The Pennsylvania State University —Penn State, is recognized as being among the top public universities in the country that achieves excellence in education, research and public service.

Old Main: Built in 1930 using limestone from the first Old Main, completed on this site in 1863. Classrooms, laboratories, as well as student and faculty living quarters were originally housed here. Photo by Dan Beigel
Schreyer Honors College: committed to promoting a vibrant learning culture by encouraging both faculty and students to actively participate in the learning process. Photo date: 2002-01-06

Founded in 1855 as an agricultural and engineering college, Penn State has grown into a world-class learning and research institution. With a core campus covering 5,448 acres, the University Park campus is the epicenter for about 42,000 students and almost 80,000 students throughout the Commonwealth, Penn State is one of the largest universities in the nation. Penn State awards over 13,000 degrees in more than 190 baccalaureate and 149 graduate fields each year. Penn State's graduate programs in engineering have been ranked seventh among public institutions nationwide. Its College of Education was ranked among the top 10 in the nation and two of its programs are ranked number one nationally: higher education and adult education. Its College of Communications is the third largest of its kind in the nation. And the business logistics program in the Smeal College of Business Administration is recognized as being among the top two logistics programs in the country. The university also operates one of the largest and most diversified continuing and distance education programs, offering learning opportunities to more than 170,000 people throughout the world.

	Me at Nittany Lion Shrine, Penn State's mascot

Penn State is among the nation's premium public research universities in both basic and applied fields. Research support is provided by federal and state governments, private industry, foundations and international organizations. With an annual research budget of over $350 million, Penn State ranks 10 among all American universities in research expenditures. Its Intercollegiate Research Programs, including the Environmental Resources Institute, the Transportation Institute, and the Institute for Policy Analysis and Evaluation, have longstanding working relationships with federal and state agencies, business and industry and provide opportunities for faculty and students from different disciplines to collaborate on advancing knowledge in a wide variety of fields.

The university community enjoys many of the advantages of a metropolitan area. In the arts alone, the Center for the performing Arts and the University Concert Committee bring internationally recognized talent to the University. The University Resident Theatre Company and Pennsylvania Center State present professional actors and theater arts faculty and students in professional-quality productions throughout the year. The Palmer Museum of Art is the largest between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. 

The Humphrey Program at Penn State incorporates successful balance between academic, professional, cultural, and social components of the Humphrey Fellowship Program. During our Humphrey year we will have an opportunity to strengthen, develop, and enhance our skills and knowledge through:

• Academic coursework,

• Professional affiliations ("hands-on" experience),

• Professional networking with counterparts for long-term interaction,

• Special projects, and

• Representing our countries in professional forums.

Besides our substantive field of interest, the Penn State program emphasizes the direct observation and participation of Humphrey Fellows in democratic forums of decision-making and governance as well as the organization and management of large, medium, and small-size public, private, and non-for-profit organizations in the US.

Penn State's University Park Campus is located in the heart of the nation's mid-Atlantic region. The adjoining Borough of State Collegehas often been described as America's quintessential college town.

State College Photo date: 2001-10-21

area retains much of its natural charm. Open spaces and fresh air abound. Farmland, wooded mountains, hiking trails, ski slopes, lakes and streams, and a host of outdoor activities are only a few minutes' drive from the campus. Within walking distance of the campus, downtown State College boasts a vibrant business district with numerous specialty shops, restaurants, cinemas, and professional offices.

Twenty-five commercial flights daily connect the University Park airport with Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Detroit. Nearby Interstate 80 is a major east-west highway, and Amtrak connections are within 20 miles.

Nestled in the mountains of South Central Pennsylvania between Altoona and Harrisburg the lake has 30 miles of navigable water and is fed by the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. it is the state's largest man-made lake. Raystown Lake is a 29,000 acre project with 12 public access areas, a 8,000 acre lake, picnic areas, beaches, boat launches, campgrounds, trails, hunting, fishing, marina concession stands and is operated and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. We went to this lake in our orientation week at Penn State

Surrounding the lake are 118 miles of natural wooded shoreline with 21,000 acres of largely undeveloped public land. Owned and operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers the lake was opened in 1975 as a flood control project. At the northern end of the lake is Seven Points Marina, the largest marina in Pennsylvania having dockage for 800 boats. As you leave the marina whether it be aboard a fishing boat or a houseboat you will discover nature at its finest. Wild turkeys, deer, turtles, squirrels, raccoons, beaver, ducks, birds of prey including bald eagles and ravens, water snakes and more. The fishing is second to none with muskiest, small and large mouth bass, stripers, carp, perch, lake trout, brown trout, Atlantic salmon and crappies swimming the waters of this pristine lake. Cruise along the shores and view the red shale outcrops which add to the beauty of the lake with the red cedar trees always present. The lake's islands are great for exploring many coves that crowd the shoreline where you can thoroughly enjoy the beauty of nature as you swim, dive, fish, tan, or just relax.

Bald Eagle State Park, as well as the Bald Eagle mountains and valley and the Bald Eagle Creek were named after the well-known Chief Bald Eagle of the Lenni Lenape nation.

The construction of this park was made possible by the cooperative efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the former Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources. It was the Corps of Engineers who acquired the land and constructed the Foster Joseph Sayers Dam in 1969. Some basic recreational facilities were completed in 1971. At that time, by prior lease agreement, the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, assumed the responsibility of operating 5,900 acres of the project land for recreational purposes. Nowadays, one can choose from a wide selection of recreational opportunities which include: swimming, picnicking, boating, fishing, waterskiing, hiking, both primitive and modern camping, environmental education programs, ice fishing, ice skating, cross country skiing, sled and tobogganing, and boat rentals.