Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. It offers 65 majors and 70 minors in the sciences and humanities. Located just south of Lewisburg, the campus rises above the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.
Approximately 3,700 undergraduate students and 50 graduate students attend Bucknell. It is a member of the Patriot League in NCAA Division I athletics. Its athletic teams are the Bucknell Bison and its mascot is Bucky the Bison.
History
Founding and early years
Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, Bucknell traces its origin 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 in Hamilton, New York, was asked to prepare a charter and act as general agent for the development of the institution. The charter for the University at Lewisburg, granted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and approved by the governor on February 5, 1846, carried one stipulation–that $100,000 be raised before the new institution would be granted full corporate status.
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 Academic and Primary Department of the University at Lewisburg.
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 institution, 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 college 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 college built a new hall–Larison Hall–to accommodate the Female Institute.Benefactor William Bucknell
In 1881, facing dire financial circumstances, the college turned to William Bucknell, a charter member of the board of trustees, for help. His donation of $50,000 saved the college from ruin. In 1886, in recognition of Bucknell's support of the college, 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 institution 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. The depression era also saw the commissioning by President Homer Rainey of architect Jens Larson to design Bucknell's master plan. Subsequent expansion of the institution still largely adheres to this plan.The post-War period saw a dramatic increase in higher education enrollment across the United States, thanks first to the G.I. Bill and then to the baby boom. Like other institutions, Bucknell's campus grew to accommodate a growing student body, and the college broke ground on many of the academic buildings that comprise upper campus. Chief among these is the Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library, commissioned in 1946 under Bucknell President and former Governor of Maine Horace Hildreth and opened in 1951. Other major additions from the building spree of the 1950s and 60s include the Olin Science Building and Coleman, Marts and Swartz Halls.
Building for the future
A growing reputation and changing expectations for undergraduate education in the United States called for improved facilities. The 1970s brought construction of the Elaine Langone Center, the Gerhard Fieldhouse and the Computer Center. In the 1980s, the capacity of Bertrand Library was doubled, facilities for engineering were substantially renovated, and the Weis Center for the Performing Arts was inaugurated.Heading into the 21st century, new facilities for the sciences included the renovation of the Olin Science Building, the construction of the Rooke Chemistry Building in 1990 and a new Biology Building in 1991. The Weis Music Building was inaugurated in 2000, the O'Leary Building for Psychology and Geology opened in the fall of 2002, the new Kenneth Langone Recreational Athletic Center opened in 2003 and the Breakiron Engineering Building in 2004.
Campus
Much of the university property is in East Buffalo Township. A portion is in the borough limits of Lewisburg.Grounds
Bucknell's campus comprises more than 100 buildings located over a gentle rise adjacent to the West Branch Susquehanna River. The campus is divided into Lower Campus and Upper Campus by Miller Run and the Grove, a stand of oak trees that ascends the slope. Lower Campus consists primarily of student housing and the institution's sports facilities. Upper Campus mainly contains academic buildings. It offers views northwest across the Buffalo Valley toward Mount Nittany and southeast across the Susquehanna River toward Montour Ridge. Bucknell's campus forms a cohesive architectural ensemble due to the sustained use of brick and the recurrent themes of Georgian style. The institution's first building, Taylor Hall, was constructed in 1848. The oldest residential hall on the campus is Daniel C. Roberts Hall. Its newest building, Holmes Hall, was inaugurated in 2021.Non-academic facilities
is the non-denominational setting for campus worship, weddings, and celebrations, opened in 1964. The chapel was a gift of Robert Levi Rooke, a member of the board of trustees.Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium is a 13,100-seat multi-purpose stadium built in 1924 and renovated in 1989, when it was also renamed in honor of Christy Mathewson, a New York Giants Hall of Fame pitcher.
The Bucknell Farm was established in 2018, building on the success of the Lewisburg Community Garden, a partnership between Bucknell University and the Borough of Lewisburg. The organic farm overlooking Montour Ridge offers learning and service opportunities for students and provides fresh, local produce for the institution's dining system. Along with a 1.76-megawatt solar array installed in 2022, the farm reflects Bucknell's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and long-term environmental sustainability.
Bucknell Greenhouse is located on the fourth floor of the Biology Building. In 2023, the Century Plant bloomed for the first time in thirty years. The greenhouse contains three ecosystems: a desert, wetlands, and tropical and temperate forests.
In 2023, the school began the first part of the Bucknell Greenway, what will be a educational recreation path around campus, while also connecting to the athletic fields across U.S. Route 15.
Spratt House is the home of the institution's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program.