7th President - George W. Atherton George W. Atherton became president of the school in 1882, and began working to broaden the school's curriculum. He commissioned Reber to expand the mechanical arts program, who in 1884 proposed the construction of a building dedicated to the teaching of mechanic arts and filled it with carpentry and metalworking equipment obtained primarily through the donations of local industry. In 1886, the board of trustees approved the creation of a department of
mechanical engineering. Shortly after, Penn State became one of the ten largest engineering schools in the nation. Atherton also expanded the liberal arts and agriculture programs, and as a result, was rewarded with regular appropriations from the state beginning in 1887. For this, Atherton is widely credited of saving Penn State from
bankruptcy, and is still honored today by the name of a major road in
State College and its suburbs,
Atherton Street. Contrary to popular belief,
Atherton Hall is not named after President Atherton but his wife Frances Atherton. Atherton's grave rests near
Old Main, the
University Park campus's central administration building, and is marked by an engraved
marble block resting in front of his statue.
Early 20th century In the years that followed, Penn State grew significantly, becoming the state's largest source of baccalaureate degrees and reaching an enrollment of 5,000 in 1936. Around this time, Commonwealth campuses were started by President
Ralph Hetzel to give an alternative to
Depression-era students who were economically unable to leave home to attend college.
Mid-20th century In 1950 Penn State hired
Milton Eisenhower, who was the President of
Kansas State University, to be its President, and he served for six years. In 1953, the school's name changed to The Pennsylvania State University. Eisenhower's older brother
Dwight Eisenhower delivered the Commencement address in June 1955. In 1955, Penn State dedicated its nuclear reactor, the second in the nation to be operated on a college campus. Under Eisenhower's successor, Dr.
Eric A. Walker, the university developed rapidly. Under his leadership, which lasted from 1956 to 1970, the university added hundreds of acres of surrounding land, and nearly tripled enrollment to 40,000. In 1963, the
Hershey Trust offered Penn State $50 million gift to establish a new a
Hershey Medical Center, a college of medicine and hospital in
Hershey, Pennsylvania. Penn State's College of Medicine opened its doors to its first class of students in 1967, and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accepted the first patients in 1970. In 1965, Penn State began operating its educational television station, WPSX-TV. Currently, the university is the largest in Pennsylvania, and in 2003, it was credited with having the largest impact on the state economy of any organization, generating over $6 billion for the state on a budget of $2.5 billion. Even so, limited growth in state appropriations to the university has left the college as ranked with the lowest direct state appropriations per student in the
Big Ten. The university has turned to philanthropy to replace state funding, with 2003 marking the end of the Grand Destiny campaign – a 7-year effort which raised over $1.3 billion for the University. In 2004, Penn State started celebrating its 150th anniversary, since 2005 marks the University's
sesquicentennial. ==References==