| PennWest Clarion | |
| Image Upright: | 0.7 |
| Former Name: | Carrier Seminary (1867–1887) Clarion State Normal School (1887–1929) Clarion State College (1929–1982) Clarion University of Pennsylvania (1982–2021)[1] |
| Endowment: | $39.2 million (2020)[2] |
| President: | Jon Anderson |
| Provost: | James Fisher |
| Country: | U.S. |
| Undergrad: | 4,330 |
| Postgrad: | 895 |
| Faculty: | 287 |
| Campus: | Rural, |
| Colors: | Blue & gold |
PennWest Clarion, formally Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion, is a public university in Clarion, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Pennsylvania Western University. The institution was originally founded in 1867 as the "Carrier Seminary." Prior to adopting its current name in 2022, it had gone by several different names over the course of its history, most recently "Clarion University of Pennsylvania." It now offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees, as well as certificate programs and a Doctor of Nursing Practice.[3]
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.[4] 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.
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 has 294 faculty members and 451 administration and staff members.
The university maintains a site in Pittsburgh at West Penn School of Nursing. Clarion also offers an extended studies program featuring online courses, remote sites, and various hybrid learning situations.
PennWest Clarion offers 175 degree and certificate programs through its three colleges and two schools, delivered on campus and online.[5]
PennWest Clarion offers more than 130 student organizations including academic, athletic, Greek, political, multicultural, service, and other special interest groups.
See main article: Clarion Golden Eagles. 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 ranked # 6 in the world; 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.