University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The university has been coeducational since its founding in 1889[5]. SRU is fully accredited by the Middle State Commission on Higher Learning.[6]
As of fall 2023, SRU's total enrollment was 8,362, including 6,815 undergraduates and 1,547 graduate students[7]. There were also more than 950 employees including 496 full-time faculty and a 20:1 faculty-to-student ratio[8].
Academics
SRU offers more than 150 undergraduate majors and 40 graduate degree programs and certificates across the following five colleges[9]:
- College of Business
- College of Education
- College of Engineering and Science
- College of Health Professions
- College of Liberal Arts
SRU offers 51 programs that hold national accreditations and 92% of faculty members holding a Ph.D. or other terminal degree[10].
History
Slippery Rock University was founded in 1889 under the name Slippery Rock State Normal School as a teacher training school. James E. Morrow was the first president. The school was purchased by the Commonwealth in 1926 and became a four-year college.
Slippery Rock State College was established in 1960 and issued undergraduate and graduate degrees within the liberal arts and other professions.[11] As of September 2022[update], Slippery Rock University has 8,243 enrolled students[12] as well as 172 majors, 45 minors[13] and 44 graduate programs, including certificates.[14]
Administration
In 2012, Cheryl Joy Norton was appointed as the university's first female president.[15][16] Norton announced she would retire effective June 30, 2017.[17] William J. Behre became the university's president in 2018.[2] Behre would go on to serve the university for roughly 4 years before announcing his retirement on February 15th 2022.[18] Effective on July 1st, 2023 Karen Riley was appointed president of Slippery Rock University.[19]
Athletics
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania competes in the NCAA Division II and is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
Slippery Rock University's official mascot is Rocky the Lion.[20]
Varsity sports
Men's teams:
Baseball,
basketball,
cross country,
football,
soccer,
indoor track & field, and
outdoor track & field.
Women's teams:
Basketball,
cross country,
field hockey,
lacrosse,
soccer,
softball,
tennis,
indoor track & field,
outdoor track & field, and
Volleyball.
The announcement of Slippery Rock's football scores is a tradition at University of Michigan Football games, started in 1959 by Michigan Stadium's public address announcer Steve Filipiak.[21] The tradition spread to other stadiums as well - during a 1970 game at the University of Texas, the announcer failed to read Slippery Rock’s score, which resulted in the crowd demanding to know said score.[22] Slippery Rock was so popular with U of M fans that on September 29, 1979, they played in-state rival Shippensburg at Michigan Stadium, in front of 61,143 fans, a record for a Division II football game (Shippensburg won, 45–14). Slippery Rock played a second game at "The Big House" in 1981, attracting 36,719 fans in a 14–13 loss to Wayne State University. Slippery Rock made a third trip to "The Big House" on October 18, 2014, losing to Mercyhurst University, 45–23; a crowd of 15,121 braved a chilly wind to witness the contest.
Discontinued Sports
The varsity wrestling program was competed in from 1958-59 to 2005-06 academic years at the university. [23]
Club sports
In 1995, the women's water polo team won the intercollegiate national championship conducted by USA Water Polo.[24]
In 1987, the women's judo team, a varsity sport team at the time, won the intercollegiate national championship conducted by the National Collegiate Judo Association.[25]
Slippery Rock ice hockey joined other colleges and universities in the region to form the College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA) in 2006. In 2020, the university suspended the hockey program for the indefinite future.[26]
Student life
Aebersold Student Recreation Center
The Aebersold Student Recreation Center is an 82,000 sq ft (7,600 m2) on-campus student recreation center.[27]
Fraternities and sororities
There are several on campus.
Student media
SRU has a student newspaper called The Rocket, the radio station 88.1 WSRU-FM, and the literary magazine SLAB.
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's
verifiability policy. Please
improve this article by removing names that do not have independent
reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate
citations. (January 2024)
