Alumni Library
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  • Pugh

    Celebrating 150 Years of Service to Penn State: Pioneers of Scientific and Engineering Discoveries at Penn State

    As Evan Pugh, recently returned to America from Europe, arrived at Penn State in October 1859 to assume his duties as the school's first president, it is not surprising that with his first glimpse of The Farmers' High School, he did not realize that he was looking at the embodiment of a new and fundamental concept in higher learning.... read more

  • featured collection

    Altoona LibraryAltoona's College: The Dream of Penn State Altoona


    Penn State Altoona began its life as the Altoona Undergraduate Center, owing its genesis to an inspired local citizenry who built, financed, and nurtured the college. In the spring of 1939, a campaign to raise money to renovate an abandoned grade school for a college was initiated by community leaders, and in two months they had met ... read more

  • Spotlight On

    Centre Furnace HouseRural Roots to Happy Valley

    Before the incorporation of State College Borough, there was Centre Furnace, an iron plantation settled in 1789 by Cols. John Patton and Samuel Miles. It was at the Centre Furnace Mansion in 1855 that ironmasters James Irvin and Moses Thompson hosted a dinner party where the final decision was made to locate ‘The Farmers High School,’ now Penn State, in Centre County. The first students arrived in February 1859, and their counterparts continue coming to State College every year. ... read more


  • Penn State Lore    

    poplarPenn State Heritage Trees

    The Trees of Penn State, an effort to inventory all of the trees on the University Park campus, began in the summer of 2002. ... read more


  • Years Ago... in the Historical Digital Collegian:
    Early Years of the Great Depression, 1930-1935

    headlineAs the nation endures what has been dubbed The Great Recession, it is only natural to wonder how Penn State fared in the early years of the Great Depression. Then, as now, students and faculty struggled to maintain normal academic and social activities in the face of extraordinary financial pressures and anxieties over future employment prospects. ... read more

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    The Alumni Library keeps Penn State alumni connected to our Libraries' resources and content, especially digital content, of interest to them. The editorial working group solicits content providers and selects appropriate content at their discretion.

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