PennWest Edinboro was founded in 1857 as
Edinboro Academy, a private training school for Pennsylvania teachers, by the region's original Scottish settlers. It is the oldest training institution west of the
Allegheny Mountains and the second-oldest in
Pennsylvania. Edinboro Academy initially consisted of a modest two-story building that featured six classrooms. The school began with three instructors, 110 students, and one principal. The original building, known as
Academy Hall, is currently used as the undergraduate admissions office. In 1861, Edinboro Academy affiliated with the state government of Pennsylvania to become the second State Normal School in Pennsylvania, also known as
Northwest State Normal School. In 1914, the state purchased the school from the original stockholders and renamed it
Edinboro State Normal School. By 1927, the advancement of academic programs to include
liberal arts study required the school to rename itself
Edinboro State Teachers College. Further development of the liberal arts to include degree programs outside the field of education resulted in another renaming, the school becoming Edinboro State College in 1960. Continued development of undergraduate liberal arts programs and advanced graduate degrees earned the school university status in 1983, at which point it was renamed
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. In July 2021, the university merged with two other western Pennsylvania institutions,
Clarion University of Pennsylvania and
California University of Pennsylvania. On October 14, 2021, the state officially adopted the new name of the combined universities:
Pennsylvania Western University. == Campus ==