Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion (PennWest Clarion, formerly Clarion University of Pennsylvania) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Clarion, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was founded in 1867 and offers associate,

bachelor's 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 ( ...

, and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

s, as well as certificate programs and a

Doctor of Nursing Practice The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a professional degree in nursing in the United States of America. In the United States, the DNP is one of three doctoral degrees in nursing, the other two being the research degree PhD and the Doctor o ...

. The campus had an enrollment of 1,743 as of fall 2024.

History

PennWest Clarion was founded in 1867 in northwestern Pennsylvania to serve the needs of that rural part of the state. It started as Carrier Seminary, became a normal school in 1887 and a community college in 1920 before becoming a full college in 1929. In the 1960s and 1970s, the college expanded its offerings and size significantly. On July 1, 1982, Clarion joined the newly formed Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, gained university status and became Clarion University of Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania Western University, California (abbreviated as PennWest California) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in California, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus had an enrollment of 2,717 as of fall 2024. Founded in 1852 ...

. 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.

Academics

PennWest Clarion offers 175 degree and certificate programs through its three colleges and two schools, delivered on campus and online. PennWest Clarion has 294 faculty members and 451 administration and staff members. The university maintains a site in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

at West Penn School of Nursing. The university also operates one branch campus formerly "Clarion University Venango Campus" as well as a site at the University of Pittsburgh Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology. Clarion also offers an extended studies program featuring online courses, remote sites, and various hybrid learning situations.

Student life

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. PennWest Clarion 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 the 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 environment ...

, except for

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

which participates in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division 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 athlet ...

. Notable former Golden Eagles include wrestling great

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

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

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

and

Impact Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...

; former UFC Champion Frankie Edgar, who was a four-time NCAA Division I tournament qualifier; World Long Driver Justin Moose; Reggie Wells, NFL offensive lineman; Cy Young winner Pete Vuckovich; and

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

basketball coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

, who was a point guard for the Golden Eagles from 1980 to 1982.

Notable alumni

* Bekzod Abdurakhmonov, professional wrestler and MMA fighter *

, Olympic and professional wrestler * Michael Armanini, politician * Brenton Awa, politician and news anchor * D. Ralph Bouch, football and wrestling coach *

, professional and college basketball coach * Laurie Carter, president of

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

* Guy Conti, professional baseball physician * Stan Denski, author * Adam Earnheardt, academic and author * Frank Edgar, college wrestler and professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

* Joan Marie Engel, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy Nurse Corps * Jeff Hand, football coach * Alfonso Hoggard, professional football player * Julian Howsare, professional football player * Robert Lee James, politician * Evan John Jones, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania * Suzanne Jenniches, engineer and business leader * Ben Kribbs, college athletics administrator * David K. MacEwen, 59th adjutant general of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

* Rad Martinez, mixed martial artist * Fred McIlhattan, politician * Mike Miller, professional football coach * Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, United States federal judge for the Southern District of California * Justin Moose, professional golfer * Donna Oberlander, Pennsylvania state representative * Larry Richert, radio news host * Alex Sandusky, professional football player * Wade Schalles, amateur wrestler * Tayler Sheriff, baseball coach for the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...

* Randall Silvis, author * Sean Spencer, professional football player and coach * Peter Talleri, Major General in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

* Robert Thurston, science fiction author * Pete Vuckovich, professional baseball player * Reggie Wells, professional football player * Ian Whyte, actor * Dan Wilson, biologist and science communicator

References

External links

*
thletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:PennWest Clarion Universities and colleges in Clarion County, Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Venango County, Pennsylvania 1867 establishments in Pennsylvania Public universities and colleges in Pennsylvania Universities and colleges established in 1867