosse – 1982 AIAW Division III national champion * Soccer * Softball * Swimming * Tennis * Track & Field (Indoor) * Track & Field (Outdoor) * Volleyball

Intramural and club teams

* Ice Hockey Club (D2) established 1978– 1991–1992 DVCHC Co-Champions
1992–1993 DVCHC Champions
1993-1994 DVCHC Runner-Up
1993–1994 ACHA National Tournament participant hosted by Siena College
1994–1995 DVCHC Champions
1996–1997 DVCHC Runner-Up
1998–1999 DVCHC Runner-Up
2011–2012 GNCHC Runner-up
2011–2012 GNCHC Western Division Champions
2011–2012 GNCHC Regular Season Champions
2012–2013 GNCHC Runner-Up
2013–2014 GNCHC Runner-Up
2014–2015 CSCHC Regular Season Champions
2021–2022 season: Highest ranking at #13 in ACHA southeast (ranking period 3), Regular season runner-up
* Ice Hockey Club (D3) established 2021 * Men's & Women's Rugby * Men's Club Lacrosse * Men's and Women's Cycling Club * Men's Running Club (Previousl
Men's Cross Country - 1981 Division II National Champions
ref>) (and Track & Field)

Greek life

Honor societies

* Epsilon Pi Tau (Professions in Technology) * Kappa Delta Pi (Education) * Omicron Delta Epsilon (Economics) *

Phi Alpha Theta Phi Alpha Theta () is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. It has more than 400,000 members, with new members numbering about 9,000 a year through its 970 chapters. Founding Phi Alpha The ...

(History) * Phi Eta Sigma (First-Year Students) *

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

(all-discipline) * Phi Sigma Pi (Honor Fraternity—mixed gender) * Delta Phi Eta (Honor Sorority) *

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University i ...

(Millersville established a Chartered Circle of the National Leadership Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) in 2019. MU is the second institution in PASSHE to have an ODK Circle)

Social fraternities

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved in ...

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, cree ...

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

* Lambda Sigma Upsilon * Sigma Tau Gamma *

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. ...

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...

Social sororities

* Alpha Sigma Alpha *

Alpha Sigma Tau Alpha Sigma Tau (known as or Alpha Tau) is a national sorority founded on November 4, 1899, at Eastern Michigan University (formerly Michigan State Normal College). A member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the sorority has 83 active col ...

* Alpha Xi Delta *

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emph ...

* Delta Zeta *

Mu Sigma Upsilon Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Incorporated () is a multicultural intercollegiate sorority founded on November 21, 1981 at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. It is a non-profit Greek-lettered organization for college-educated women that promotes th ...

Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922, by seven educators on the Irvington campus (1875– ...

* Sigma Phi Delta (local) *

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic ach ...

* Chi Upsilon Sigma

Music fraternities

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

Notable alumni

* Brian Axsmith, paleobotanist * Joseph Franklin Biddle, U.S. Congressman from

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, ...

* Black Thought, lead MC of

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

(currently the house band for

The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

) * Nicole Brewer, 2005

Miss Pennsylvania The Miss Pennsylvania competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Pennsylvania in the Miss America pageant. Pennsylvania, including early years' city representatives, has won the Miss America crown on five occasi ...

, TV news reporter and anchor for

KYW-TV KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel ...

* Marriott Henry Brosius, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania * Bob Van Dillen, morning

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

, for

CNN Headline News HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...

* Elizabeth H. Field, physician, immunologist, professor, College of Medicine,

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...

* R. William Field, PhD, public health researcher and educator, College of Public Health,

Dondre Gilliam Dondre A. Gilliam (born February 9, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver who played two seasons with the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He has also been a member of the Scottish Claymores and Hamilton Tiger ...

, football player *

William Walton Griest William Walton Griest (September 22, 1858 – December 5, 1929) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography William W. Griest was born in Christiana, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Mille ...

, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania * Hugh Herr, PhD, Associate Professor, Head of Biomechatronics Research Group at Media Lab,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

* Gertrude I. Johnson (1895), co-founder of

Johnson and Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...

* Umar Johnson, Psychologist * Chris King, Pennsylvania politician * Jesse Krimes, artist *

Donald Kraybill Donald B. Kraybill (born 1945) is an American author, lecturer, and educator on Anabaptist faiths and culture. Kraybill is widely recognized for his studies on Anabaptist groups and in particular the Amish. He has researched and written extensivel ...

, educator and author on

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

, in particular the

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

* Will Lewis, professional football player, Seattle Seahawks *

, teacher for Millersville and wrote modern "Row Row Row Your Boat" * Malik B of

from

(currently the house band for

) * Scott Martin, Pennsylvania State Senator since 2016 *

Tim Mayza Timothy Gerard Mayza (born January 15, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017. High school and college Mayza played baseball, basketball, and soc ...

, baseball pitcher in the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

organization *

Chas McCormick Chas Kane McCormick (born April 19, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). McCormick attended Millersville University of Pennsylvania and played college baseball for the Mara ...

(born 1995), baseball player * Lawrence Nowlan (B.A. 1987), sculptor, designer of the

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%). The ...

Espy Award * Robb Riddick, former NFL player * Sean Scott,

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 ...

wide receiver/linebacker for the Philadelphia Soul * William Preston Snyder (1851–1920), president pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate and Pennsylvania Auditor General * Jim Testerman, labor leader * Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, global explorer, mountaineer and author * Mary T. Wales (1893), co-founder of

* Phil Walker, Basketball Player, member of the world champion 1977-78 Washington Bullets *

Robert Smith Walker Robert Smith Walker (born December 23, 1942) is a former American politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from 1977 until his retirement in 1997. He was known for his fiery rhetoric ...

, former U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania

Gallery

File:The Pond area in bloom.JPG, Pond File:Biemesdurfer Executive.JPG, Biemesderfer main entrance File:Biemesdurfer Executive Shert's.JPG, The oculus of Biemesderfer

References

External links

*
Millersville Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millersville University Of Pennsylvania Education in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union Sports in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1855 Universities and colleges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania 1855 establishments in Pennsylvania Public universities and colleges in Pennsylvania