Entry to Old Main Building, reconstructed on High Street opening onto the Quadrangle
The university traces its roots to the West Chester Academy, a private, state-aided school that existed from 1812 to 1869. As the state began to take increasing responsibility for public education, the academy was transformed into West Chester Normal School or West Chester State Normal School, still privately owned and state certified. The normal school admitted its first class, consisting of 160 students, on September 25, 1871. In 1913, West Chester became the first of the normal schools to be owned outright by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
West Chester became West Chester State Teachers College in 1927 when Pennsylvania initiated a four-year program of teacher education. In 1960, as the Commonwealth paved the way for liberal arts programs in its college system, West Chester was renamed West Chester State College, and two years later introduced the liberal arts program that turned the one-time academy into a comprehensive college.[9]
With passage of the State System of Higher Education bill, West Chester became one of the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education on July 1, 1983. Along with its new name—West Chester University of Pennsylvania—the institution acquired a new system of governance and the opportunity to expand its degree programs.
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WCU's International Programs office helps send students abroad.[20][21] The university participates in the National Student Exchange Program, in which students spend up to a year at any one of more than 170 member schools across the United States. Transfer of credit is a part of this program.[22]
Campus
The university's North Campus is partially in West Chester borough and partially in West Goshen Township.[23] The South Campus is partially in West Goshen Township and partially in East Bradford Township. The campus is located in a suburban area approximately 20 miles from the city of Philadelphia. West Chester's downtown center is less than half of a mile away from the main campus.[24][25] The university also operates an urban satellite campus in Center City, Philadelphia.[26]
On campus, there is the Recreation Center, the Business and Public Management Center, The Dr. Sandra F. Prichard-Mather Planetarium, The Hollinger Field House, many buildings (built in the 1800s and early 1900s) in the West Chester State College Quadrangle Historic District registered into the National Register of Historic Places, and the Sciences & Engineering Center that has been recently completed,[when?] just to name a few buildings. There are also many outdoor activity areas such as: basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, and the nearly 100 acre Robert B. Gordon Natural Area for Environmental Studies.[27]
West Chester University has the second largest university geothermal system in the United States. The system drastically reduces carbon emissions on the campus.[28]
The athletic teams at West Chester University are named the Golden Rams. Students participate in NCAADivision II athletics in the PSAC and the ECAC. West Chester University has won national championships in women's basketball, women's lacrosse, women's swimming (the team was the DGWS champion in 1972), women's field hockey (including four AIAW titles from 1975 to 1978), and men's soccer. West Chester won the first ever women's basketball national championship in 1969 and was on the losing end in the final game each of the following three years.[29][30]
In 1977, 1979, and 1982 the boxing team won the National Collegiate Boxing Association national championship. In 1976, Edward Skalamera claimed the national title for his 147 lb. weight class while Joe Gery took the top position in the nation for his 180 lb. class.[33]
In 2008, West Chester defeated C.W. Post College 13–12 to win the Division II women's lacrosse title. It was the second national title in the women's program history. WCUPA played in the NCAA tournament in 2010 (2nd place), 2011 (4th place), and 2012 (2nd place). The 2013 team was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champions. Ginny Martino's winning percentage is 80% over the last 17 years as head coach (250–60).[34]
In 2012, the Men's Baseball Team claimed West Chester's first NCAA Division II College Baseball National Championship.[35] The Golden Rams shut-out Delta State 9–0 in Cary, North Carolina. West Chester becomes the first team from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) to win the national championship and just the third northern school to walk away with the title.
West Chester's Women's Field Hockey team won the NCAA Division II championship in 2011, 2012, and 2019. The varsity Women's Rugby program also won the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) rugby national championship in 2019.
Campus Recreation: The Women's Ice Hockey Club won the Division II national championship in 2013.
The Men's Lacrosse Club won the Division II national championship in 2013 and 2015.
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. (April 2024)
Pat Croce (b. 1954) — American physical therapist, entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner, author, and TV personality; former team president of the Philadelphia 76ers
Michael Dever (b. 1957) — businessman, futures trader, entrepreneur, and author; CEO of Brandywine Asset Management
Philip M. Sharples (1857–1944) — inventor and entrepreneur who ran largest industrial enterprise in West Chester history
Kevin Guskiewicz (b. 1966) — sports medicine researcher, as well as a Kenan Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC, and Interim Chancellor at UNC
Pat Meiser — named one of the nation's top 50 women's sports executives by Sports Business Journal. Former Penn State head women's basketball coach and athletic director at University of Hartford
Howard Dodson (b. 1939) — scholar who is the Director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and Howard University Libraries, and was formerly the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem
Joe Gow (born 1960) (attended West Chester University before transferring to New York University and later Penn State University, from which he graduated) — American academic, musician, pornographic actor, and university administrator, noted for being fired as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse in December 2023 after being outed for filming and starring in consensual pornographic videos with his wife, which they posted to public adult websites (without ever mentioning their names, careers, or university affiliations)
Francis Harvey Green (1861–1951) — educator, poet, and lecturer; former Chair of English at West Chester University; headmaster of the Pennington School
Miles D. McCarthy (1914–1995) — professor of biology. One of the five founding faculty members of California State University, Fullerton; served as president of California State University, Fullerton as well as Chairman of the Biology Department and Vice President for Academic Affairs
^"PHMC Historical Markers Search". Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original(Searchable database) on March 21, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
^"Mail service", West Chester University official website, retrieved October 12, 2022
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