Slippery Rock University

Slippery Rock University, founded in 1889 by the citizens of the borough of Slippery Rock, is the region's premier public residential university. The University is shaped by its normal school heritage and characterized by its commitment to intellectual development, leadership and civic responsibility. SRU opened its doors March 26, 1889 as Slippery Rock State Normal School with a mandate to train interested and able persons to be teachers. SRSNS, over the years, fulfilled its mandate well, graduating thousands of students to staff the public schools in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation. In 1926, the institution was purchased by the Commonwealth, renamed Slippery Rock State Teachers College, became a four-year teachers college, and continued the tradition of teacher training.Slippery Rock State College was established in 1960 and for the first time could award undergraduate and graduate degrees in the liberal arts and in the professions. It was granted university status in 1983. Today SRU is a comprehensive university offering a broad array of undergraduate and select graduate programs.Located in the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania, SRU is the western-most institution of the 14-campus Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The 660-acre campus is less than an hour north of Pittsburgh, one hour south of Erie, and 45 minutes east of Youngstown, Ohio. Two major highways, I-79 and I-80, intersect within seven miles of the University, conveniently linking it to the entire Commonwealth and its contiguous regions.The campus is situated in the borough of Slippery Rock in Butler County, Pennsylvania, a safe and friendly community of approximately 3,000 people, flanked by rolling farmlands, forests and sparkling glacial lakes.