PennWest Clarion, formally Clarion University of Pennsylvania, is a public university in Clarion, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Pennsylvania Western University. The institution was originally founded in 1867 as the "Carrier Seminary." Prior to adopting its current name in 2022, it had gone by several different names over the course of its history, most recently "Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion." It now offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees, as well as certificate programs and a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

History

In 2021, PASSHE announced that, due to budget troubles resulting from declining enrollment and revenue, Clarion University would merge with Edinboro 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, and began operations with a singular accreditation the following year.

Student body

In fall 2016, Clarion University's student body totaled 5,225 students, of which 4,330 were undergraduates and 895 of those were graduate students. Of these students, 35 percent live in university housing. The university's students are mostly female (66 percent), another 830 are minorities (16 percent) and 27 are international (.05 percent). Of the total number of students 4,624, or 88.5 percent, come from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Faculty and staff

PennWest Clarion has 294 faculty members and 451 administration and staff members.

Other locations

The university maintains a site in Pittsburgh at West Penn School of Nursing. The university also opertaes one branch campus formerly "Clarion University Venango Campus" as well as a site at the University of Pittsburgh Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology. Clarion also offers an extended studies program featuring online courses, remote sites, and various hybrid learning situations.

Academics

PennWest Clarion offers 175 degree and certificate programs through its three colleges and two schools, delivered on campus and online.

Student groups

PennWest Clarion offers more than 130 student organizations including academic, athletic, Greek, political, multicultural, service, and other special interest groups.

Athletics

The PennWest Clarion Department of Athletics, which maintains the institution's pre-merger athletic branding as "Clarion", currently sponsors men's intercollegiate baseball, basketball, golf, football, swimming and diving, and wrestling along with women's intercollegiate basketball, softball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, track and field, volleyball and tennis. All sports compete in the NCAA Division II, except for wrestling which participates in NCAA Division I. Notable former Golden Eagles include wrestling great Kurt Angle, a former Olympic gold medalist and national champion who went on to a successful professional wrestling career in WWE and Impact Wrestling; former UFC Champion Frankie Edgar, who was a four-time NCAA Division I tournament qualifier; World Long Driver Justin Moose; Reggie Wells, NFL offensive lineman; Cy Young winner Pete Vuckovich; and Hall of Fame basketball coach John Calipari, who was a point guard for the Golden Eagles from 1980 to 1982.

Notable alumni