Arcadia University
Encyclopedia
Arcadia University is a private university
located in Glenside
, Pennsylvania
, on the outskirts of Philadelphia
. A master's university by Carnegie Classification, the university has a co-educational
student population of more than 4,000. The university was ranked 25th in the master's universities in the North
category by U.S. News & World Report
for the 2009 rankings. The 76 acres (307,561.4 m²) campus features Grey Towers Castle
, a National Historic Landmark
.
in 1853 as Beaver Female Seminary. By 1872 it had attained collegiate
status, under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church
, and was named Beaver College. The school admitted men from 1872 to 1907, then again limited enrollment to women until 1972. In 1925 Beaver College moved east to Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
. In 1928, the school acquired the current campus in Glenside. The college operated both the Jenkintown and Glenside campuses into the mid-1960s, when it consolidated all activities onto the Glenside campus.
In July 2001, upon attaining university status, Beaver College officially changed its name to Arcadia University. It was thought that a new name would emphasize the school's position as one of the top small institutions of higher learning on the East Coast
, and would cement its change in designation from "college
" to "university
." The decision was also made in part to shed its association with the former commonly derided name. As then-president Bette Landman noted, "[The name] too often elicits ridicule in the form of derogatory remarks pertaining to the rodent
, the TV show Leave It to Beaver
and the vulgar reference to the female anatomy."
This decision resulted in Arcadia University being included as a question in the 20th anniversary edition of Trivial Pursuit
. The question, in the news category, was: What Pennsylvania institution changed its name to Arcadia University in 2001, after web filters began blocking its old moniker? During the subsequent years, memorabilia from the former name became very popular for Arcadia students to give as gifts.
The Physician Assistant program, housed in the Department of Medical Science and Community Health, has again graduated another class with a 100% pass rate on the national boards. In fact, the class of 2009 included the first graduating class from the Delaware campus and is currently ranked in the 98th percentile of all programs (148 and counting) based on this year's board scores.
Arcadia University also currently ranks 7th in the nation (U.S.News) with its Doctor of Physical therapy program. This program has international opportunities for study abroad in London and Pro Bono opportunities in Jamaica, Peru, Guatemala, and Morocco. There are clinical sites offered across the country, though mainly in the tristate area.
programs. Nearly two-thirds of undergraduates at Arcadia study in another country at least once during their college careers. Arcadia's commitment to a global education has gained wide recognition. Open Doors 2010, the Institute of International Education
’s annual census, lists Arcadia University in first place—nationally—among all institutions, ranked by “undergraduate participation in study abroad”.
In the 2006 edition of its magazine, Arcadia was able to announce that "strategic growth finds Arcadia adding a graduate school campus in Paris
, forging a new study abroad program in China, setting up a Physician Assistant program in Delaware and opening a peace center in Tanzania
". These and other successful projects were rewarded in 2006—declared the Year of Study Abroad by the U.S. Congress—when Arcadia’s creation of an integrative learning environment infused with international and multicultural experiences has earned it the prestigious 2006 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization from NAFSA: Association of International Educators
.
Also in 2006, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education approved Arcadia’s proposal to establish an additional location in Paris and to extend its accreditation to cover the Masters in International Relations and Diplomacy offered in the French capital by the American Graduate School of International Relations and Diplomacy (AGSIRD), an institution created in 1994 by a group of international lawyers, scholars and diplomats, in partnership with the University of Paris 11. In 2010, Arcadia announced the launch of its Asia expansion initiatives in collaboration with Aventis School of Management
, a graduate school located in Singapore
which offers Executive MBA, Master's degrees and graduate diploma programs for working professionals.
The years have o'er thee swept
But stainless still through time and tide
Thy splendor thou has kept
So hail Arcadia! HAIL! We say,
Fling high the scarlet and the gray.
We shall keep irradiant with truth
Thine everlasting youth.
. Men's sports teams include baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, lacrosse, swimming and tennis. Women's sports teams include basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis and volleyball.
, WBVR, broadcast on an AM
frequency. The station went through periods of inactivity followed by great student interest, however by the time the school's name change took place, WBVR was not operational. In 2004, students managed to generate a great deal of interest in the radio station again. By the fall of 2005, student membership had increased to over 30, and then in March 2006 started broadcasting live on the internet. As of the Fall 2009 semester, The Arc is back up and running. The Arc has recently won a contest (2009), sponsored by American Eagle Apparel, which makes the Arc the exclusive station of all American Eagle stores.
as having the country's greatest travel study programs, and has won numerous awards for their many distinctive trips. Recently the Society for the Advancement of Travel Study named Arcadia for their prestigious Martin Luther King Jr award for their use of travel study programs to promote interracial equality.
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Glenside
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Glenside is a census-designated place in Abington, Cheltenham, and Springfield townships, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,384 at the 2010 census...
, 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...
, on the outskirts of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. A master's university by Carnegie Classification, the university has a co-educational
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
student population of more than 4,000. The university was ranked 25th in the master's universities in the North
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
category by U.S. News & World Report
U.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...
for the 2009 rankings. The 76 acres (307,561.4 m²) campus features Grey Towers Castle
Grey Towers Castle
Grey Towers Castle is a building on the campus of Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania which is in Cheltenham Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, USA. The castle was designed by Horace Trumbauer and built starting in 1893 as the estate of William Welsh Harrison...
, a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
History
The school was founded in Beaver, PennsylvaniaBeaver, Pennsylvania
Beaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 4,775, having dropped from 5,641 in 1940....
in 1853 as Beaver Female Seminary. By 1872 it had attained collegiate
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
status, under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
, and was named Beaver College. The school admitted men from 1872 to 1907, then again limited enrollment to women until 1972. In 1925 Beaver College moved east to Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of downtown Philadelphia. "Jenkintown" is also used to describe a number of neighborhoods surrounding the borough, which also are known by names such as Rydal, Jenkintown Manor and Noble...
. In 1928, the school acquired the current campus in Glenside. The college operated both the Jenkintown and Glenside campuses into the mid-1960s, when it consolidated all activities onto the Glenside campus.
In July 2001, upon attaining university status, Beaver College officially changed its name to Arcadia University. It was thought that a new name would emphasize the school's position as one of the top small institutions of higher learning on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, and would cement its change in designation from "college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
" to "university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
." The decision was also made in part to shed its association with the former commonly derided name. As then-president Bette Landman noted, "[The name] too often elicits ridicule in the form of derogatory remarks pertaining to the rodent
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
, the TV show Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
and the vulgar reference to the female anatomy."
This decision resulted in Arcadia University being included as a question in the 20th anniversary edition of Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...
. The question, in the news category, was: What Pennsylvania institution changed its name to Arcadia University in 2001, after web filters began blocking its old moniker? During the subsequent years, memorabilia from the former name became very popular for Arcadia students to give as gifts.
Undergraduate programs
The university offers over 75 fields of study, in its undergraduate programs. Undergraduate majors are offered in the College of Business, Health, and Sciences (CBHS) and the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Students can design their own majors (subject to approval and course availability) to complete on the Glenside campus or through study abroad if currently available majors do not fit a student's career goals.Graduate programs
Graduate and professional studies at Arcadia University range widely from the liberal arts to the primarily professional, from the doctoral level to workshops. Arcadia's international perspective is reflected in programs such as its accelerated part-time MBA with a Global Perspective, its Master of Arts in International Peace and Conflict Resolution and its new program in Paris, France. The master's program in Forensic Science is accredited by FEPAC.The Physician Assistant program, housed in the Department of Medical Science and Community Health, has again graduated another class with a 100% pass rate on the national boards. In fact, the class of 2009 included the first graduating class from the Delaware campus and is currently ranked in the 98th percentile of all programs (148 and counting) based on this year's board scores.
Arcadia University also currently ranks 7th in the nation (U.S.News) with its Doctor of Physical therapy program. This program has international opportunities for study abroad in London and Pro Bono opportunities in Jamaica, Peru, Guatemala, and Morocco. There are clinical sites offered across the country, though mainly in the tristate area.
International Programs
The university is known for its study abroadStudy abroad
Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
programs. Nearly two-thirds of undergraduates at Arcadia study in another country at least once during their college careers. Arcadia's commitment to a global education has gained wide recognition. Open Doors 2010, the Institute of International Education
Institute of International Education
Institute of International Education - is a non-profit organization promoting international exchange of education and training. It was established in 1919 and is based in the USA....
’s annual census, lists Arcadia University in first place—nationally—among all institutions, ranked by “undergraduate participation in study abroad”.
In the 2006 edition of its magazine, Arcadia was able to announce that "strategic growth finds Arcadia adding a graduate school campus in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, forging a new study abroad program in China, setting up a Physician Assistant program in Delaware and opening a peace center in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
". These and other successful projects were rewarded in 2006—declared the Year of Study Abroad by the U.S. Congress—when Arcadia’s creation of an integrative learning environment infused with international and multicultural experiences has earned it the prestigious 2006 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization from NAFSA: Association of International Educators
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
NAFSA: Association of International Educators is a non-profit professional organization for professionals in all areas of international education including education abroad advising and administration, international student advising, campus internationalization, admissions, outreach, overseas...
.
Also in 2006, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education approved Arcadia’s proposal to establish an additional location in Paris and to extend its accreditation to cover the Masters in International Relations and Diplomacy offered in the French capital by the American Graduate School of International Relations and Diplomacy (AGSIRD), an institution created in 1994 by a group of international lawyers, scholars and diplomats, in partnership with the University of Paris 11. In 2010, Arcadia announced the launch of its Asia expansion initiatives in collaboration with Aventis School of Management
Aventis School of Management
Aventis School of Management is an international graduate business school. Aventis School of Management campus is based in Singapore offers a strong focus on leadership and general management skills. Aventis School of Management is one of the five business schools in Singapore that is registered...
, a graduate school located in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
which offers Executive MBA, Master's degrees and graduate diploma programs for working professionals.
Alma mater
Alma mater dearThe years have o'er thee swept
But stainless still through time and tide
Thy splendor thou has kept
So hail Arcadia! HAIL! We say,
Fling high the scarlet and the gray.
We shall keep irradiant with truth
Thine everlasting youth.
Athletics
Arcadia University teams compete in the NCAA Division III within the Commonwealth Conference of the Middle Atlantic CorporationMiddle Atlantic Corporation
Founded in 1912, the Middle Atlantic Conferences is an umbrella organization of three athletic conferences which competes in the NCAA's Division III. The 16-member teams are located in the Mid-Atlantic United States....
. Men's sports teams include baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, lacrosse, swimming and tennis. Women's sports teams include basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis and volleyball.
Student organizations
As of Spring 2011, Arcadia University has over 65 active governing, academic, sport, cultural, media, religious, and service clubs and organizations.Arcadia Radio Club
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the student operated radio stationRadio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, WBVR, broadcast on an AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
frequency. The station went through periods of inactivity followed by great student interest, however by the time the school's name change took place, WBVR was not operational. In 2004, students managed to generate a great deal of interest in the radio station again. By the fall of 2005, student membership had increased to over 30, and then in March 2006 started broadcasting live on the internet. As of the Fall 2009 semester, The Arc is back up and running. The Arc has recently won a contest (2009), sponsored by American Eagle Apparel, which makes the Arc the exclusive station of all American Eagle stores.
Travel Study
Arcadia University was cited by 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...
as having the country's greatest travel study programs, and has won numerous awards for their many distinctive trips. Recently the Society for the Advancement of Travel Study named Arcadia for their prestigious Martin Luther King Jr award for their use of travel study programs to promote interracial equality.
Notable alumni
- Julianne BoydJulianne BoydJulianne Boyd is an American theater director.Boyd received a BA in Theater and Education in 1966 from Beaver College in Pennsylvania...
, theater director - Jane Oswald, member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame
- Dorothy Germain PorterDorothy Germain PorterDorothy Germain Porter is an American amateur golfer.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dorothy Germain began playing golf at 11. She graduated from Beaver College, where she played field hockey...
, amateur golf champion - M. Susan SavageM. Susan SavageM. Susan Savage is an American Democratic politician who served as the 29th Secretary of State of Oklahoma.Savage graduated from Edison High School in Tulsa and in 1974 earned a B.A. degree from Arcadia University in Pennsylvania. She returned to Tulsa in 1977 and became executive director of the...
, Secretary of State of OklahomaSecretary of State of OklahomaThe Secretary of State of the State of Oklahoma is the chief clerical officer of Oklahoma and a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary of State is only appointed constitutional member of the executive branch of the Oklahoma state government...
and former Mayor of Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, OklahomaTulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's... - Edith SchaefferEdith SchaefferEdith Rachel Merritt Schaeffer is a Christian author and co-founder of L'Abri, a Christian organization which hosts guests...
, religious author and co-founder of the L'AbriL'AbriL'Abri is an evangelical Christian organization founded by Francis Schaeffer and his wife Edith in Huémoz-sur-Ollon, Switzerland on June 5, 1955. They opened their alpine home as a ministry to curious travellers and as a forum to discuss philosophical and religious beliefs.- The development of...
study center - Anna Deavere SmithAnna Deavere SmithAnna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She is currently the artist in residence at the Center for American Progress.-Early life:...
, actress - Hye Kyung Lee, flutist