Guide to the Back Mountain Welinesday, May 21, 1997 Go Higher education, close to home By JENNIFER JUDGE The Back Mountain is fortunate to have two of the Wyoming Valley's oldest institutions of higher learn- ing right in its backyard. The Wilkes-Barre campus of the Pennsylvania State University was first estab- lished in Wilkes-Barre in 1916 to fulfill higher education needs in engineering and technical sub- jects, making Penn State the first higher education institution in the Wyoming Valley. The Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus was moved to its present location in Lehman in 1968. The 50- acre campus was donated to Penn State by Mr. and Mrs. Richard I. Robinson, along with the 55-room summer manor and 19 car garage of the late Mr. and Mrs. John N. Conyngham. The Robinsons were descendants of the Conynghams. The manor, which came to be called Hayfield House, is used for admin- istrative offices, classes, and university and com- munity functions. Renee Mintz, director of public relations for the Wilkes-Barre campus, notes that in adapting the house, the university attempted to maintain the original architecture. “We didn't knock any walls out,” she said. Some of the rooms feature hand painted wallpaper, original paintings, original sculp- tures, and chandeliers. Hayfield House was built in 1933 by John Conyngham at a cost of over $1 million. The house features 12 working fireplaces, a floating staircase, a marble fireplace which is several hundred years old, gold bathroom fixtures, and a pillar and wall from Chipstead Place in Kent, England that date back to 1693. Although Conyngham employed Eu- ropean craftsmen in the building of the manor, he also employed many local workers, according to Mintz. The Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus offers two four year degrees and seven two year associates degrees. The Bachelor of Science degrees offered are surveying and electrical engineering. Students can also choose to begin almost all of the 180 degree: majors offered at the University Park campus. After beginning the degree program, a student can choose to attend any of the other Penn State facilities to SC —— Guide to the Back Mountain is produced and published annually by BARTSEN MEDIA, INC. Publishers of The Dallas Post and The Abington Journal Offices at 607 Main Road, Dallas, PA 18612 and 211 South State St., Clarks Summit, PA 18411 Phone (717) 675-5211 or (717) 587-1148 for information about advertising in Guide to the Back Mountain and Guide to the Abingtons ¥ gymnasium and science building. complete his or her degree. Cost of attendance for the 1996-97 school year was $5,262 per year for Pennsylvania residents aid i 88,178 for non-residents. Costs for the 1997- 98 g- school year have not yet been determined. a 0 + The Wilkes-Barre campus is known for its mate setting. The average number of student | tending is 800. The campus employs 35 full-time | faculty members and 42 part-time. Nineteen faculty members hold doctorate degrees. The student fo faculty ratio is 16 to 1. Mintz commented on the advantages of such statistics. "The nice thing. hicre is that whether you get the degree here or at Uniyer- : sity Park, it still says Penn State University.” . ie : The Nittany Woodlands provides on-campus hou i ing for up to 90 students. Mintz explains, “Pepe come from as far away as Towanda and we havea large contingency from Philadelphia.” Housing cos per year per tenant are $2,380. pi Penn State Wilkes-Barre has a very active alunii association. The campus also has an honors pr gram and a Non-Traditional Adult Student Club. The school also offers varsity athletics, includifg baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccé tennis, and volleyball, and club and intramur athletics, such as badminton, bowling, racquetb and walleyball. i 3 Penn State also reaches out to the Back Mounta to provide use of its facilities for cultural events. Continued on Ji 4
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers