Cumberland Valley State Normal School Historic District

About this property

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, commonly known as Shippensburg University (Ship or SU), is a public university in the Shippensburg, Pennsylvania area. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers' college in Pennsylvania. Shippensburg University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The commonwealth legislated the State Normal School for "the education and training of teachers" in the seventh district (seven counties) to be in Shippensburg, and in 1871 the cornerstone was laid for the 212 ft (65 m) building designated the "Cumberland Valley State Normal School". In 1917 the school was purchased by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On June 4, 1926, the school was authorized to grant the Bachelor of Science in education degree in elementary and junior high education. The school received a charter on October 12, 1926, making it the first normal school in Pennsylvania to become a state teachers college. On June 3, 1927, the State Council of Education authorized the school to change its name to the "State Teachers College at Shippensburg". The business education curriculum was approved on December 3, 1937. On December 8, 1939, Shippensburg State Teachers College became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania and the fourth in the United States to be accredited by the Middle States Association of colleges and (Secondary) Schools. The State Council of Education approved graduate work leading to the Master of Education degree on January 7, 1959. On January 8, 1960, the name change to Shippensburg State College was authorized. The arts and sciences curriculum was authorized by the State Council of Education on April 18, 1962, and the Bachelor of Science in business administration degree program was initiated on September 1, 1967. On November 12, 1982, the governor of the Commonwealth signed Senate Bill 506 establishing the State System of Higher Education. Shippensburg State College was designated "Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania" effective July 1, 1983. Since 1985, many of the original historic buildings of the campus, including Old Main, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Most of the campus is in Shippensburg Township, including the sections of the census-designated place. One portion of the campus grounds is in Shippensburg Borough, and another portion is in Southampton Township. Shippensburg University offers more than 100 undergraduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and the John L. Grove College of Business. It also offers more than 50 master's degree programs, two doctoral programs, and three post-bachelor or post-master's certificate programs in 17 fields of study in the School of Graduate Studies.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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