Lycoming College

Long Hall in 2010

The origins of Lycoming College date back to 1812 and the founding of the "Williamsport Academy for the Education of Youth in the English and other Languages, in the Useful Arts, Science and Literature". At the time, Williamsport's population was approximately 350 persons. Attendance was by subscription, although a state grant ensured that a number of poor children would be taught free of charge. The institution also has educated both genders from its inception.

By 1847, Williamsport had a public school system in place. Rev. Benjamin H. Crever, a Methodist preacher based in Milton, heard the Academy was for sale. Upon his recommendation, the Baltimore Conference purchased the school which opened in the fall of 1848 as the Williamsport Dickinson Seminary, a preparatory school for Dickinson College, another Methodist school.[3]

Rev. Crever is considered to be the founder of Lycoming College as he was the one to transition the high school into its collegiate beginnings. After turning the Williamsport Academy into an institution of higher learning, Crever moved on to serve as a chaplain in the Civil War and founded a total of four schools. Only Lycoming College remains as his educational legacy.

By 1921, the seminary had gained a reputation for excellence, when Dr. John W. Long took office as its ninth president. Under Long, the institution added junior college courses and, in 1929, became the first accredited junior college in Pennsylvania.

In 1947, the institution, again under Dr. Long, became a four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences. In 1948, it officially changed its name to Lycoming College, taking the name from that of the local county. The name "Lycoming" comes from the Native American word lacomic meaning "great stream." In 1949, the college conferred its first baccalaureate degrees.

Dr. James E. Douthat became the 14th president in 1989. Under his leadership, the college's enrollment grew by 27 percent, and its endowment and other funds under management increased from 17 million to more than 185 million. Since his arrival, the campus has been involved in strategic planning process to continually evaluate student needs and adapt the colleges programs to those needs. Under his leadership, the college saw the establishment and implementation of a new faculty governance structure, a major capital campaign to build the endowment, improved facilities, and the adoption of a revised curriculum for the college that responds to changing skill set needs.

Dr. Kent C. Trachte became Lycoming's 15th president in 2013.

Lycoming College is recognized as a Tier One institution by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, climbing 37 spots since 2017 to claim the No. 117 slot on the coveted 2020 National Liberal Arts Colleges list.

Lycoming College confers both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in more than 36 major fields of study offered and more than 50 minors.[4]

Buildings

Twenty-three buildings sit on Lycoming's 42-acre campus. Most buildings have been constructed since 1950 in a pre-Georgian style, some having been refinished since. The most recently constructed building is the Lynn Science Center, adjacently connected to the Heim Science Center and holding the Detwiler Planetarium. A 12-acre athletic field and football stadium lie a few blocks north of the main campus.

Lycoming's campus consists of academic facilities that include Wendle Hall, Fine Arts, Communications, Heim Science Center, Clarke Music Building, Honors Hall and the Lynn Science Center which opened in the Fall of 2015.

Unique facilities include Detwiler Planetarium, Mary L. Welch Theatre, Snowden Library, a digital media lab, an electronic music studio, HOPE Early Learning Center, a radio station, greenhouse and Wertz which holds the cafeteria.[5]

Students live in eight residence halls: Skeath, Asbury, East, Wesley, Rich, Williams, Crever, and Forest. They can also choose to live in seven different apartment buildings and the Douthat Commons.[6]

Athletic facilities include Lamade Gymnasium, the Keiper Recreation Center, an outdoor intramural field and the Shangraw Athletic Complex with football, soccer, lacrosse and softball fields.

The Lycoming College Art Gallery is located at 25 West Fourth Street in downtown Williamsport.

Today, Lycoming fields men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and tennis, men's teams in football, golf and wrestling, and women's teams in softball and volleyball. Lycoming is a member in the Middle Atlantic Conferences, with the basketball, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, golf, softball and volleyball teams competing in the MAC Commonwealth.

The Warriors have won 40 Middle Atlantic Conference titles, with football and wrestling winning 15 each, men's soccer, women's swimming, volleyball and men's basketball two each and men's tennis and softball each winning one.

Lycoming College celebrated its 125th year of varsity athletics in 2015, as a baseball team was first formed at Dickinson Seminary in 1890. Football followed soon after in 1895 along with track and field and basketball made it to the Seminary in 1907, just 16 years after the sport was invented in 1892. The athletic program at Dickinson Seminary and Dickinson Seminary & Junior College remained small, although tennis, swimming and women's basketball did begin and stop to compete during the 1920s and 30s.

After World War II, with the school's move to a four-year institution, Lycoming College chose a new nickname—Warriors—for all of their athletic teams based on a survey given in the Williamsport Sun newspaper. In 1948–49, the athletic program officially adopted the Warriors moniker and an Indian head logo was designed. The logo was dropped in 2004 as the NCAA encouraged athletic programs to remove American Indian mascots. In 2013, a new graphic identity was announced for the athletic department, utilizing a sword as the primary athletic department logo. Later that fall, a mascot for use at athletic events – Lycos the Warrior, portrayed as a wolf – was unveiled at the college's Homecoming.[7]

By 1952, Lycoming was an established four-year college and was invited to join the Middle Atlantic Conference.

Lycoming College offers numerous dormitories and housing options. If students do not live close enough to commute, they have a plethora of options that will suit their needs. Dining options include Café 1812 for breakfast and lunch, and a cup of our original Warrior coffee. Jack's Place opens from 7pm-12am for a late night bite to eat. The academic buildings are open to students 24/7 along with the computer labs and printers.

Students at Lycoming enjoy the long-established on-campus traditions the school holds. This includes Thanksgiving dinner, in which the cafeteria is transformed into a formal dining room, and the faculty and staff serve the students a Thanksgiving feast. Additionally during finals week, Lycoming always has their Late Night Breakfast event from 10pm-12 midnight; this is free to all students.[8]

• David G. Argall (1980) – Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1984–2009), Pennsylvania State Senate (2009 to present)[9]
• Larry Barretta – Arena Football League player
• Joseph McCrum Belford (1868) – United States House of Representatives (1897–1899) from New York[10]
• Deirdre Connelly (1983) – Pharmaceuticals executive, Forbes 2009 list of World's 100 Most Powerful Women[11]
• David Albaugh De Armond – United States House of Representatives (1891–1909) from Missouri[12]
• Thomas W. Dempsey (1952) – Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1987–2000); winner of 2001 Angela R. Kyte Outstanding Alumnus Award[13]
• Eugene Louis Dodaro (1973) – Comptroller General of the United States since 2008[14]
• Robert W. Edgar (1965) – president and CEO of Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization[15]
• Rusty Fricke – Arena Football League player
• Milt Graff – Major League Baseball player (1957–1958) for the Kansas City Athletics[16]
• Ruth E. Hodge – Retired archivist, U.S. Army and Pennsylvania State Archives, and author, Guide to African American Resources at the Pennsylvania State Archives (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2000, ISBN 978-0-8927-1087-4)[17]
• James Hall Huling – United States House of Representatives (1895 to 1897) from West Virginia[18]
• John Jopson – Film and music video director[19]
• Alexander Brown Mackie – Co-founder of Brown Mackie College[20]
• Tom Marino – U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district[21]
• Henry Clay McCormick – United States House of Representatives (1887–1891) from Pennsylvania[22]
• Alexander McDonald – United States Senate (1868–1871) from Arkansas[23]
• James Monroe Miller – United States House of Representatives (1899–1911) from Kansas[24]
• Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas (1991) – Governor of the Mexican state of Puebla[25]
• Peter Onorati (1975) – Veteran actor
• James H. Osmer – United States House of Representatives (1879–1881) from Pennsylvania[26]
• Harry Perretta (1978) – Head Women's Basketball Coach at Villanova University, Inducted to Lycoming Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007[27]
• Charles Emory Patton – United States House of Representatives (1911–1915) from Pennsylvania[28]
• Robert Fleming Rich – United States House of Representatives (1945–1951) from Pennsylvania[29]
• Robert Schildt - Actor, (“Scent of a Woman”)
• Milton George Urner – United States House of Representatives (1879–1883) from Maryland[30]
• Thomas I. Vanaskie (1975) – United States circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Tom Woodruff Jr. (1980) – Oscar-winning special effects supervisor[31]
• Eugene Yaw (1970) – Pennsylvania State Senator representing the 23rd Senatorial District
• Dick (Robert) Yuengling (1966 and 2016 Outstanding Alumni Award) - fifth-generation owner of D.G. Yuengling & Son, turned his family's struggling brewery into one of America's largest beer makers.

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• Official website