Bucknell University

Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the town of Lewisburg, in central Pennsylvania, United States. The university consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Management, and the College of Engineering. Bucknell was founded in 1846, and features programs in engineering, management, education, and music, as well as programs and pre-professional advising that prepare students for study in law and medicine. It has almost 50 majors and over 60 minors. In its 2012 edition of America's Best Colleges, Bucknell was ranked 29th among all schools in the United States in the "National Liberal Arts Colleges" category by U.S. News & World Report.

It is primarily an undergraduate school (with 3,500 students), and 150 graduate students on the campus. Students come from all 50 states and from more than 66 international countries. Bucknell has nearly 200 student organizations and a large Greek presence. The school's mascot is Bucky the Bison and the school is a member of the Patriot League in Division I athletics.

Founding & Early Years
Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, Bucknell traces its origination to a group of Baptists from White Deer Valley Baptist Church who deemed it "desirable that a Literary Institution should be established in Central Pennsylvania, embracing a High School for male pupils, another for females, a College and also a Theological Institution."

The group’s efforts for the institution began to crystallize in 1845, when Stephen William Taylor, a professor at Madison University (now Colgate University) in Hamilton, New York, was asked to prepare a charter and act as general agent for the university’s development. The charter for the University at Lewisburg, granted by the Legislature of Pennsylvania and approved by the governor on February 5, 1846, carried one stipulation–that $100,000 ($0 today) be raised before the new institution would be granted full corporate status. More than 4,000 subscribers ultimately contributed, including a small boy who gave 12 cents ($0 today).

In 1846, the "school preparatory to the University" opened in the basement of the First Baptist Church in Lewisburg. Known originally as the Lewisburg High School, it became in 1848 the Academical and Primary Department of the University at Lewisburg.

In 1850, the department moved into the first building completed on campus, now called Taylor Hall. Built for $8,000 ($0 today), the building housed both women's and men’s studies until the opening of the Female Institute in 1852. While studying together, women were required to face east while men faced west.

The school’s first commencement was held on August 20, 1851, for a graduation class of seven men. Among the board members attending was James Buchanan, who would become the 15th President of the United States. Stephen Taylor officiated as his last act before assuming office as president of Madison University. One day earlier, the trustees had elected Howard Malcom as the first president of the university, a post he held for six years.

Female Institute
Although the Female Institute began instruction in 1852, it wasn’t until 1883 that college courses were opened to women. Bucknell, though, was committed to equal educational opportunities for women.

This commitment was reflected in the words of David Jayne Hill of the Class of 1874, and president of the university from 1879 to 1888: "We need in Pennsylvania, in the geographical centre of the state, a University, not in the German but in the American sense, where every branch of non-professional knowledge can be pursued, regardless of distinction of sex. I have no well-matured plan to announce as to the sexes; but the Principal of the Female Seminary proposes to inaugurate a course for females equal to that pursued at Vassar; the two sexes having equal advantages, though not reciting together."

Within five years of opening, enrollment had grown so sharply that the university built a new hall–Larison Hall–to accommodate the Female Institute. Women could venture into town only in the company of a female teacher who had a minimum of six years’ experience in handling girls.

Benefactor William Bucknell
In 1881, facing dire financial circumstances, the university turned to William Bucknell, a charter member of the board of trustees, for help. His donation of $50,000 ($0 today) saved the university from ruin. In 1886, in recognition of Bucknell's support of the school, the trustees voted unanimously to change the name of the University at Lewisburg to Bucknell University. Bucknell Hall, the first of several buildings given to the university by Bucknell, was initially a chapel and for more than a half century the site of student theatrical and musical performances. Today it houses the Stadler Center for Poetry.

Continued Expansion
The 40 years from 1890 until 1930 saw a steady increase in the number of faculty members and students. When the Depression brought a drop in enrollment in 1933, several members of the faculty were "loaned" to found a new institution: Bucknell Junior College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Today, that institution is a four-year university, Wilkes University, independent of Bucknell since 1947.

Significant new construction in the 1970s included the Elaine Langone Center, the Gerhard Fieldhouse, and the Computer Center. During the early 1980s, the capacity of the Bertrand Library was doubled and facilities for engineering were substantially renovated. In 1988, the Weis Center for the Performing Arts was completed.

New facilities for the sciences included the renovation of the Olin Science Building, the construction of the Rooke Chemistry Building in 1990 and the completion of a new Biology Building in 1991. The McDonnell Residence Hall and Weis Music Building were completed in 2000. In addition, the O'Leary Building for Psychology and Geology opened in the fall of 2002 and the new Kenneth Langone Recreational Athletic Center opened during the 2002-03 academic year.The most recent facility, the Breakiron Engineering Building, opened in 2004.

Strategic planning
On April 29, 2006, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved "The Plan for Bucknell," which calls for improvement in five areas: strengthening the academic core curriculum, deepening the residential learning experience, enhancing diversity, building bridges with the local community, and securing Bucknell's financial future.

The university reported having $600 million in investments in its endowment portfolio in 2007.

Campus


Bucknell has a 450 acre campus comprising more than 100 buildings. New facilities for the sciences included the renovation of the Olin Science Building (which is located across from the Dana Engineering building), the construction of the Rooke Chemistry Building in 1990, and the completion of a new Biology Building in 1991. The McDonnell Residence Hall and Weis Music Building were completed in 2000. In addition, the O'Leary Building for Psychology and Geology opened in the fall of 2002. The newest facility, the Breakiron Engineering Building, opened in 2004. Academic West, which will be home to social science departments and interdisciplinary centers will add 70,000 square feet of academic space and is expected to be complete by 2013.

Taylor Hall
The University’s first building, Taylor Hall, was constructed in 1848. It currently houses the School of Management.

Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center
The Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center was completed in 2003. It and houses a state-of-the-art fitness center, Olympic-size pool, and the 4,000-seat Sojka Pavilion, home of the men's and women's basketball teams.

Rooke Chapel
Designed in Georgian colonial style, Rooke Chapel is the setting for campus worship, weddings, and celebrations. Attached to the chapel is a one-story wing which houses the meditation chapel and OCRL offices. The chapel was dedicated on October 25, 1965. The chapel was a gift of the late Robert L. Rooke, an alumnus of the class of 1913 and a member of the University's Board of Trustees. The chapel is named in memory of Mr. Rooke's parents. The main portion of the chapel includes the narthex, sanctuary, chancel area, organ chamber, choir rooms, and balconies that surround the sanctuary on three sides. Approximately 850 persons can be seated in the sanctuary and balconies.

Sojka Pavilion
Sojka Pavilion is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. It was built in 2003 [1] and is home to the Bucknell University Bison basketball team. It is named for Dr. Gary Allan Sojka, a former president of the university who remained at the university after the end of his term as a professor of biology, until his retirement in 2006.

Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium
Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium is a 13,100-seat multi-purpose stadium in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Originally built in 1924, the stadium was renovated and renamed in honor of Mathewson in 1989. It is home to the Bucknell University Bison football team and the Lewisburg High School Green Dragons football team. It is named for Christy Mathewson, a Bucknell alumnus who went on to become a Hall of Fame pitcher for the New York Giants in the early 20th century.

College of Arts & Sciences


Primarily an undergraduate institution, Bucknell offers 47 majors and 65 minors. Majors include history, mathematics, environmental studies, geology, East Asian studies, management, accounting, biology, chemistry, education, music, art history, English, animal behavior, neuroscience, economics, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, theatre, and various foreign languages. Students can also design their own majors. The College comprises the three traditional liberal arts divisions: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and mathematics with over 275 faculty members in 31 departments. Bucknell is well known for the unusually broad array of undergraduate research, opportunities available to students in all of the disciplines taught on campus.The overall curriculum of the College is the Common Learning Agenda. Bucknell is also strong in environmental studies, animal behavior, neuroscience, ecology, and evolution. Because Bucknell is larger than many other liberal arts colleges (in fact, it is the nation's largest private liberal arts university), a wide range of courses can be offered in these fields, including, for example, entomology, limnology, mammalogy, invertebrate zoology, ornithology, tropical ecology, ecosystem and community ecology, conservation biology, neuroscience, neural plasticity, and social insect courses. Faculty research in these areas is active, with many opportunities for student participation, field work, and travel. Bucknell has strong programs in theatre, dance, music, and film whereby students work closely with experienced professionals. State-of-the-art performance and practice facilities, including the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, enhance the undergraduate performing arts experience. The Bucknell Environmental Center (BUEC) sponsored a symposium series on sustainability and the global environment and has major initiatives focused on the art, culture, and ecology of the Susquehanna River basin and the greening of the Bucknell Campus. Bucknell has recently received a Solar Scholars grant and is building an experimental student housing unit that will rely primarily on renewable energy, including photovoltaics. Forty-five percent of Bucknell students study abroad. The University sponsors semester-long programs in four locations—London; Barbados; Tours, France; and Granada, Spain—and several short-term summer programs in locations such as Nicaragua, all of which are staffed by Bucknell professors. Students can also choose to study in a variety of other countries through alternative providers. The student-faculty ratio is 10:1.

College of Engineering
The school's College of Engineering (with majors in electrical, chemical, computer science, mechanical, civil, and recently established biomedical and computer engineering) is particularly strong. Among American schools that do not offer a Ph.D. in engineering, Bucknell ranks No. 8. The Chemical Engineering Department ranks No. 4, the Civil Engineering Program No. 5, the Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering Departments No. 6, and the Mechanical Engineering Department No. 7, respectively, under the same criteria.

There are two main engineering buildings on the Bucknell University campus. The two buildings are the Charles A. Dana Engineering Building and the Breakiron Engineering Building. Referred to by most students and faculty solely as "Dana" the Charles A. Dana Engineering Building was built in 1940, while the fairly new Breakiron Engineering Building was built in 2003.

School of Management
Students can choose from two tracks, both leading to the B.S.B.A. degree: management or accounting. Students are admitted to the program as incoming first-year students or through a competitive selection process during the first semester of their sophomore year. Management students learn to think critically and communicate effectively about the economic, social, political and cultural issues they will face throughout their careers and lives, while also gaining technical competence in their field. Management 101 is a collaborative, experiential course that has been widely recognized as an innovative model for management schools. In this class, students form their own companies, market products and conduct community service projects. All accounting graduates are eligible to take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam in Pennsylvania or to take the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exam. A five-year, dual degree in Engineering and Management is available for engineers with management career goals. Bucknell ranks first among 213 baccalaureate liberal arts colleges for graduates who have earned Ph.D.s in Business and Management.

Rankings and Admission
Bucknell is a liberal arts university, with a class of 2015 undergraduate acceptance rate of 27.6%. U.S. News & World Report classifies its selectivity as "more selective." In 2011, Forbes rated it 48th in America's Best Colleges. In its 2012 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked Bucknell 29th in National Liberal Arts Colleges. The 25th and 75th percentile SAT scores for the Class of 2011 that matriculated were 600 and 690, respectively in Critical Reading, and in Math the 25th/75th percentiles were 630 and 710. 81% of students accepted into Bucknell were in the top 10% of their class, and 94% of accepted students were in the top 20% of their class. For 2010–2011, Kiplinger ranked Bucknell 22nd in terms of "Best Value among Liberal Arts Colleges in the US," which took into account academic quality, cost and financial aid measures. The Princeton Review included Bucknell in its annual Best Value Colleges for 2012. Bucknell is ranked 4th on Payscale's list of Top Liberal Arts Colleges by Salary Potential.

Traditions and symbols
On April 17, 1849, the trustees approved the current Bucknell seal. The seal shows the sun, an open book, and waves. The sun symbolizes the light of knowledge while the book represents education surmounting the storms and "waves" of life. Bucknell's colors are orange and blue, being approved by a committee of students in 1887. The bison is the current mascot of Bucknell University. In 1923 Dr. William Bartol suggested the animal due to Bucknell's location in the Buffalo Valley.

Bucknell Cheer
’Ray Bucknell, ’Ray Bucknell, ’Ray for the Orange and the Blue, ’Ray, ’Ray, ’Ray, ’Ray, ’Ray for the Orange and the Blue.

Athletics
Bucknell is a member of the Patriot League for Division I sports, Division I-AA in football. Bucknells traditional opponents include Lafayette College, Holy Cross, Lehigh University, Colgate University, and American University.

The Bucknell football team won the first Orange Bowl 26–0, over the Miami Hurricanes on January 1, 1935. Bucknell won the first Division II NCAA swimming and diving championships in 1964. It is also the alma mater of baseball pitcher Christy Mathewson, who requested burial in a cemetery adjoining Bucknell's campus.

In 2005, the men's basketball team went to the NCAA men's basketball tournament and became the first Patriot League team to win an NCAA tournament game, upsetting Kansas (64–63). The victory followed a year that included wins over #7 Pittsburgh and St. Joe's. They lost to Wisconsin in the following round but received the honor of "Best Upset" at the 2005 ESPY Awards.

Student life
First-year undergraduates are required to live on campus. The school guarantees on-campus housing for all four years. Some students choose to live off campus after their first year.

The campus is roughly divided into "uphill" and "downhill" areas by a large slope between Moore Avenue and Dent Drive. The uphill area flanks U.S. Route 15 and the Susquehanna River and features many of the academic buildings, including the main academic quadrangle, the Observatory, and library as well as some dormitories, Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium, and Fraternity Road. Downhill borders the Victorian-era neighborhoods of downtown Lewisburg and features mainly residential buildings, including the majority of first-year dormitories, the Gateway apartment complex, the President's house, many of the indoor athletic facilities, and Hunt Hall, home to the school's sororities. Bucknell West, which is separated from the rest of campus by Route 15, features some housing, athletic fields, art and psychology/animal behavior laboratories, and an 18-hole golf course. All on-campus students must purchase a campus meal plan. There are several dining options on campus for students, including the Bostwick Cafeteria, Bison snack bar, and Terrace Room in the Langone Student Center, and the Library and 7th Street Cafe.

Because of its rural location and lack of nearby large cities (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is located about one hour south), Bucknell may seem fairly isolated. However, its more than 130 student organizations, a historical downtown movie theater, many student performances, and year-end formal ball provide students with a wide array of activities. Downtown Lewisburg is a short walking distance from the campus and features a variety of shops, museums, galleries, and restaurants in addition to old-fashioned gingerbread houses.

Spratt House is the home of the University's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.

Bucknell's student newspaper, The Bucknellian, is printed weekly. Its radio station is WVBU-FM.

Bucknell has active religious life involvement on campus. Groups such as Bucknell University Catholic Campus Ministry, Rooke Chapel Congregation, Muslim Students' Association, and Hillel are available to students for spiritual and personal growth.

The university also has a lively Greek community. Students cannot "rush" until the first semester of their sophomore year, but approximately 50 percent of eligible students join the school's 13 fraternities and 8 sororities.

Active Fraternities:
 * Chi Phi
 * Delta Upsilon
 * Kappa Alpha Psi
 * Kappa Delta Rho ( Returned Fall 2012)
 * Kappa Sigma
 * Lambda Chi Alpha
 * Phi Gamma Delta


 * Phi Kappa Psi
 * Sigma Alpha Epsilon (suspended until 2015)
 * Sigma Alpha Mu (suspended due to lack of pledges 2008–09)
 * Sigma Chi
 * Sigma Phi Epsilon
 * Tau Kappa Epsilon
 * Theta Chi (suspended due to lack of pledges 2012)

Active Sororities:
 * Alpha Chi Omega
 * Alpha Delta Pi
 * Chi Omega
 * Delta Gamma
 * Delta Sigma Theta
 * Kappa Alpha Theta
 * Kappa Kappa Gamma
 * Pi Beta Phi(suspended until 2016)