Penn State Berks - History

History

First known as Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute, Penn State Berks became part of the Penn State system in 1958. The Berks campus has experienced many changes since then. WPI occupied the original Sacred Heart Church building on Hill Road, where the McDonald's Restaurant now stands, from 1930 to 1958. Its facilities were offered to Penn State to establish Penn State Wyomissing Center. It moved to its present Spring Township location in 1972. Dormitories were first added in 1990 with additional dorms in 2001, which made Berks a commuter as well as a residential campus.

Student enrollment at Penn State Berks has increased steadily since 1972, when approximately 500 students attended. Today, there are an estimated 3,216 students enrolled. The campus currently has 15 buildings on 241 acres (1 km²) of land. There are 100 full-time and 70 part-time faculty members.

While being a commonwealth campus of the state land-grant university, since 1997 it has offered baccalaureate degrees independently from The Pennsylvania State University University Park campus in partnership with a neighboring campus under the title of Berks and Lehigh Valley College. Under a university-ordered reconstruction, Penn State Berks and Penn State Lehigh Valley were split in 2005. Penn State Berks became a stand-alone college in the Penn State system and Penn State Lehigh Valley became a part of the University College system.