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Former names | Behrend Center (1948–1959) Behrend Campus of Penn State (1959–1973) Behrend College of the Pennsylvania State University (1973–1987) |
|---|---|
| Type | Publicsatellite campus |
| Established | June 28, 1948; 77 years ago (1948-06-28) |
Parent institution | Pennsylvania State University |
| Chancellor | Ralph Ford |
| President | Neeli Bendapudi |
Academic staff | 200 |
| Students | 3,296 (Fall 2025)[1] |
| Undergraduates | 3,211 (Fall 2025)[1] |
| Postgraduates | 85 (Fall 2025)[1] |
| Location | ,, U.S. |
| Campus | 854 acres (3.46 km2) |
| Colors | Dark Royal Blue and White [2] |
| Nickname | Behrend Lions |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division III -AMCC,CWPA,MPSF |
| Mascot | Nittany Lion |
| Website | behrend |
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Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, officiallyPennsylvania State University at Erie, The Behrend College and often shortened toPenn State Behrend, is apublicsatellite campus ofPenn State University and is located just outsideErie, Pennsylvania. It is among the largest of Penn State'scommonwealth campuses, with about 4,400 students enrolled in Behrend programs on campus and online. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in four academic schools: TheSam and Irene Black School of Business, the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Science, which includes the Nursing Program.[3] Penn State Behrend also offers five master's degrees, as well as a range of continuing education trainings through its Community and Workforce Programs.
The land that became Penn State Behrend was donated to the university by Mary Behrend on June 28, 1948 in memory of her husband, Ernst, co-founder ofHammermill Paper Company. The first class of 146 students enrolled at what was then known as theBehrend Center of Pennsylvania State College that fall.[4]
When the Penn State system was reorganized in 1959, The Behrend Center became theBehrend campus of Penn State. Enrollments and the physical presence of the campus grew quickly in the 1960s and early 1970s. On January 20, 1973, thePenn State Board of Trustees granted four-year college and graduate status to Penn State Behrend, making it the first Penn State location outside University Park to achieve such status.[5] At that time, the school was renamed as theBehrend College of the Pennsylvania State University.
The school took on its current name, the Pennsylvania State University at Erie, The Behrend College, in 1987. Since then, the college continues to grow, and features an active residential campus, more than $8 million of sponsored faculty research, and more than two dozen outreach initiatives to benefit business and industry, area K-12 students, and theErie, Pennsylvania community.[6]
Penn State Behrend's 854-acre campus includes more than fifty buildings, a recognizedarboretum, and the scenicWintergreen Gorge, a six-mile canyon.
The college is also home to Knowledge Park, a 100-acre research and development complex on campus, with 21 businesses employing 600 people.[7]
The newest building on campus is Erie Hall, a $28.2 million fitness, recreation, and wellness center that replaced the college's original athletics gymnasium, also called Erie Hall.[8]
The average class size is 21, and the student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1. The college offers four associate degrees, nearly 40 bachelor's degrees, and five master's degrees, as well as more than 50 minors and certificates.[9]
Penn State Behrend is accredited by theMiddle States Commission on Higher Education.[10]
| Race and ethnicity | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 77% | ||
| Asian | 5% | ||
| International student | 5% | ||
| Black | 4% | ||
| Hispanic | 4% | ||
| Two or more races | 3% | ||
| Unknown | 2% | ||
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[a] | 28% | ||
| Affluent[b] | 72% | ||
Penn State Behrend offers more than 140 clubs and organizations on campus, including academic clubs, fraternities and sororities, service organizations, and cultural societies.
The Behrend Beacon is the student newspaper. It is published weekly during the academic year.
The college is also home toBVZ Radio ("The Voice Of Behrend"), an online streaming radio station. The station is managed by a student management team. All show programming is produced by students. BVZ often broadcasts live events on the Behrend campus and in the Erie area.
Behrend has a Greek life system with several fraternities and sororities on campus:
ΑΣΑ (Alpha Sigma Alpha) - Epsilon Theta chapter
ΑΣΤ (Alpha Sigma Tau) - Gamma Theta chapter
ΘΦΑ (Theta Phi Alpha) - Gamma Alpha chapter
ΔΧ (Delta Chi)
ΚΣ (Kappa Sigma) - Phi Delta chapter
ΣΤΓ (Sigma Tau Gamma) - Delta Upsilon chapter
Penn State Behrend men and women compete as the Behrend Lions in 24 varsity sports. Penn State Behrend is a member ofNCAA Division III, theAllegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and theEastern College Athletic Conference.[12]
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Bowling |
| Cross country | Cross country |
| Golf | Golf |
| Soccer | Soccer |
| Swimming | Softball |
| Tennis | Swimming |
| Track and Field1 | Tennis |
| Volleyball | Track and Field1 |
| Water polo | Volleyball |
| Wrestling | Water polo |
| 1 – includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Students also participate in five intercollegiate club teams: cheerleading, ice hockey, and men's and women's lacrosse, and rugby. Behrend also has a competitive esports team.
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Sports teams based inErie, Pennsylvania | ||
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42°07′10″N79°59′20″W / 42.119402°N 79.988773°W /42.119402; -79.988773
