Penn State Mont Alto
|
Former names
|
Pennsylvania State Forest Academy |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1903 |
|
Parent institution
|
Pennsylvania State University |
| Chancellor | Francis K. Achampong |
| President | Eric J. Barron |
| Undergraduates | 1,204 |
| Location | Mont Alto, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Campus | Rural area |
| Nickname | Nittany Lions |
| Affiliations | PSUAC (USCAA) |
| Website | montalto.psu.edu |
Penn State Mont Alto is a Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth Campus. It is located in Mont Alto, in south central Pennsylvania, between Chambersburg and Gettysburg. It incorporates the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy, founded in 1903 by Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker.
Approximately 1,200 students attend the school with more than 30% being over the age of 24. The majority of the student population at Penn State Mont Alto commute to classes, rather than live in the provided residence halls.
The campus is well known for its forestry and nursing majors. While many students elect to continue their education at University Park, Penn State Mont Alto does offer four-year degrees in business as well as English.
Today, Mont Alto offers four baccalaureate degrees and eight associate degrees, and serves nearly 1,300 students annually. The campus serves an additional 2,500 annually through its Continuing Education unit, with courses on campus, at the Chambersburg Mall and other sites.
Joseph Rothrock, an explorer, botanist and medical doctor founded the academy to train men for service in the state forests.
In May 1903, Samuel W. Pennypacker, governor of Pennsylvania, established the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy in Mont Alto. With the precipitous closure of the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell in the same month, the new Pennsylvania school became one of three forestry schools in the nation, along with Yale and Biltmore. George Wirt, the academy's first administrator, patterned the curriculum after curricula in Germany. All first year students were required to bring a horse with them to the academy until the late 1920s. The horses were used to fight forest fires in the Michaux State Forest.
...
Wikipedia