Пенн Стэйт Шенэнго: Тарихы мен дамуы

Penn State Shenango is a commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University that is located in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Penn State Shenango is the only urban campus in the Penn State system, although some parts of Penn State Altoona that are located in the heart of Altoona's downtown are urban in nature.

In 1963, a group of local citizens formed the Shenango Valley Citizens College Procurement Committee with the purpose of expanding the higher education opportunities in the area. After a series of meetings with the Penn State Board of Trustees, a plan was developed in 1964 for creating a new Penn State campus in Sharon that would allow students to start their college career locally and transfer to the flagship campus in University Park. The State Board of Education approved this proposal, and the first students were admitted to the Penn State Shenango Valley campus in 1965. Initially, classes were held in Kennedy Catholic High School as funds were raised for the construction of a permanent campus. After briefly considering building a campus from scratch in Hickory Township (now Hermitage), the directors instead chose to base the campus around existing buildings in downtown Sharon. The first buildings obtained for the campus were Sharon Hall and Lecture Hall, which were purchased from the Sharon Central School District. As programs and enrollment grew, new buildings were purchased or erected adjacent to the Sharon and Lecture halls during the 1970s and 1980s. The word "Valley" was the subsequently dropped from the official name of the campus. At the start of the 2006–2007 academic year, a $9.4 million renovation of campus was completed. The renovation updated Sharon and Lecture Halls linking them with an enclosed glass atrium. The renovations also transformed the former gymnasium space in Sharon Hall into the Great Hall including new food service, fitness, and student activities spaces. Currently the campus is entering a capital campaign to raise funds for modernizing the Auditorium Building with an eye to adding increased accessibility, new restroom facilities, and updating the space for multiple uses. Construction on the first phase of this project was completed in 2009. Chadderton Laboratory was completely renovated in 2013 to house the newly formed Occupational Therapy Assistant program and contains office, laboratory, and classroom space for this program.

Penn State Shenango has student athletics participating in men's basketball, women's volleyball and women's basketball. In 2022, the campus is expected to launch a co ed golf program. The school competes in the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) and is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). The Shenango campus does not have an athletic facility of its own for sporting events. The Buhl Community Recreation Center, less than 1/2 mile from the campus, is where basketball and volleyball games are hosted. Tentatively, the Buhl Park Driving Range and Golf Course will host golf matches. including:
Sharon Hall (built 1928): The primary classroom and office building on campus houses administration, faculty offices, computer labs, classroom space, and the Great Hall student center. Lecture Hall (built 1904): Includes campus admissions and financial aid offices, classroom space, and faculty offices. A glass atrium connecting Sharon and Lecture halls was constructed in 2006. Science Building (built 1968): Includes faculty offices and science classrooms. This building is now considered a section of the Forker Laboratory building as part of a $8.5 million renovation that was completed in 2021. Forker Laboratory (built 1972): Science labs, classroom space, and the Forum, a large classroom used for lectures and events is located here. The Physical Therapy Assistant program is housed on the second floor. An $8.5 million renovation, which included a new HVAC system, science equipment upgrades, and the addition of Engineering and Physics equipment, was completed in 2021.