Central Penn College (Central Penn or CPC) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

for-profit college Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities generally operated by their owners, investors, or shareholders in a manner prioritizing shareholder primacy as opposed to education provided by non-profit institution (such as non-se ...

Summerdale, Pennsylvania Summerdale is an unincorporated community located in East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2020, the community had an estimated population of 705. Central Pennsylvania College and the Capital Area Interm ...

. Established in 1881, CPC offers

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s, and a master's degree in Professional Studies. The college is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

. Central Penn College was originally known as Central Pennsylvania Business School. The school changed its name in 1999 to Central Pennsylvania College and then to Central Penn College in 2010.

History

Central Penn College was founded in 1881 under the name "Pennsylvania Business College". Its original location was on Market Street in Harrisburg. In 1970 the new president Bart Milano moved the Central Pennsylvania Business School, as it was known at that time, across the river to Summerdale where it continues to operate today.

Campus

In 2002 the Advanced Technology Education Center opened. The new building doubled the number of academic classrooms on the Summerdale campus. That same year 1869-vintage Henszey's Bridge, a wrought-iron bowstring arch/truss type, was refurbished and relocated to Central Penn from its previous home in

Wanamakers, Pennsylvania Wanamakers is an unincorporated community in Lynn Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Lehigh Valley, which has a population of 861,899 and is the 68th-most populous metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a r ...

. Responding to feedback from students for more recreational facilities, the college in 2014 opened The Underground, which contains a

student union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

space, dance studio, fitness center, writing center and the Capital Blue Cross Theatre. Fall 2015 saw the opening of the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Health Sciences Building.

Locations

Central Penn College Summerdale (Harrisburg) campus

The campus comprises four academic buildings, the Charles "T" Jones Leadership Library, thirty-four student townhouses, six apartment buildings, a new Health Sciences Building, the Underground Student Union, and the Boyer House. The main campus is home to yearly events including the college's annual Fall Harvest (homecoming) event, as well as Festival of Nations and SummerFest.

Central Penn College Lancaster location (closed in 2023)

In 2004, Central Penn College opened its first additional location: the Lancaster Center. The location operated until 2023 at which time it ceased operations.

Central Penn College Lehigh Valley location (closed in 2015)

In May 2009, Central Penn College opened a location in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

at the Lehigh Valley Corporate Center in

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, PA. The location operated until the winter of 2015 at which time it ceased operations.

Athletics

The Central Penn College Knights are in the

United States Collegiate Athletic Association The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) is a national organization for the intercollegiate athletic programs of 72 mostly small colleges, including community/junior colleges, across the United States. The USCAA holds 15 national ...

(USCAA) Division 2. Athletics are streamed by Knightly News Media, which began in 2018, including men's and women's basketball.

Men's sports

*Baseball *Basketball *Soccer *Cross Country *eSports

Women's sports

*Basketball *Volleyball *Soccer *Cross Country *Softball (coming 2025) *eSports

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial athletics webpage
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1881 Universities and colleges in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania USCAA member institutions 1881 establishments in Pennsylvania Private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania