University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Encyclopedia
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, also known as UPJ or Pitt-Johnstown, is a four-year, degree-granting regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh
. The university is located in Richland Township
, a suburban area of Johnstown
, Pennsylvania
and was founded in 1927 as one of the first regional campuses of a major university
in the United States
. UPJ is ranked as the 28th best baccalaureate college in the North and the eighth best public baccalaureate college in the North by U.S. News & World Report in its "America's Best Colleges 2010" annual college guide. UPJ is also listed among the "Best Colleges in the Northeastern Region" by The Princeton Review.
, a Johnstown suburb. The new campus opened in 1967 with two classroom buildings, five dormitories, and a student union. Degree-granting status was awarded to UPJ by the University of Pittsburgh in 1970. The campus has grown significantly since that time, with five academic buildings, a library, an expanded student union, a sports and aquatic center, a conference center, a chapel, a performing arts center, and a large cluster of dormitories, lodges, townhouse apartments and other student residence housing. UPJ now offers over 40 baccalaureate and associate degree programs.
UPJ offers a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree in more than 40 areas. Additionally, UPJ offers several associate degrees in the allied health area.
The college offers more than 40 academic majors, with minors available in most of the major fields, as well as in other areas of arts and sciences. The average class size is 25–30, and the student to teacher ratio is 19:1. The college is strictly undergraduate, and all courses are taught by college faculty. The 149 faculty members have outstanding credentials and remain active professionally. Special opportunities include internships, the President’s Scholars program, independent and directed studies, a self-designed major, the Freshman Seminar Series, an International Studies Certificate, and the Academic Success Center.
UPJ operates on a modified trimester calendar. The standard school year includes a 15-week fall term (September to mid-December) and a 15-week spring term (January to mid-April). Optional summer term offerings from 5-week to 15-week sessions allow students to accelerate their degrees.
The University of Pittsburgh, including UPJ and other regional campuses, is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
and by the Commission on Higher Education. The engineering technology programs at Johnstown are accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc.
The Johnstown campus is situated in a suburban, wooded setting occupying 650 acres (2.6 km²) which makes UPJ physically the third largest campus in Pennsylvania. It is located eight miles (13 km) outside Johnstown, Pennsylvania (metropolitan population of 110,000); 70 miles (112.7 km) east of Pittsburgh; and 175 miles (281.6 km) north of Washington, D.C.
The 32 campus buildings, mostly in freestone
masonry, include resident housing, classroom buildings, a performing arts center, sports center, library, student union, and outdoor recreation areas. Other features include a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) nature preserve, more than 15 intramural activities, more than 70 student organizations, and NCAA Division II men’s and women’s sports.
The campus has five academic/administrative buildings: Biddle Hall, Krebs Hall, Engineering and Science Building, Blackington Administrative Classroom Building, and the Living/Learning Center. Each building contains classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, and/or administrative offices. Additional facilities include a music room, greenhouse, computer rooms, auditoriums, an audio-visual classroom, and conference rooms.
Also available to students is the advanced technology classroom (ATC) in Biddle Hall. The room is designed for electronic distance learning. It is equipped with satellite down-link programming, three full-motion cameras, data ports, video monitors, and much more. It is currently one of the most sophisticated ATCs in operation at any college or university in Pennsylvania.
The Owen Library holds more than 146,086 bound volumes, 15,358 titles on microfilm, 625 periodical subscriptions, approximately 130 online subscription databases, and more than 4,500 electronic journals. All students have additional access to many additional libraries on Pitt’s other campuses.
Campus-wide computing labs for student use are available. Labs primarily contain Windows 7-based PCs, along with several Macintosh computers, application servers, laser printers, scanners, and advanced graphics devices. The labs can be used to work with software, such as word processing and programming languages, or to access network services, such as online card catalogs, electronic mail, and the Internet. There are more than 150 computers available on campus for student use.
The Student Union, located in the middle of campus, houses the Student Life Office, Health Services, Residence Services, Career Services, Campus Ministry, and the Bookstore/convenience store. Also included are a full-service mail room, a 400-person cafeteria, a fast food shop, and a nonalcoholic pub. The union also holds a game room, information desk, and many organizational offices. A recent renovation created a bistro-style restaurant, named the Mountain Cat Club, as a dining option for students. Located directly outside of the cafeteria, the club features flat screen televisions, a dance floor, and a stage in order to provide an additional area for student programing.
The Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center
(PPAC) is a 42000 square feet (3,901.9 m²) multipurpose facility; it was completed in 1991. It contains a 1,000-seat concert hall, a 200-seat black box theater, and supporting operational spaces. Performances include UPJ Department of Theatre Arts shows and Broadway productions. The PPAC is also home to the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra and the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Johnstown. The art gallery displays at least eight exhibitions a year as well as work produced by UPJ students.
The J. Irving Whalley Memorial Chapel was constructed in 1991 as well. It is nondenominational and seats 250 people. Weekly Catholic mass and Protestant services are held, as well as personal conferences.
The Sports Center and Zamias Aquatic Center provide recreational facilities for more than 15 intramural sports, as well as intercollegiate activities. The building houses a 25 yards (22.9 m) indoor swimming pool, a workout room with free weights, an aerobic/dance studio, and locker rooms with showers. On January 5, 2011, the university opened the $9.7 million 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) Wellness Center which is adjacent to the Sports Center The Wellness Center features a three-lane elevated running track, cardiovascular and strength-training equipment, dance/exercise/classroom space, two multipurpose courts for basketball and volleyball, an indoor climbing wall, as well as an outdoor wellness park.
An approximately $10 million 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) nursing and health science facility is planned to begin construction in 2010.
In addition to the residence units in the Living/Learning Center, the campus offers the choice of single-sex and coeducational housing. There are 5 freshman residence halls, one upper class residence hall, seven small-group lodges, 46 townhouse-style apartment units, and an apartment complex.
(WVIAC). Twelve varsity men's and women's sports are offered including women's volleyball
, men’s and women’s soccer
, men’s and women’s golf
, men’s and women’s basketball
, wrestling
, women’s indoor and outdoor track and field
, and baseball
.
Perhaps the most prominent sport at UPJ is wrestling, which has had several top national finishes and won the Division II National Championships in 1996 and 1999. The wrestling program also includes several highly decorated wrestlers among its former athletes, including the most decorated wrestler in NCAA history, Carlton Haselrig
, who went undefeated during his career and won three Division I and three Division II individual national championships.
Men's Basketball is also successful and has advanced to four NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournaments
, including appearances in the tournament in 2008 and 2009. The men's basketball team has appeared in the Division II national rankings several times, and finished as high as fifth in the nation in 1999. Women's basketball at UPJ has appeared in 13 Division II and 3 Division III NCAA tournaments, including the 1987 Division II Final Four.
The baseball team plays some of its home games at Point Stadium. The baseball program participated in the NCAA North Atlantic Regional Tournament in the 2006, and 2008 seasons.
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...
. The university is located in Richland Township
Richland Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Richland Township is a township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,598 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, a suburban area of Johnstown
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
, 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...
and was founded in 1927 as one of the first regional campuses of a major 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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. UPJ is ranked as the 28th best baccalaureate college in the North and the eighth best public baccalaureate college in the North by U.S. News & World Report in its "America's Best Colleges 2010" annual college guide. UPJ is also listed among the "Best Colleges in the Northeastern Region" by The Princeton Review.
History
UPJ was founded in 1927 as a two-year college of the University of Pittsburgh. For almost 20 years it held classes in the Johnstown High School building in the Kernville section of downtown Johnstown. After World War II, the Johnstown College moved to the Moxham section of town where the number of courses and students increased. In the early 1960s, community leaders worked with the University of Pittsburgh to build a new campus in Richland TownshipRichland Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Richland Township is a township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,598 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, a Johnstown suburb. The new campus opened in 1967 with two classroom buildings, five dormitories, and a student union. Degree-granting status was awarded to UPJ by the University of Pittsburgh in 1970. The campus has grown significantly since that time, with five academic buildings, a library, an expanded student union, a sports and aquatic center, a conference center, a chapel, a performing arts center, and a large cluster of dormitories, lodges, townhouse apartments and other student residence housing. UPJ now offers over 40 baccalaureate and associate degree programs.
Academics
The college offers more than 40 academic majors, with minors available in most of the major fields, as well as in other areas of arts and sciences. The average class size is 25–30, and the student to teacher ratio is 19:1. The college is strictly undergraduate, and all courses are taught by college faculty. The 149 faculty members have outstanding credentials and remain active professionally. Special opportunities include internships, the President’s Scholars program, independent and directed studies, a self-designed major, the Freshman Seminar Series, an International Studies Certificate, and the Academic Success Center.
UPJ operates on a modified trimester calendar. The standard school year includes a 15-week fall term (September to mid-December) and a 15-week spring term (January to mid-April). Optional summer term offerings from 5-week to 15-week sessions allow students to accelerate their degrees.
The University of Pittsburgh, including UPJ and other regional campuses, is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...
and by the Commission on Higher Education. The engineering technology programs at Johnstown are accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc.
Campus and facilities
The 32 campus buildings, mostly in freestone
Freestone
A freestone is a stone used in masonry for molding, tracery and other replication work required to be worked with the chisel. The freestone must be fine-grained, uniform and soft enough to be cut easily without shattering or splitting. Some sources say that the stone has no grain, but this is...
masonry, include resident housing, classroom buildings, a performing arts center, sports center, library, student union, and outdoor recreation areas. Other features include a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) nature preserve, more than 15 intramural activities, more than 70 student organizations, and NCAA Division II men’s and women’s sports.
The campus has five academic/administrative buildings: Biddle Hall, Krebs Hall, Engineering and Science Building, Blackington Administrative Classroom Building, and the Living/Learning Center. Each building contains classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, and/or administrative offices. Additional facilities include a music room, greenhouse, computer rooms, auditoriums, an audio-visual classroom, and conference rooms.
Also available to students is the advanced technology classroom (ATC) in Biddle Hall. The room is designed for electronic distance learning. It is equipped with satellite down-link programming, three full-motion cameras, data ports, video monitors, and much more. It is currently one of the most sophisticated ATCs in operation at any college or university in Pennsylvania.
The Owen Library holds more than 146,086 bound volumes, 15,358 titles on microfilm, 625 periodical subscriptions, approximately 130 online subscription databases, and more than 4,500 electronic journals. All students have additional access to many additional libraries on Pitt’s other campuses.
The Student Union, located in the middle of campus, houses the Student Life Office, Health Services, Residence Services, Career Services, Campus Ministry, and the Bookstore/convenience store. Also included are a full-service mail room, a 400-person cafeteria, a fast food shop, and a nonalcoholic pub. The union also holds a game room, information desk, and many organizational offices. A recent renovation created a bistro-style restaurant, named the Mountain Cat Club, as a dining option for students. Located directly outside of the cafeteria, the club features flat screen televisions, a dance floor, and a stage in order to provide an additional area for student programing.
The Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center
Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center
The Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center is a multipurpose facility of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown . It contains a 1,000-seat concert hall, a 200-seat black box theater, and supporting administrative spaces. PPAC is located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, on the campus of UPJ...
(PPAC) is a 42000 square feet (3,901.9 m²) multipurpose facility; it was completed in 1991. It contains a 1,000-seat concert hall, a 200-seat black box theater, and supporting operational spaces. Performances include UPJ Department of Theatre Arts shows and Broadway productions. The PPAC is also home to the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra and the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Johnstown. The art gallery displays at least eight exhibitions a year as well as work produced by UPJ students.
The Sports Center and Zamias Aquatic Center provide recreational facilities for more than 15 intramural sports, as well as intercollegiate activities. The building houses a 25 yards (22.9 m) indoor swimming pool, a workout room with free weights, an aerobic/dance studio, and locker rooms with showers. On January 5, 2011, the university opened the $9.7 million 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) Wellness Center which is adjacent to the Sports Center The Wellness Center features a three-lane elevated running track, cardiovascular and strength-training equipment, dance/exercise/classroom space, two multipurpose courts for basketball and volleyball, an indoor climbing wall, as well as an outdoor wellness park.
An approximately $10 million 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) nursing and health science facility is planned to begin construction in 2010.
Student residences
The Living/Learning Center, completed in 1994, is a 400-person residence unit, which includes a full-circuit weight training room, sauna, an aerobics room, and a smaller student cafeteria. The Living/Learning Center is not only used as a residence but also as a conference center throughout the year. With several meeting rooms, the facility can accommodate groups of 20–250 people.Athletics
Pitt Johnstown is a Division II member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), as well as a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but has now expanded into Pennsylvania...
(WVIAC). Twelve varsity men's and women's sports are offered including women's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, men’s and women’s soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
, men’s and women’s golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, men’s and women’s basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
, wrestling
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...
, women’s indoor and outdoor track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, and baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
.
Perhaps the most prominent sport at UPJ is wrestling, which has had several top national finishes and won the Division II National Championships in 1996 and 1999. The wrestling program also includes several highly decorated wrestlers among its former athletes, including the most decorated wrestler in NCAA history, Carlton Haselrig
Carlton Haselrig
Carlton Haselrig is a former heavyweight wrestler and NFL player. Haselrig wrestled for University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. He holds the distinction of being the only person to win six NCAA titles in wrestling, winning 3 times in Division II and 3 times in Division I, all six for...
, who went undefeated during his career and won three Division I and three Division II individual national championships.
Men's Basketball is also successful and has advanced to four NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournaments
NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship
The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship is an annual championship tournament for colleges and universities that are members of NCAA Division II, a grouping of schools in the United States that are generally smaller than the higher-profile institutions of Division I...
, including appearances in the tournament in 2008 and 2009. The men's basketball team has appeared in the Division II national rankings several times, and finished as high as fifth in the nation in 1999. Women's basketball at UPJ has appeared in 13 Division II and 3 Division III NCAA tournaments, including the 1987 Division II Final Four.
The baseball team plays some of its home games at Point Stadium. The baseball program participated in the NCAA North Atlantic Regional Tournament in the 2006, and 2008 seasons.