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Lycoming College is a
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liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...
in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,754. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...
. Founded in 1812, Lycoming College is affiliated with the
United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
but operates as an independent institution. Through its history, it has been an academy, seminary, junior college, and four-year college.


History

Lycoming College traces its roots to 1812 and the founding of the "Williamsport Academy" for the Education of Youth in English and other languages, in the useful arts, science and literature". Eight spirited citizens secured the charter for the school and founded the academy to improve the educational opportunities of the community. Attendance was by subscription, although a state grant ensured that a number of underprivileged children would be taught free of charge. The academy was for boys but accepted girls in the 1830s. It was one of the early academics in Pennsylvania which placed it on the frontier of academy-based education in the state. By 1847, Williamsport had a public school system in place. Benjamin H. Crever, a Methodist preacher based in Milton, heard the academy was for sale. Upon his recommendation, the Baltimore Conference purchased the school, which opened in the fall of 1848 as the "Williamsport Dickinson Seminary", a preparatory school for
Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...
, another Methodist school."Dickinson Seminary, Lycoming College"
Dickinson College Archives.
Rev. Crever is considered to be the founder of Lycoming College, as he was the one to transition the high school into its collegiate beginnings. After turning the Williamsport Academy into an institution of higher learning, Crever moved on to serve as a chaplain in the Civil War and founded a total of four schools. Only Lycoming College remains as his educational legacy. In 1921, John W. Long became the ninth president of the school. A pastor at St. Paul's Methodist Church in State College and founder of the Wesley Foundation at Pennsylvania State College, now Penn State University, he had pastoral experience and working with students. He became president of three institutions without moving. He transformed Williamsport Dickinson Seminary into "Williamsport Dickinson Seminary and Junior College" in 1929. It was the first private junior college in the state and another frontier in higher education in America. In 1947, the school became "Lycoming College", a four-year school. The college adopted the name "Lycoming" in 1948, a Native American word for a nearby stream which means "sandy stream" and the name of the county. These changes came with substantial support from the college's board of trustees and the local community. In 1949, the college conferred its first baccalaureate degrees. James E. Douthat became the 14th president in 1989. Under his leadership, the college's enrollment grew by 27 percent and its endowment and other funds under management increased from $17 million to more than $185 million. Since his arrival, the campus had been involved in a strategic planning process to continually evaluate student needs and adapt the College's programs to those needs. Under his leadership, the college saw the establishment and implementation of a new faculty governance structure, a major capital campaign to build the endowment, improved facilities, and the adoption of a revised curriculum for the college that responds to changing skill set needs. Kent C. Trachte became Lycoming's 15th president in 2013. He has continued many of the important themes of his predecessor, including working closely with the board of trustees and the faculty. He launched a new long-range planning effort, many of its goals achieved. The college is now into another long-range planning era. He presided over the completion of the Lynn Science Center, generated interest in and led the construction of the Krapf Gateway Center as the new entrance of the campus, and the construction of a new music practice building opened in November 2022.
/ref> He has led the college in a new campus-community project to revitalize the Old Town section of Williamsport and he has led the college in a major effort to open its doors to students more representative of a diverse American society.


Rankings

Lycoming was ranked 107th among "National Liberal Arts Colleges" in 2024 U.S. News & World Report, and 29th in Social Mobility. It is listed as a "Best College" in ''The Princeton Review's'' Best 387 Colleges for 2021 and 61st by
Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...
in 2020.


Academics

Lycoming College confers both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in more than 43 major fields of study offered and more than 66 minors.


Interdisciplinary program

With the Lycoming College interdisciplinary program, students have the opportunity to design their own programs of study. By combining courses from more than one department, students become active participants in creating their own majors with support from faculty advisor(s) and a panel of faculty members from each of the sponsoring departments.


Special academic programs

The Lycoming Scholars Program is a special program designed to meet the needs and aspirations of highly motivated students of superior intellectual ability. Lycoming Scholars participate in special, semester-long, interdisciplinary seminars on topics chosen by the faculty and students on the Scholars Council. Pre-professional programs including pre-law, pre-med, pre-vet, and pre-ministry provide students with advisors who ensure students take the right courses to prepare for graduate school and success in these professions. Lycoming's MBA 4-1 agreement with the Saunders College Business at Rochester Institute of Technology allows students to opt out of some graduate-level courses, saving on tuition costs and completing their MBA in one calendar year. An engineering 3-2 partnership with the prestigious Watson School of Engineering at Binghamton University allows students to spend their first three years building foundational knowledge at Lycoming and a final two years completing an electrical or industrial engineering degree at Binghamton.


Campus

Lycoming College rests on a 42-acre campus in north central Pennsylvania. Most buildings have been constructed since 1950 in a pre-Georgian style, and many have been refurbished since. The most recently constructed buildings include the Lynn Science Center (2015), adjacently connected to the Heim Science Center and holding the Detwiler Planetarium, and the Krapf Gateway Center (2019) which houses the Office of Admissions, Office of Alumni and Advancement, the Center for Enhanced Academic Experiences, and the Outdoor Leadership and Education program. Lycoming's academic facilities include Wendle Hall, the Academic Center, Fine Arts Building, Communications Building, Heim Science Center, Clarke Chapel, Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall, and the Lynn Science Center. Unique facilities include the Detwiler Planetarium, Mary L. Welch Theatre, Snowden Library, the Sylk Digital Arts Laboratory, an electronic music studio, a radio station, and a greenhouse. Athletic facilities include Lamade Gymnasium, the Keiper Recreation Center, and an outdoor intramural field. The 12-acre Shangraw Athletic Complex lies a few blocks north of the main campus with football and softball fields as well as the UPMC Field for soccer and lacrosse. The Lycoming College Art Gallery is located at 25 West Fourth Street in downtown Williamsport. Additionally, the Lycoming Biology Field Station Inc., a nonprofit corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Lycoming College, sits on 116 acres of land just 15 minutes from campus, which is frequently used by the biology department and the Clean Water Institute.


Athletics

Today, Lycoming fields men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and tennis, men's teams in baseball, football, golf, and wrestling, and women's teams in field hockey, softball, and volleyball. Lycoming was a member in the
Middle Atlantic Conferences The Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) is an umbrella organization of three List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conferences that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division III, Division III. The 1 ...
, with the baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, golf, softball, and volleyball teams competing in the
MAC Freedom The MAC Freedom, in full Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom, is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. It is one of the three conferences that operate under the umbrella of the Middle Atlantic Conferences; t ...
, but the athletic department accepted an invitation to move 18 of its 19 sports to the
Landmark Conference The Landmark Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic states of Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and the national capital of Washin ...
, starting in 2023-24. The Warriors have won 43 Middle Atlantic Conference titles, with football and wrestling winning 15 each, men's basketball six, men's soccer three, women's swimming and volleyball two, and men's tennis and softball one. Lycoming College celebrated its 125th year of varsity athletics in 2015, as a baseball team was first formed at Dickinson Seminary in 1890. In 1952, Lycoming, recently becoming an established four-year college, was invited to join the Middle Atlantic Conference. The football team had a period where it was one of the most competitive in Division III football, as
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
head coach
Frank Girardi Frank Girardi (born July 16, 1939) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Lycoming College from 1972 to 2007, compiling a record of 257–97–5. At the time of his retirement in 2007, he was the fift ...
won 257 games from 1972 to 2007, which still ranks 16th all-time in
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
history. He led the Warriors to the national title game in 1990 and 1997 and the semifinals in 1996.


Residential living

Lycoming College is a residential campus that requires students to live in campus housing, with a few exceptions including local students who are able to commute from home. The college offers numerous housing options, including eight residence halls: Skeath, Asbury, East, Wesley, Rich, Williams, Crever, and Forest, as well as the Douthat Commons student apartments and several College-owned apartments. They can also choose to live in several different College-owned apartment buildings adjacent to campus. Dining options include Wertz Dining Hall open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Café 1812 and the Gateway Café offer breakfast and lunch five days a week, and Jack's Corner offers a late night bite to eat. The college serves its own Warrior Coffee through Lycoming's Warrior Coffee Project, an interdisciplinary program that collaborates with people of the El Naranjito region in the Dominican Republic. The academic buildings with computer labs and printers are open to students 24/7. Students at Lycoming enjoy the long-established on-campus traditions the college offers. This includes Thanksgiving dinner served family-style by faculty and staff and a Late Night Breakfast served by faculty and staff during finals week.


Notable alumni

* David G. Argall '80 –
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
(1984–2009),
Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...
(2009 to present) * Larry A. Barretta '87 –
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 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
player * Joseph McCrum Belford (1868) –
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
(1897–1899) from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
* P. Kevin Brobson '92 - Pennsylvania Supreme Court Judge * Edgar T. Collins, 1890, U.S. Army major general * Deirdre P. Connelly '83 – Pharmaceuticals executive, Forbes 2009 list of World's 100 Most Powerful Women * David Albaugh De Armond (1865) – United States House of Representatives (1891–1909) from
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
* Thomas W. Dempsey '52 – Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1987–2000); recipient of 2001 Angela R. Kyte Outstanding Alumnus Award * Gene L. Dodaro '73 –
Comptroller General of the United States The comptroller general of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly known as the General Accounting Office), a legislative-branch agency established by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and man ...
since 2008 *
Robert W. Edgar Robert William Edgar (May 29, 1943 – April 23, 2013) was an American politician, administrator, and religious leader. A native of the Philadelphia area, he began his career as a Methodist pastor and chaplain. He served as a Democratic member o ...
'65 – President and CEO of
Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Lyndon ...
, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization * Rusty E. Fricke '87 –
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 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
player * Ismael Gaspar-Martins '66 - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, The Republic of Angola * Milton E. Graff
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player (1957–1958) for the
Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...
* Carl Grivner '75 - CEO of Colt Technologies * Ruth E. (Perry) Hodge '58 – Retired archivist, U.S. Army and Pennsylvania State Archives, and author, ''Guide to African American Resources at the Pennsylvania State Archives'' (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2000, ) *
James Hall Huling James Hall Huling (March 24, 1844 – April 23, 1918) was an American Republican businessman and politician from West Virginia who served as a United States representative in the 54th United States Congress. Congressman Huling was born in Will ...
(1861) – United States House of Representatives (1895 to 1897) from
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* John C. Jopson '76 – Film and music video director * Alexander Brown Mackie (1915) – Co-founder of
Brown Mackie College Brown Mackie College was a private for-profit college system in the United States. The colleges offered bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certificates in programs including early childhood education, information technology, health sci ...
* Tom A. Marino '85 – U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district * Henry Clay McCormick (1861) – United States House of Representatives (1887–1891) from Pennsylvania * Alexander McDonald (1849) –
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
(1868–1871) from
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
*
James Monroe Miller James Monroe Miller (May 6, 1852 – January 20, 1926) was a U.S. Representative from Kansas. Born in Three Springs, Pennsylvania, Miller attended the district school and graduated from Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1875. ...
(1875) – United States House of Representatives (1899–1911) from
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
*
Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas (30 June 1968 – 24 December 2018) was a Mexican politician affiliated at different times with both the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN). He was the governor of Puebla from F ...
'91 – Governor of the Mexican state of
Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
* Peter D. Onorati '75 – Veteran actor * James H. Osmer (1858) – United States House of Representatives (1879–1881) from Pennsylvania * Harry F. Perretta '78 – Head Women's Basketball Coach at Villanova University, Inducted to Lycoming Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 *
Charles Emory Patton Charles Emory Patton (July 5, 1859 – December 15, 1937) was a U.S. Representative from the U.S. state, state of Pennsylvania. He was the son of John Patton (1823-1897), John Patton and the brother of John Patton, Jr. Biography Patton was ...
(1878) – United States House of Representatives (1911–1915) from Pennsylvania * Robert Fleming Rich (1903) – United States House of Representatives (1945–1951) from Pennsylvania * Milton George Urner (1856) – United States House of Representatives (1879–1883) from
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
* Thomas I. Vanaskie '75 – United States circuit judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts for the following United Sta ...
* Tom H. Woodruff Jr. '80 –
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-winning
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* Gene Yaw '70 – Pennsylvania State Senator representing the 23rd Senatorial District * Dick (Robert) Yuengling '66 - fifth-generation owner of D.G. Yuengling & Son, turned his family's struggling brewery into one of America's largest beer makers, recipient of 2016 Dr. James E. Douthat Outstanding Achievement Award


References


External links

*
Athletics website
{{Coord, 41.2456, -77.0001, region:US-PA_type:edu, display=title Educational institutions established in 1812 Liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Williamsport, Pennsylvania 1812 establishments in Pennsylvania Private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania