Arcadia University

The school was founded in Beaver, Pennsylvania, in 1853 as Beaver Female Seminary.

By 1872, it had attained collegiate status, under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was named Beaver College. The school admitted men from 1872 to 1907, then limited enrollment to women until 1972. In 1925, Beaver College moved east to Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and changed its religious affiliation to Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1928, the school acquired the Harrison estate in Glenside, including Grey Towers Castle, the location of the current campus. The college operated both the Jenkintown and Glenside campuses until 1962, when it consolidated all activities to the Glenside campus. Some significant changes came in 1973, when the college launched its first graduate programs and began admitting men again.

The rise of the Internet, with systems designed to filter out sexually explicit material, repeatedly blocked access to the college's website.[lower-alpha 1] Research conducted by the institution also found that, because of its name, the institution appealed to 30% fewer prospective students.[3] In June 2001, trustees voted to apply for university status and to change the name.[4] In July 2001, upon attaining university status, Beaver College officially changed its name to Arcadia University.[5]

Today, Arcadia University operates on the main Glenside campus, at academic centers and offices around the world, and in Christiana, Delaware, where the university's Department of Medical Science opened a campus in 2006.[6]

There was a series of leadership changes at Arcadia in the years 2011–2017. In May 2011, Carl "Tobey" Oxholm III was named president of Arcadia. Less than two years later, during the school's spring break, he was fired without explanation by the board of trustees.[7] A petition was filed to demand answers from the board of trustees,[8] but no official reason was ever given. From 2013 to 2017, the university was led by Nicolette DeVille Christensen.[9] In December 2017, Ajay Nair, vice-president at Emory University, was named the university's 22nd president.[10]

Grey Towers castle at Arcadia University

Arcadia University was ranked among the Princeton Review's "Best in the Northeast" in its "2022 Best Colleges: Region by Region."[11]

The university offers more than 80 fields of study[12] in its undergraduate programs. Undergraduate majors are offered in the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Health Sciences, School of Education, and School of Global Business.[13] There is also an option for students to propose self-designed majors and minors, which may consist of courses offered in Glenside and through study abroad.[14]

Graduate and professional studies at Arcadia University range from liberal arts to professional degree programs. Arcadia's Master's program in Forensic Science is accredited by FEPAC, and faculty are certified by the American Board of Criminalistics and the American Board of Forensic Toxicology.[15]

The university is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report for its quality study abroad programs. For nine consecutive years, the Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education ranked Arcadia No. 1 in the nation for the percentage of undergraduate students participating in study abroad experiences at a master's level college or university.[16]

Arcadia Knights
University	Arcadia University
Conference	Middle Atlantic Conference
Location	Glenside, Pennsylvania
Colors	Scarlet and gray[17]

Arcadia University teams compete in the NCAA Division III within the MAC Freedom of the Middle Atlantic Conference.[18]

Arcadia competes in League of Legends, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Rocket League.

Men's sports teams include ice hockey, track and field, baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Women's sports teams include ice hockey, track and field, basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball.[19]

In a newly renovated 1,500-square-foot central competition arena, Arcadia competes in League of Legends, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Rocket League.[20]

As of spring 2018, Arcadia University has more than 60 active governing, academic, sport, cultural, media, religious, and service clubs and organizations.[21]

• Julianne Boyd, theater director
• William R. Evanina, the NCIX, the National Counterintelligence Executive of the United States, and director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center
• Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez, religious author and Professor Emerita at Columbia Theological Seminary
• Joe McKeehen, World Series of Poker Main Event Champion (2015)
• Dorothy Germain Porter, amateur golf champion
• Abbey Ryan, artist (painter)
• M. Susan Savage, Secretary of State of Oklahoma and former Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Edith Schaeffer, religious author and co-founder of the L'Abri study center
• Oliver B. Shallenberger, electrical engineer
• Anna Deavere Smith, actress
• Marjorie Smith, New Hampshire state legislator
• Florence Wickham, contralto and composer
• Anil Beephan Jr., Member of the New York State Assembly

• Hank Brown, U.S. Senator from Colorado and interim President of Arcadia University
• Cynthia S. Burnett (1840–1932), educator, lecturer, temperance reformer, and newspaper editor
• Kelsey Koelzer, current women's ice hockey coach