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Mansfield University traces its heritage to 1857, when the Mansfield Classical Seminary opened. In 1862, Mansfield became a state normal school. In 1927, the institution was designated Mansfield State Teachers College, and in 1960, it broadened its degree offerings and became Mansfield State College. In 1983, it became Mansfield University. As a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Mansfield combines the best qualities of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a comprehensive public university. Mansfield University became Pennsylvania’s sole member to the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) in 2015.
The campus consists of 174 acres and 42 buildings. This includes multiple recreation areas and playing fields; an indoor swimming pool, two auditoriums, a state-of-the-art library, a fitness center, a student union, and a child care center.
Student Enrollment
2198 enrolled in the fall of 2016: 1929 full-time and 269 part-time; 1335 female (61%), 563 male (39%). Including Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, students come from 22 states and seven international countries.
Student-Faculty Ratio
The ratio is 16:1. Approximately 75% of our classes have fewer than 30 students; 45% have fewer than 20 students; and 5% have 50 or more students.
Student Financial Aid
About 95% of undergraduate students receive financial assistance in some form. This includes federal, state, and institutional grants, as well as a variety of loans and employment.
Faculty
The University has 109 regular full-time faculty; 86% have a doctorate or other terminal degree and 50% are women. In addition, 99% of all full-time instructional faculty are tenured or on tenure track.
Programs of Study
The University has five associate degree programs, 30 baccalaureate programs, and four master’s degree programs. We also offer 47 minors.
Special Options
We offer multiple majors, a self-developed major, an honors program, internships, independent studies, individualized instruction, and study abroad opportunities.
Accreditation
Mansfield University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. (267-284-5000) The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Other accreditations or recognitions of professional programs are identified in the section of the catalog that describes each program.
Location
With a population of 4,000, Mansfield borough is located in the mountains of North Central Pennsylvania at the intersection of U.S. 15 and U.S. 6. It is an area noted for its quality of life, safety, and varied recreational opportunities. The university is 45 miles north of Williamsport, PA and 30 miles south of Corning, NY. Driving time from: Harrisburg, PA, 3 hours; Scranton, PA, 2 hours; Buffalo, NY, 3 hours; Binghamton, NY, 2 hours; Philadelphia, PA, 4 hours; Pittsburgh, PA, 5 hours; New York City, 5 hours. Daily bus service, north and south, connects to all points in the northeast U.S.
Region
The natural environment of the area provides numerous opportunities for outdoor recreation. These include hunting, fishing, skiing, camping, hiking, and water sports. The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, located approximately 20 miles from our campus, and other regional state parks provide many recreational opportunities for students. Cultural attractions include the Clemens Center for Performing Arts in Elmira, NY; Corning Museum of Glass, and The Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning, NY.
Cultural Activities
We offer a variety of cultural activities during the academic year. A variety of lecture and cultural series or celebrations are traditions at Mansfield. Frequent recitals by music faculty and students highlight the academic year. Fiction and poetry readings as well as other activities round out the University’s cultural opportunities.
Library Facilities
The Mansfield University Library is the academic center of the campus. The renovated six-story North Hall provides an elegant 19th century setting where students can access information from around the world through our computers and high speed wireless links to the Internet. The Library houses a special computer lab for graphic design.
Housing and Dining
New, suite style residence halls offering private bathrooms, micro-fridges, air conditioning and heating controlled in the suite, etc., house approximately 1,300 students. Double room suites, single room suites for two people, four person suites with living room and kitchenette and two double rooms, four person suites with living and kitchenette and four private rooms; and two person suites with living room and kitchenette and two private bedrooms are available. 2016-17 housing options include special interest living areas for first year students. Special living areas offered in the past have been: Outdoor Recreation, Sports Center, Performing Arts, Arts and Crafts, Healthy Living, Community Service, and others.
Campus eateries include a recently renovated main dining facility featuring unlimited seconds, a wide variety of options and desserts (including hand dipped ice cream with hot fudge) for lunch and dinner daily; a food court with a host of venues; a food cart in the Retan classroom building; and a snack bar located in the Hut, MU’s evening student entertainment location.
Calendar
Our regular academic calendar consists of a fall semester which ends before Christmas, a 5 week winter session, and a spring semester ending in early May. We also offer two summer sessions from May through August. Consult the online calendars for more detailed information about calendar dates and events.
Our Mission and Vision Statement
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Mission and Purpose
As Pennsylvania’s premier public liberal arts institution, Mansfield University offers students a personalized education that emphasizes character development, scholarly growth, cultural awareness, and community service. By preparing our students for productive careers and meaningful lives, we positively influence the world.
Vision
As Pennsylvania’s only member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities (COPLAC), Mansfield University is the state’s premier public liberal arts institution. We are committed to enhancing our identity as a small, distinctive, affordable alternative to private liberal arts colleges.
Academic Promise
Mansfield University provides a personal, interdiscinplinary, liberal arts education that focuses on the values of our creed, preparing our students for their first and subsequent careers in a rapidly changing world.
At Mansfield University, we develop leaders.
We accomplish this by focusing on the four core values that have been our tradition since 1912: Character, Scholarship, Culture, and Service.
Character
We believe in integrity. We act with honesty and respect toward others. We take responsibility for our actions and reflect on their impact on ourselves and others.
Scholarship
We believe in learning. We use rigorous, responsible, and critical inquiry to understand existing knowledge, acquire and share new knowledge, and apply what we learn. Each of us is both student and teacher.
Culture
We believe in celebrating humanity. We enrich ourselves and others by sharing and exploring our similarities and differences. We honor the past as we invent the future.
Service
We believe in helping others. We work with others to improve the communities in which we now live and will touch in the future. Knowledge invests us with the power to improve our world and the responsibility to act.
In 1912, our student body adopted the above words, emphasizing their order:
“Character as the essential, Scholarship as the means,
Culture as the enrichment, and Service as the end of all worthy endeavors.”
Statement of Diversity
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Graduates of Mansfield University participate in a world that has been enriched by knowledge, insights, and traditions of diverse peoples who live and work together. An academic community that values diversity by words and actions provides the best environment in which students can learn the social skills necessary to participate and flourish in our multi-cultural environment.
The Mansfield University Council of Trustees reaffirms the purpose of Mansfield University, as stated by President Simon B. Elliot in 1912, to strive to make education universal; that the rich and the poor, the child of those who have power and place, and of those who tread the lowly paths of life, shall receive alike the blessings of education invite equally and alike, without distinction of sex, or color, or race, or creed, or party, the children of all who may desire to participate in the opportunities here offered. That is the highest purpose for which Mansfield may be praised.
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