Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University commonly referred to as Penn State or  is a public, state related research-intensive university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, the university has a stated threefold mission of teaching, research,

 and public service. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional and continuing education offered through resident instruction and online delivery. Its University Park campus, the flagship campus, lies within the
 
 Borough of State College and College Township. It has two law schools, Penn State Law, on the school's University Park campus, and Dickinson Law, located in Carlisle, 90 miles South of State College. The College of Medicine is located in Hershey. Penn State

 has another 19 commonwealth campuses and 5 special mission campuses located across the state. Penn State has been labeled a candidate for being


 one of the Public Ivies, a publicly funded university considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League.

Annual enrollment at the University Park campus totals more than 46,800 graduate and undergraduate students, making it one of the largest universities in the United States. It has the world's largest

 dues paying alumni association. The university s total enrollment in 2015 16 was approximately 97,500 across its 24 campuses and online through its World Campus.

The university offers more than 160 majors among all its campuses and administers $3.45 billion as of June 30, 2014 in endowment and similar funds. The university s research expenditures totaled $813 million during the 2014 fiscal year.

Annually, the university hosts the Penn State Dance Marathon  which is the world's largest student run philanthropy. This event is held in the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus. In 

2014, raised a program record of $13.3 million.The university's athletics teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Penn State Lions. They compete in the Big Ten Conference for most sports.

 In the 1970s, the university became a state related institution. As such, it now belongs to the Commonwealth System of Higher Education. In 1975, the lyrics in Penn State s mater song were

 revised to be gender neutral in honor of International Women 
s Year the revised lyrics were taken from the autobiography of the

 writer of the original lyrics, Fred Lewis , and Professor Patricia Farrell acted as a spokesperson for those who wanted the change

In recent years, the university s role as a leader in education in Pennsylvania has become very well
defined. In 1989, the Pennsylvania College of Technology in joined ranks with the university, and in 2000, so did the Dickinson School 

of Law. The university is now the largest in Pennsylvania, and in 2003, it was credited with having the second largest impact on the state economy of any organization, generating an economic effect

 of over $17 billion on a budget of $2.5 billion. To offset the lack of funding due to the limited growth in state appropriations to Penn State, the university

 has concentrated its efforts on philanthropy 2003 marked the end of the Grand Destiny campaign a seven year effort that raised over $1.3 billion.

  administration, to the faculty, and to the student body. Eric J. Barron became the university's 18th and current president on May 12, 2014, upon the departure of Rodney Erickson.

 The president of the University is selected by the board and is given the authority for actual control of the university, including day to day management. In practice, part of this responsibility is delegated by the president to other departments of the

The executive vice president and provost is the chief academic officer of the University. The current provost, Nicholas P. Jones, assumed office on July 1, 2013.

 The current Associate Vice President and Senior Associate Dean For Undergraduate Education is Robert N.