"PRESIDENT ATHERTON: Buried here. Headed Penn State from 1882 to 1906 and brought it back from the brink of ruin. He drafted and championed the Hatch Act of 1887 and Morrill Act of 1890, establishing federal aid to higher education, and served as first president of the Land-Grant College Association."
No, he wasn't President of the United States. But I'm willing to bet that he would have done a pretty good job of it.
George Washington Atherton was born in 1837 in the town of Boxford, Massachusetts, and before he even became an adult he was already proving himself to be a pretty cool dude. His father died when he was twelve, so he and his mother had to support themselves through difficult physical work. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Atherton signed himself up for the Union Army and evidently served with distinction, as he advanced to the rank of captain before being honorably discharged. Of course, after spending much of your early life doing labor and joining the army, the obvious next step is to go to college. Not just any college, either: Atherton graduated from Yale, which even back then was known to be one of the greatest colleges in America. (How he paid for tuition is anyone's guess.) After graduating, Atherton apparently loved the college life so much that he became a university teacher, and after much moving around and working up the ranks he went to Penn State and was unanimously elected its eighth president in 1882.
The Penn State of 1882, you must understand, bore very little resemblance to its present-day incarnation. The university had started out in 1855 as a school of the agricultural sciences, with classes that specialized in that area. It was also rather unpopular and not well-known; its graduating class in 1882 was made up of seven students, and the Pennsylvania state government looked down on the university and withheld funding. Changing the image of the school with such few resources was a difficult task, but Atherton did it anyway, because he was just that good.
Under Atherton's direction, Penn State took a different turn. Atherton refocused the entire college, reducing the emphasis on agricultural education in favor of engineering, mechanics, electonics, and more classes that were better suited to Pennsylvania's industrialization in the late 1800s. He also greatly expanded the overall reach of the college and its classes, adding correspondence courses and summer classes, resulting in a great increase in the number of students attending the university.
Changes to student life were also massive. Atherton relaxed some of the awfully strict regulations on female students that existed at the time, including (gasp!) allowing women to attend dances. While double standards were still far beyond fair, or even at today's level, this was at least a small step in the right direction. Atherton also oversaw the expansion of extracurricular activities. This included setting up athletic programs and beginning the construction of Beaver Field so that teams would have somewhere to play that wasn't the lawn in front of Old Main. The dedication of a field especially for sports shows the importance that sports were beginning to take on college campuses, especially football, which despite being a relatively new game was sweeping the nation's colleges. These athletic programs led directly to the teams we have now. So, when you watch Penn State sports on TV or play on a team, you have Atherton to thank...or to blame.
Finally, and perhaps most strangely, Atherton instituted strict military discipline, with drills, room inspections, mandatory attendance, and all the things that would probably get him in lots of trouble today. Yet everyone still loved him. After all, such discipline was considered totally fair, even normal, for the time, and even if he was harsh, few people were capable or willing to argue with the results he got. It also helped that Atherton convinced the school board to cut two weeks from the academic year, which obviously was a widely celebrated move all around.
Atherton's programs were intended to improve the university's image, and it worked. The class size ballooned, the university began to receive more funding from the government, and Penn State made a name for itself among engineering schools. By the time Atherton left office and subsequently died in 1906, he was being revered as the "second founder" of the college. One of the main streets in State College is named "Atherton Street" in his honor to this day. (Incidentally, Atherton Hall is not named for President Atherton. That honor went to his wife, Frances Atherton, who is perhaps most notable today for supposedly haunting the Old Botany building to watch over her husband's grave.)
You may have heard George W. Atherton's name many times before without really knowing what it meant, but hopefully now you recognize the impact that he has had on Penn State University. Penn State would simply not be here today if not for President Atherton's achievements.
The Penn State of 1882, you must understand, bore very little resemblance to its present-day incarnation. The university had started out in 1855 as a school of the agricultural sciences, with classes that specialized in that area. It was also rather unpopular and not well-known; its graduating class in 1882 was made up of seven students, and the Pennsylvania state government looked down on the university and withheld funding. Changing the image of the school with such few resources was a difficult task, but Atherton did it anyway, because he was just that good.
Under Atherton's direction, Penn State took a different turn. Atherton refocused the entire college, reducing the emphasis on agricultural education in favor of engineering, mechanics, electonics, and more classes that were better suited to Pennsylvania's industrialization in the late 1800s. He also greatly expanded the overall reach of the college and its classes, adding correspondence courses and summer classes, resulting in a great increase in the number of students attending the university.
Changes to student life were also massive. Atherton relaxed some of the awfully strict regulations on female students that existed at the time, including (gasp!) allowing women to attend dances. While double standards were still far beyond fair, or even at today's level, this was at least a small step in the right direction. Atherton also oversaw the expansion of extracurricular activities. This included setting up athletic programs and beginning the construction of Beaver Field so that teams would have somewhere to play that wasn't the lawn in front of Old Main. The dedication of a field especially for sports shows the importance that sports were beginning to take on college campuses, especially football, which despite being a relatively new game was sweeping the nation's colleges. These athletic programs led directly to the teams we have now. So, when you watch Penn State sports on TV or play on a team, you have Atherton to thank...or to blame.
Finally, and perhaps most strangely, Atherton instituted strict military discipline, with drills, room inspections, mandatory attendance, and all the things that would probably get him in lots of trouble today. Yet everyone still loved him. After all, such discipline was considered totally fair, even normal, for the time, and even if he was harsh, few people were capable or willing to argue with the results he got. It also helped that Atherton convinced the school board to cut two weeks from the academic year, which obviously was a widely celebrated move all around.
Atherton's programs were intended to improve the university's image, and it worked. The class size ballooned, the university began to receive more funding from the government, and Penn State made a name for itself among engineering schools. By the time Atherton left office and subsequently died in 1906, he was being revered as the "second founder" of the college. One of the main streets in State College is named "Atherton Street" in his honor to this day. (Incidentally, Atherton Hall is not named for President Atherton. That honor went to his wife, Frances Atherton, who is perhaps most notable today for supposedly haunting the Old Botany building to watch over her husband's grave.)
You may have heard George W. Atherton's name many times before without really knowing what it meant, but hopefully now you recognize the impact that he has had on Penn State University. Penn State would simply not be here today if not for President Atherton's achievements.
I really like your topic. I've always loved reading those historical signs around my hometown and learning bits of history. I'm looking forward to your next post.
ReplyDeleteLuke, this sounds awesome! I probably wouldn't have ever looked deep into the past of Penn State so it's cool to be able to read it here. I'll be reading more in the future so keep it up!
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