The commonwealth legislated the State Normal School for "the education and training of teachers" in the seventh district (seven counties) to be in Shippensburg,[4] and in 1871 the cornerstone was laid[5] for the 212 ft (65 m) building[5] designated the Cumberland Valley State Normal School.[6][7] In 1917 the school was purchased by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[citation needed]
On June 4, 1926, the school was authorized to grant the Bachelor of Science in education degree in elementary and junior high education. The school received a charter on October 12, 1926, making it the first normal school in Pennsylvania to become a state teachers college. On June 3, 1927, the State Council of Education authorized the school to change its name to the State Teachers College at Shippensburg.
The business education curriculum was approved on December 3, 1937. On December 8, 1939, Shippensburg State Teachers College became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania and the fourth in the United States to be accredited by the Middle States Association of colleges and (Secondary) Schools.
The State Council of Education approved graduate work leading to the Master of Education degree on January 7, 1959. On January 8, 1960, the name change to Shippensburg State College was authorized.
The arts and sciences curriculum was authorized by the State Council of Education on April 18, 1962, and the Bachelor of Science in business administration degree program was initiated on September 1, 1967.
On November 12, 1982, the governor of the Commonwealth signed Senate Bill 506 establishing the State System of Higher Education. Shippensburg State College was designated Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania effective July 1, 1983.
H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center was completed in fall 2005
Shippensburg University offers more than 100 undergraduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and the John L. Grove College of Business. It also offers more than 50 master's degree programs, two doctoral programs, and three post-bachelor or post-master's certificate programs in 17 fields of study in the School of Graduate Studies.
Rankings
For the 2022–2023 academic year, out of 181 colleges in the Regional Universities North division, U.S. News & World Report ranked Shippensburg University as tied for 101st overall, tied for 150th
in Top Performers on Social Mobility, and tied for 33rd place in Top Public Schools.[9]
It is situated just north of the borough of Shippensburg and covers the campus of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. It was first listed as a CDP in 2010.[10]
As of the 2010 census the population of the CDP was 2,625.[12]
^"Cumberland Valley State Normal School"(Google News Archive). The Star and Sentinel. June 16, 1871. The counties of Cumberland, Adams, Fulton, Franklin, Bedford, Huntingdon and Blair comprise the Seventh Normal School district of the State. The Normal School for this district is being built at Shippensburg and will be known as the Cumberland Valley State Normal School. The building is 212 feet long and over 150 feet wide.
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