# Penn West Clarion

Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion (PennWest Clarion, formerly Clarion University of Pennsylvania) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Clarion, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was founded in 1867 and offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees, as well as certificate programs and a Doctor of Nursing Practice. The campus had an enrollment of 1,743 as of fall 2024.

## History

PennWest Clarion was founded in 1867 in northwestern Pennsylvania to serve the needs of that rural part of the state. It started as Carrier Seminary, became a normal school in 1887 and a community college in 1920 before becoming a full college in 1929. In the 1960s and 1970s, the college expanded its offerings and size significantly. On July 1, 1982, Clarion joined the newly formed Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, gained university status and became Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
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.

## Academics

PennWest Clarion offers 175 degree and certificate programs through its three colleges and two schools, delivered on campus and online. PennWest Clarion has 294 faculty members and 451 administration and staff members.
The university maintains a site in Pittsburgh at West Penn School of Nursing. The university also operates 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.

## Student life

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.
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

* Kurt Angle, Olympic and professional wrestler
* John Calipari, professional and college basketball coach
* Guy Conti, professional baseball physician
* Adam Earnheardt, academic and author
* Frank Edgar, college wrestler and professional mixed martial artist
* Joan Marie Engel, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy Nurse Corps
* Evan John Jones, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania
* Suzanne Jenniches, engineer and business leader
* Rad Martinez, mixed martial artist
* Mike Miller, professional football coach
* Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, United States federal judge for the Southern District of California
* Justin Moose, professional golfer
* Donna Oberlander, Pennsylvania state representative
* Larry Richert, radio news host
* Alex Sandusky, professional football player
* Wade Schalles, amateur wrestler
* Randall Silvis, author
* Peter Talleri, Major General in the United States Marine Corps
* Pete Vuckovich, professional baseball player
* Reggie Wells, professional football player
* Dan Wilson, biologist and science communicator