University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is located just outside the city limits of Bradford, Pennsylvania in Bradford Township, rural McKean County, PA, near the Allegheny National Forest.

The 470-acre campus has 37 buildings, including sixteenresidence halls, and an athletics complex.

Blaisdell Hall is Pitt-Bradford's fine arts and communication arts building and is home to the broadcast communications, public relations, interdisciplinary arts, theater and music programs. The building features all-digital television and radio studios, a 500-seat theater, art studios, a music rehearsal hall, cutting-edge lighting and sound booths, music theory and technology studios, classrooms, and conference rooms.

The building is also home to the KOA Art Gallery, which hosts various exhibitions of traditional and new genre arts.[3]

The Ceramics Studio houses all of the equipment needed to create ceramic masterpieces, including 16 motorized pottery wheels, a manual kick wheel, a work table and a kiln.

The CSI House, is home to the criminal justice program. Students can learn how to process a crime scene and collect evidence using some of the same equipment and technologies that many professional law enforcement officers use.

Fisher Hall contains the science and engineering faculty and is the location for classes in biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, petroleum technology, and energy science and technology. It is also home to the science labs. The building houses two computer-aided learning centers, known as CALC labs and, atop the building, is the campus greenhouse. Fisher Hall's chemistry and biology laboratories received nearly $6 million in upgrades in 2010.[4]

The Frame-Westerberg Commons is the student center. Positioned in front of the commons is a 10.5 foot-long (3.2m) bronze panther statue created by Bradford native David Hodges. The panther, which stands on top of a rock originating from the same quarry that provided stone for the Pittsburgh campus’ Cathedral of Learning, was unveiled in honor of the 50th anniversary of the school's opening on September 3, 2013.[5]

The Hangar Building, a former airplane hangar, contains the Office of Enrollment Services and Registrar, the Office of Financial Aid and the Office of Business Affairs. The Systems and Network Administration Practice (SNAP) lab for the CIS&T program also resides here.

Hanley Library contains more than 95,000 books. The library also provides access to 400 electronic databases, 50,000 e-journals, 300,000 e-books and other electronic resources. The Bradford campus has access to the University of Pittsburgh's scholarly resources, including 16 libraries and more than 5 million books through the University Library System. The Hanley Library is home to the Academic Success Center, the Academic Advising Center, the Writing Center, and TRIO Student Support Services, which provides academic assistance to students. The Hanley Library Cafe is located inside.

Pitt-Bradford's Marilyn Horne Hall is located off-campus in downtown Bradford, and houses the university's Marilyn Horne Museum

Marilyn Horne Hall, formerly the Seneca Building, is located in downtown Bradford and contains the offices and classrooms of the Division of Continuing Education and Regional Development and the Center for Rural Health Practice. Its ground floor is also home to the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center which displays rotating selection of artifacts from the Marilyn Horne archives housed at the University of Pittsburgh.[6][7]

The Richard E. and Ruth McDowell Sport and Fitness Center houses a performance arena, where the basketball and volleyball teams compete; a fully equipped fitness center; an NCAA-regulation, six-lane swimming pool; a dance studio; the McDowell Field House, where students participate in intramural and other recreational activities; a physiology lab, where students perform cardiac testing or fitness analyses; and a specially-equipped athletic training room.

Swarts Hall, Pitt-Bradford's first academic building, is home to several academic disciplines, including business, economics, history, education, nursing, political science, and sociology. The building also houses several multimedia classrooms and a CIS&T lab.

Wick Chapel, a $2.5 million, 150-seat, multipurpose, nondenominational chapel was dedicated on September 30, 2010.[8][9]

The University of Pittsburgh, Bradford is a regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh, one of four institutions composing the Commonwealth System of Higher Education. The campus' chief administrator is the President, who is assisted by an advisory board.[10] The presidents of the regional campuses, along with the heads of 10 of the university's 17 other schools and colleges, are under the purview of the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor at the Pittsburgh campus, who reports to the Chancellor.[11]

The college has five academic divisions: Behavioral and Social Sciences, Biological and Health Sciences, Communication and the Arts, Management and Education, and Physical and Computational Sciences.[12]

Pitt-Bradford houses the University of Pittsburgh Center for Rural Health Practice, the Allegheny Institute of Natural History, the American Refining Group/Harry R. Halloran Jr. Energy Institute, and the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center. Since 2012, UPB has overseen the operations of the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville. A two-year regional campus, Pitt-Titusville is transitioning into the UPT Education and Training Hub, offering associate degree programs and professional training.[13][14]

The University of Pittsburgh, including Pitt-Bradford and other regional campuses, is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.[15]

The campus offers 115 academic programs consisting of 43 majors, 50 minors, 20 pre-professional programs and two graduate programs. The largest degree programs by enrollment are biology, computer information systems and technology (CIS&T) , business management, nursing, and criminal justice. In addition to liberal arts and sciences such as English, history and political science, psychology, and chemistry, the university offers professional programs in accounting, broadcast communications, and hospitality management. Pitt-Bradford also confers interdisciplinary degrees in forensic science and environmental studies.[16] Graduate programs include a Master of Science in Nursing and a Master of Social Work. The MSN and MSW degrees are administered by the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and School of Social Work.[17]

Internship and research opportunities are also available to students, through partnerships with area businesses and industries. At UPB, the student/faculty ratio is 15:1, and the average class size is 18. All courses are taught by faculty, rather than graduate assistants.

In 2019, the University of Pittsburgh launched the Pitt Success Pell Match Program, which provides Pell Grant recipients across the university with matching funds to lower the cost of attendance.[18] Previously, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, along with Georgia State University, the University of California, San Diego, and ten other public universities, was recognized by the administration of President Barack Obama for its high enrollment and graduation rates among students receiving Pell Grants.[19]

Pitt-Bradford was ranked 57th in the nation among baccalaureate colleges by Washington Monthly in 2020,[20] 19th (tied) among regional colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report,[21] is named to the list of "Best Colleges in the Northeastern Region" by The Princeton Review,[22] and ranked 8th in the nation for satellite campuses with impressive reputations of their own in 2019 by The Best Colleges.[23]

Pitt-Bradford is a residential college, with most students (including 86% of freshmen) living on campus in one of the fourteen residence halls. UPB has over 60 student clubs and organizations, several fraternities and sororities, and numerous intramural sports leagues. Student media include: The Source, the college newspaper, WDRQ Campus Radio, Pitt-Bradford's radio station, and Baily’s Beads, a literary magazine featuring work from the campus community.

The student union is the Frame-Westerberg Commons. The Commons houses the campus dining room, as well as the Panther Shop, which serves as the campus bookstore and also features an after-hours convenience store; the Commons Cafe, where students can get a meal while sitting by the fireplace; the mail center; a game room; meeting space for student organizations; a lounge area; and the Mukaiyama University Room, where various events are held.[27]

Athletics

UPB's athletics logo incorporates a "P" into an abstract Panther

The University of Pittsburgh, Bradford is an NCAA Division III institution and a charter member of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. Pitt-Bradford student athletes compete in 14 varsity sports: men's baseball, basketball, wrestling, golf, soccer, swimming, and tennis along with women's basketball, bowling, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. UPB also has an ice hockey program, which competes at the club sports level.

The KOA Arena is home to the basketball and volleyball programs, while the swimming team competes in the Paul C. Duke III Aquatic Center, which features a performance arena and an NCAA-regulation, six-lane swimming pool. The baseball, softball and soccer teams play at the Kessel Athletic Complex, whose facilities include the baseball/softball field, soccer field and tennis and basketball courts.

Pitt-Bradford's athletic programs hold a combined 16 conference titles and have appeared in several NCAA Division III tournaments.[29]

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