Harcum College
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| Type | Private |
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| Established | 1915 |
| President | Jon Jay DeTemple |
| Students | 1,600 |
| Location |
Bryn Mawr, PA, USA 40°01′20″N 75°18′49″W / 40.0223°N 75.3137°WCoordinates: 40°01′20″N 75°18′49″W / 40.0223°N 75.3137°W |
| Campus | Suburban 14 acres (0.057 km2) |
| Colors | Purple and White |
| Athletics | NJCAA Division I |
| Nickname | Bears |
| Website | www |
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Harcum College is an associate degree granting residential college located on Philadelphia’s Main Line in Bryn Mawr, PA. Harcum, “the College of Possibilities,” Philadelphia region's oldest independent, two-year college, was founded in Bryn Mawr, PA in 1915 by Edith Hatcher Harcum and her husband Marvin. It was the first college in Pennsylvania authorized to grant associate degrees.
Edith Hatcher, daughter of prominent Virginia clergyman and educator Dr. William E. Hatcher, was a talented concert pianist. In 1913, Edith Hatcher married Octavius Marvin Harcum. After the birth of their first child, Edith wrote "the concert career did not offer a chance for family stability" so they chose a venture that would combine "my talents as an educator and artist and his business vision and ability."
They opened the Harcum Post Graduate School on October 1, 1915 in Melville Hall with three students and five pianos. Edith's goal was to "start a school where the individual talent of each girl would be treated as an integral part of her education." Though her expertise was in the fine arts, Edith was also committed to providing a strong academic program.
In its early years, Harcum was a university preparatory school, giving students the skills needed for college study. It quickly grew, soon adding junior college-level courses. Mr. Harcum, or "Uncle Marvin" as the students called him, was the first President. When he died in a car accident in 1920, Edith assumed the Presidency. She remained in that post for more than 30 years.
Leadership was eventually assumed by Philip Klein and Dr. Henry Klein. In 1956, Pennsylvania granted Harcum permission to be the first junior college in the Commonwealth's history to confer the Associate of Arts and the Associate of Science degrees. Tremendous building and expansion occurred in the 1960s with the addition of the Academic Center, Pennswood Hall, and Klein Hall. Historically a women’s college, Harcum began admitting male students during the 1970s and became officially co-educational in 2003.
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