Lycoming College

Lycoming College is a private liberal arts college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1812, Lycoming College is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the United States. Lycoming College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church but operates as an independent institution.[3]

Lycoming College
MottoἈλήθεια (Truth)
TypePrivate liberal arts college
Established1812 (1812)
AffiliationUnited Methodist Church
Endowment$213 Million[1]
PresidentKent C. Trachte
Academic staff
90
Undergraduates1,140[2]
Location
Williamsport
,
Pennsylvania
,
United States
CampusSuburban
ColorsBlue and Gold   
AthleticsNCAA Division III
Middle Atlantic Conference
NicknameWarriors
Websitewww.lycoming.edu

History
Long Hall in 2010

The origins of Lycoming College date back to 1812 and the founding of the "Williamsport Academy for the Education of Youth in the English and other Languages, in the Useful Arts, Science and Literature". At the time, Williamsport's population was approximately 350 persons. Attendance was by subscription, although a state grant ensured that a number of poor children would be taught free of charge. The institution also has educated both genders from its inception.

By 1847, Williamsport had a public school system in place. Rev. Benjamin H. Crever, a Methodist preacher based in Milton, heard the academy was for sale. Upon his recommendation, the Baltimore Conference purchased the school which opened in the fall of 1848 as the Williamsport Dickinson Seminary, a preparatory school for Dickinson College, another Methodist school.[4]

Rev. Crever is considered to be the founder of Lycoming College as he was the one to transition the high school into its collegiate beginnings. After turning the Williamsport Academy into an institution of higher learning, Crever moved on to serve as a chaplain in the Civil War and founded a total of four schools. Only Lycoming College remains as his educational legacy.

By 1921, the seminary had gained a reputation for excellence, when Dr. John W. Long took office as its ninth president. Under Long, the institution added junior college courses and, in 1929, became the first accredited junior college in Pennsylvania.

In 1947, the institution, again under Dr. Long, became a four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences. In 1948, it officially changed its name to Lycoming College, taking the name from that of the local county. The name "Lycoming" comes from the Native American word lacomic meaning "great stream." In 1949, the college conferred its first baccalaureate degrees.

Dr. James E. Douthat became the 14th president in 1989. Under his leadership, the college's enrollment grew by 27 percent, and its endowment and other funds under management increased from 17 million to more than 185 million. Since his arrival, the campus has been involved in strategic planning process to continually evaluate student needs and adapt the colleges programs to those needs. Under his leadership, the college saw the establishment and implementation of a new faculty governance structure, a major capital campaign to build the endowment, improved facilities, and the adoption of a revised curriculum for the college that responds to changing skill set needs.

Dr. Kent C. Trachte became Lycoming's 15th president in 2013.

Rankings

Lycoming College continues to be recognized annually as one of the best liberal arts and sciences institutions in the country. Lycoming is named one of the best Tier 1 National Liberal Arts & Sciences Institutions by 2021 U.S. News & World Report, landing in the No. 120 position, and ranked No. 29 in Social Mobility, placing Lycoming in the top 12 percent of all schools evaluated. It is listed as a “Best College” in The Princeton Review’s Best 386 Colleges and continues to be ranked among the best liberal arts colleges in the country by Washington Monthly, rising 39 spots to take No. 61 in 2020.

Academics

Lycoming College confers both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in more than 43 major fields of study offered and more than 66 minors.[5]

Interdisciplinary program

With the Lycoming College interdisciplinary program, students have the opportunity to design their own programs of study. By combining courses from more than one department, students become active participants in creating their own majors with support from faculty advisor(s) and a panel of faculty members from each of the sponsoring departments.

Special academic programs

The Lycoming Scholars Program is a special program designed to meet the needs and aspirations of highly motivated students of superior intellectual ability. Lycoming Scholars participate in special, semester-long, interdisciplinary seminars on topics chosen by the faculty and students on the Scholars Council.

Pre-professional programs including pre-law, pre-med, pre-vet, and pre-ministry provide students with advisors who ensure students take the right courses to prepare for graduate school and success in these professions.

Lycoming's MBA 4-1 agreement with the Saunders College Business at Rochester Institute of Technology allows students to opt out of some graduate level courses, saving on tuition costs and completing their MBA in one calendar year.

An engineering 3-2 partnership with the prestigious Watson School of Engineering at Binghamton University allows students to spend their first three years building foundational knowledge at Lycoming and a final two years completing an electrical or industrial engineering degree at Binghamton.

Campus

Lycoming College rests on a 42-acre campus in north central Pennsylvania. Most buildings have been constructed since 1950 in a pre-Georgian style, some having been refinished since. The most recently constructed buildings include the Lynn Science Center (2015), adjacently connected to the Heim Science Center and holding the Detwiler Planetarium, and the Krapf Gateway Center (2019) which houses the Office of Admissions, Office of Alumni and Advancement, the Center for Enhanced Academic Experiences, and the Outdoor Leadership and Education program.

Lycoming's academic facilities include Wendle Hall Academic Center, Fine Arts Building, Communications Building, Heim Science Center, Clarke Chapel, Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall, and the Lynn Science Center.

Unique facilities include Detwiler Planetarium, Mary L. Welch Theatre, Snowden Library, a digital media lab, an electronic music studio, a radio station, and a greenhouse.[6]

Students live in eight residence halls: Skeath, Asbury, East, Wesley, Rich, Williams, Crever, and Forest, as well as the Douthat Commons student apartments. They can also choose to live in several different College-owned apartment buildings adjacent to campus.[7]

Athletic facilities include Lamade Gymnasium, the Keiper Recreation Center, and an outdoor intramural field. The 12-acre Shangraw Athletic Complex lies a few blocks north of the main campus with football and softball fields as well as the UPMC Field for soccer and lacrosse.

The Lycoming College Art Gallery is located at 25 West Fourth Street in downtown Williamsport. Additionally, the Lycoming Biology Field Station Inc., a nonprofit corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Lycoming College, sits on 116 acres of land just 15 minutes from campus, which is frequently used by the biology department and the Clean Water Institute.

Athletics

Today, Lycoming fields men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and tennis, men's teams in baseball, football, golf, and wrestling, and women's teams in field hockey, softball, and volleyball. Lycoming is a member in the Middle Atlantic Conferences, with the baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, golf, softball, and volleyball teams competing in the MAC Freedom.

The Warriors have won 43 Middle Atlantic Conference titles, with football and wrestling winning 15 each, men's basketball has won five, men's soccer, women's swimming and volleyball have two each, and men's tennis and softball each winning one.

Lycoming College celebrated its 125th year of varsity athletics in 2015, as a baseball team was first formed at Dickinson Seminary in 1890. Football followed soon after in 1895 along with track and field and basketball made it to the Seminary in 1907, just 16 years after the sport was invented in 1892. The athletic program at Dickinson Seminary and Dickinson Seminary & Junior College remained small, although tennis, swimming and women's basketball did begin and stop to compete during the 1920s and 30s.

After World War II, with the school's move to a four-year institution, Lycoming College chose a new nickname—Warriors—for all of their athletic teams based on a survey given in the Williamsport Sun newspaper. In 1948–49, the athletic program officially adopted the Warriors moniker and an Indian head logo was designed. The logo was dropped in 2004 as the NCAA encouraged athletic programs to remove American Indian mascots. In 2013, a new graphic identity was announced for the athletic department, utilizing a sword as the primary athletic department logo. Later that fall, a mascot for use at athletic events – Lycos the Warrior, portrayed as a wolf – was unveiled at the college's Homecoming.[8]

By 1952, Lycoming was an established four-year college and was invited to join the Middle Atlantic Conference.

By 1952, Lycoming was an established four-year college and was invited to join the Middle Atlantic Conference.

The school won its first conference title in wrestling in 1962, as that team went on to finish third in the NAIA. The Warriors won five conference titles in the ’70s, eight in the ’80s, 14 in the ’90s (including the College’s first women’s conference title in softball in 1995), seven in the ’00s, eight in the ’10s and men’s basketball won the first of the ’20s in 2020.

The football team had a period where it was one of the most competitive in Division III football, as College Football Hall of Fame head coach Frank Girardi, who won 257 games from 1972-2007, which still ranks 16th all-time in NCAA history. He helped Lycoming win 13 Middle Atlantic Conference titles and make 11 appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament. He led the Warriors to the national title game in 1990 and 1997 and the semifinals in 1996.

The College has had several other longtime coaches that have made lasting impacts on the school, local community, and small college athletics as a whole. The College’s first wrestling coach, Budd Whitehill, coached 11 teams that finished amongst the NCAA’s top 20 and four amongst the top 10. He coached 38 All-Americans, 66 conference champions, and four national champions. His successor, Roger Crebs, has been just as accomplished. Hired in 1993, Crebs has picked up 419 dual meet wins, which is the most among active Division III coaches, 23rd in collegiate wrestling history, and eight-most in Division III history. He has coached 52 conference champions, 30 All-Americans, five national champions, and all eight of the school’s 100-match winners.

Dutch Burch coached Lycoming’s men's basketball team for 32 seasons from 1962-94, amassing a school-record 318 wins during his time on the sidelines. He led the team to two appearances in a conference title game and the 1985 NCAA Division III Tournament.

Deb Holmes led the women’s tennis team to 10 straight winning seasons from 1993-02. The 1997, 1998, and 2000 teams won Freedom League regular-season titles, giving her a total of four in her career, as she finished her career as the women’s tennis coach with 137 wins and eight postseason appearances in 34 years as coach (1976-09).

Christen Ditzler is also one of the most accomplished coaches in MAC history. She is fifth all-time amongst the conference's women's basketball coaches with 339 wins. She was also the third softball coach in MAC history to reach 200 career wins and is still 13th amongst the conference's softball coaches with 235 wins. Ditzler is the only coach in the athletic department's history to win 500 career games across all the sports she has coached, posting her 500th win with a 67-42 basketball victory over Hood on Dec. 6, 2014. Ditzler is the women's basketball (339) and softball (235) programs' all-time wins leader, while she also coached the volleyball squad to 13 wins in one season as head coach in 2000.

Residential Living

Lycoming College offers numerous housing options, including eight residence halls, several College-owned apartments, and the Douthat Commons apartments adjacent to campus. Lycoming is a residential campus that requires students to live in College housing, with a few exceptions including local students who are able to commute from home.

Dining options include Wertz Dining Hall open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Café 1812 and the Gateway Café offer breakfast and lunch five days a week along with Lycoming’s own Warrior Coffee, and Jack's Corner offers a late night bite to eat. The academic buildings with computer labs and printers are open to students 24/7.

Students at Lycoming enjoy the long-established on-campus traditions the school offers. This includes Thanksgiving dinner served family-style by faculty and staff, and a Late Night Breakfast served by faculty and staff during finals week.[9]

Notable alumni

References
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  2. "College Navigator - Lycoming College".
  3. "Fast Facts". Lycoming College. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  4. "Dickinson Seminary, Lycoming College", Dickinson College Archives.
  5. "Academics". Lycoming College. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  6. "Campus Facilities and Resources". Lycoming College. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  7. "Campus Housing". Lycoming College. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  8. "Lycoming College unveils new mascot". Lycoming College. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  9. "Campus Housing". Lycoming College. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  10. Senator David Argall Archived 2010-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Joseph McCrum Belford (1852–1917) Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "#74 Deirdre Connelly". Forbes. 19 August 2009.
  13. "DE ARMOND, David Albaugh – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  14. "Angela R. Kyte Outstanding Alumnus Award". Lycoming College. 2008. Archived from the original (DOC) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  15. "U.S. GAO – About GAO – Biography". www.gao.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  16. "EDGAR, Robert William – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  17. "Milt Graff Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  18. Saylor, Pamilla. “State Archivist Rescues History: Tracks African-American Contributions”, in Lycoming College Magazine, Winter 2000–01, pp. 6–7. Williamsport, Pennsylvania: Lycoming College, retrieved online July 28, 2018.
  19. "HULING, James Hall – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  20. "John Jopson". IMDb. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  21. "About Us – Brown Mackie College". Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  22. "MARINO, Thomas A., (1952–)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  23. "McCORMICK, Henry Clay – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  24. "McDONALD, Alexander – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  25. "MILLER, James Monroe – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2011-02-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. "OSMER, James H. – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  28. "Harry Perretta Class of 1978 Induction Class of 2007". Lycoming College. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  29. "PATTON, Charles Emory – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  30. "RICH, Robert Fleming – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  31. "URNER, Milton George – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  32. Rashid, Jerry. "A special homecoming" (PDF). Lycoming magazine. No. Spring 2011. Lycoming College. p. 14.

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