Bucknell University
Encyclopedia
Bucknell University is a private
liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River
in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania
in the town of Lewisburg
, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Williamsport
and 60 miles (97 km) north of Harrisburg
. The university consists of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering. Bucknell was founded in 1846, and features programs in engineering, management, education, and music, as well as nationally ranked programs and pre-professional advising that prepare students for success in law and medicine. Bucknell is among the top 20 U.S. liberal arts
colleges in terms of the number of graduates who go on to earn doctorates. It has almost 50 majors and over 60 minors. In 2009, Forbes
rated it 46th in America's Best Colleges
.
Although it is primarily an undergraduate school (with 3,400 students), there are also 150 graduate students on the campus. Students come from all 50 states and from more than 50 countries. Bucknell has nearly 200 student organizations and a large Greek
presence and is part of the Patriot League
in Division I athletics.
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 $100,000 ($ 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 ($ today).
In 1850, the department moved into the first building completed on campus, now called Taylor Hall. Built for $8,000 ($ 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.
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.
, a charter member of the board of trustees, for help. His donation of $50,000 ($ 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.
. 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 (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, and the new Kenneth Langone
Recreational Athletic Center opened during the 2002–03 academic year.
The newest facility, the Breakiron Engineering Building, opened in 2004. Today, more than 100 buildings dot the 450 acres (1.8 km²) campus.
, 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.
classifies its selectivity as "most selective." It was ranked 30th for liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report as of 2007. Bucknell is ranked 7th for liberal arts colleges in the U.S. by Washington Monthly. 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. The student-faculty ratio is 10:1.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Bucknell ranks among the top 20 liberal arts college
s in the number of students that go on to gain their Ph.D's and is number 3 on the All-Time List (CoSida) for Producing Academic All Americans. It also ranks in the top 100 for schools that produce America's top business leaders.
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.
Bucknell is a member of the Patriot League
for Division I sport
s, Division I-AA in football.
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
.
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 (Liggett) 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 of 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 90.5 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:
Active Sororities:
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River
West Branch Susquehanna River
The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch...
in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the town of Lewisburg
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,620 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union...
, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Williamsport
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
and 60 miles (97 km) north of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. The university consists of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering. Bucknell was founded in 1846, and features programs in engineering, management, education, and music, as well as nationally ranked programs and pre-professional advising that prepare students for success in law and medicine. Bucknell is among the top 20 U.S. liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
colleges in terms of the number of graduates who go on to earn doctorates. It has almost 50 majors and over 60 minors. In 2009, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
rated it 46th in America's Best Colleges
Forbes Magazine's List of America's Best Colleges
In 2009 Forbes Magazine, along with The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, compiled a list of America's Best Colleges based on "the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve".- 2009 List :...
.
Although it is primarily an undergraduate school (with 3,400 students), there are also 150 graduate students on the campus. Students come from all 50 states and from more than 50 countries. Bucknell has nearly 200 student organizations and a large Greek
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
presence and is part of the Patriot League
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
in Division I athletics.
Founding
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
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
) in Hamilton, New York
Hamilton (village), New York
The Village of Hamilton is a village located within the town of Hamilton in Madison County, New York, USA.-Geography and climate:The village, located at , lies in the Chenango Valley, just south of the headwaters of the Chenango River. The village is approximately southeast of Syracuse and ...
, was asked to prepare a charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
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 $100,000 ($ today) be raised before the new institution would be granted full corporate status
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
. More than 4,000 subscribers ultimately contributed, including a small boy who gave 12 cents ($ today).
Early years
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 $8,000 ($ 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
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
, 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
Howard Malcom
Howard Malcom was an American educator and Baptist minister. He attended Dickinson College and Princeton Theological Seminary. He wrote several accounts of Christian missions in Burma and was pastor of churches in Hudson, New York, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
as the first president of the university, a post he held for six years.
Female Institute
This commitment was reflected in the words of David Jayne Hill
David Jayne Hill
David Jayne Hill was an American diplomat and historian.Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, he was educated at Bucknell University from which he graduated in 1874. He served as professor of rhetoric in the institution from 1877 to 1879 and was for the eight years following its president. From 1888 to...
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
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
; 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 BucknellWilliam Bucknell
William Bucknell , born near Marcus Hook, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was a real estate dealer and agent, builder of gas and water works, and founder of Bucknell University....
, a charter member of the board of trustees, for help. His donation of $50,000 ($ 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
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
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, PennsylvaniaWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
. Today, that institution is a four-year university, Wilkes University
Wilkes University
Wilkes University is a private, non-denominational American university located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students...
, 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 (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, and the new Kenneth Langone
Kenneth Langone
Kenneth Langone, is a venture capitalist, investment banker and financial backer of The Home Depot, and a former director of the New York Stock Exchange. He was elected as director of Yum! Brands effective October 7, 1997, and is a member of the Audit Committee. Langone is also a trustee of New...
Recreational Athletic Center opened during the 2002–03 academic year.
The newest facility, the Breakiron Engineering Building, opened in 2004. Today, more than 100 buildings dot the 450 acres (1.8 km²) campus.
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 curriculumCore Curriculum
The Core Curriculum was originally developed as the main curriculum used by Columbia University's Columbia College. It began in 1919 with "Contemporary Civilization," about the origins of western civilization. It became the framework for many similar educational models throughout the United States...
, 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
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
portfolio in 2007.
Academics
Bucknell is a highly competitive liberal arts university, with a class of 2015 undergraduate acceptance rate of 27.3%. U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
classifies its selectivity as "most selective." It was ranked 30th for liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report as of 2007. Bucknell is ranked 7th for liberal arts colleges in the U.S. by Washington Monthly. The 25th and 75th percentile SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
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. The student-faculty ratio is 10:1.
Primarily an undergraduate institution, Bucknell offers 47 majors and 65 minors. Majors include history, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, environmental studies, geology, East Asian studies
East Asian studies
East Asian Studies is a distinct multidisciplinary field of scholarly enquiry and education that promotes a broad humanistic understanding of East Asia past and present...
, management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, accounting, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, music, art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, animal behavior, neuroscience, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, and various foreign languages. Students can also design their own majors.
The school's College of Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
(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.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bucknell ranks among the top 20 liberal arts college
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
s in the number of students that go on to gain their Ph.D's and is number 3 on the All-Time List (CoSida) for Producing Academic All Americans. It also ranks in the top 100 for schools that produce America's top business leaders.
Forty-five percent of Bucknell students study abroad. The University sponsors semester-long programs in four locations—London; Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
; Tours, France; and Granada, Spain—and several short-term summer programs in locations such as Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, all of which are staffed by Bucknell professors. Students can also choose to study in a variety of other countries through alternative providers.
Athletics
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
for Division I sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s, Division I-AA in football.
The Bucknell football team
Bucknell Bison football
The Bucknell Bison football team represents Bucknell University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. Bucknell is a member of the Patriot League...
won the first Orange Bowl
1935 Orange Bowl
The 1935 Orange Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game between the Bucknell Bison and Miami. It was the first edition of the Orange Bowl and took place at Miami Field...
26–0, over the Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
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
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
pitcher Christy Mathewson
Christy Mathewson
Christopher "Christy" Mathewson , nicknamed "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire career in what is known as the dead-ball era...
, who requested burial in a cemetery adjoining Bucknell's campus.
In 2005, the men's basketball team
Bucknell Bison men's basketball
The Bucknell Bison men's basketball team represents Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania in NCAA Division I competition. The school's team competes in the Patriot League and play their home games in Sojka Pavilion.-NCAA Tournament results:...
went to the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
men's basketball tournament and became the first Patriot League
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
team to win an NCAA tournament game, upsetting Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
(64–63). The victory followed a year that included wins over #7 Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
and St. Joe's
Saint Joseph's Hawks
The Saint Joseph's Hawks represent the athletic teams at Saint Joseph's University. The Hawks compete in Division I in the NCAA and the Philadelphia Big 5. The school also has intramurals and extramurals, the latter of which compete with the City 6 . The school is mostly known for its men's...
. They lost to Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in the following round but received the honor of "Best Upset" at the 2005 ESPY Awards
ESPY Awards
An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...
.
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
U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15 is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Carolina to Interstate 86 and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York.US...
and the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
and features many of the academic buildings, including the main academic quadrangle, the (Liggett) 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
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in 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
Ball (dance)
A ball is a formal dance. The word 'ball' is derived from the Latin word "ballare", meaning 'to dance'; the term also derived into "bailar", which is the Spanish and Portuguese word for dance . In Catalan it is the same word, 'ball', for the dance event.Attendees wear evening attire, which is...
provide students with a wide array of activities. Downtown Lewisburg is a short walking distance of 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 90.5 FM.
Bucknell has active religious life involvement on campus. Groups such as Bucknell University Catholic Campus Ministry, Rooke Chapel Congregation, Muslim Students' Association
Muslim Students' Association
The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United States. It serves to provide coordination and support...
, and Hillel
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
are available to students for spiritual and personal growth.
The university also has a lively Greek
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
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 PhiChi PhiThe Chi Phi ' Fraternity is an American College Social Fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The oldest active organization that took part in the union was originally founded in 1824 at Princeton...
- Delta UpsilonDelta UpsilonDelta Upsilon is the sixth oldest international, all-male, college Greek-letter organization, and is the oldest non-secret fraternity in North America...
- Kappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
- Kappa Delta RhoKappa Delta RhoKappa Delta Rho is an American college social fraternity, with 77 chapters spread out over the United States, primarily in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions...
(suspended until 2012) - Kappa SigmaKappa SigmaKappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...
- Lambda Chi AlphaLambda Chi AlphaLambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...
- Phi Gamma DeltaPhi Gamma DeltaThe international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
- Phi Kappa PsiPhi Kappa PsiPhi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...
- Sigma Alpha EpsilonSigma Alpha EpsilonSigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
(suspended until 2015) - Sigma Alpha MuSigma Alpha MuSigma Alpha Mu , also known as "Sammy", is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Originally only for Jewish men, Sigma Alpha Mu remained so until 1953, when members from all backgrounds were accepted. Originally headquartered in New York, Sigma Alpha Mu has...
(suspended due to lack of pledges 2008–09) - Sigma ChiSigma ChiSigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
- Sigma Phi EpsilonSigma Phi EpsilonSigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
- Tau Kappa EpsilonTau Kappa EpsilonTau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
- Theta ChiTheta ChiTheta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
Active Sororities:
- Alpha Chi OmegaAlpha Chi OmegaAlpha Chi Omega is a women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. Currently, there are 135 chapters of Alpha Chi Omega at colleges and universities across the United States and more than 200,000 lifetime members...
- Alpha Delta PiAlpha Delta PiAlpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
- Chi OmegaChi OmegaChi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....
- Delta GammaDelta GammaDelta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...
- Delta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
- Kappa Alpha ThetaKappa Alpha ThetaKappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
- Kappa Kappa GammaKappa Kappa GammaKappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...
- Pi Beta PhiPi Beta PhiPi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...
External links
- Official school website
- Official athletics website
- Bucknell Student Government
- Theiss, Lewis Edwin, Centennial history of Bucknell University: 1846–1946, Grit Publishing Co. Press (1946)
- http://books.google.com/books?id=qcVBAAAAIAAJ&q=%22bucknell+university%22+%22stephen+william+taylor:&dq=%22bucknell+university%22+%22stephen+william+taylor:&ei=S0gQS6ueCqLqygTjoMCQDQOliphant, James Orin, The rise of Bucknell University Appleton-Century-CroftsAppleton-Century-CroftsAppleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., was a division of the Meredith Publishing Company. It is a result of the merger of Appleton-Century Company with F.S. Crofts Co. in 1948. Prior to that, The Century Company had merged with D...
(1965)] - Krist, Robert, Bucknell University, Harmony House (1990), ISBN 091650929X, 9780916509293
- 360 Panorama Photos of the Bucknell University