Gettysburg College

Gettysburg College is a private, four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. The 225-acre (91 ha) campus is located at 300 North Washington Street in the Northwest corner of the town. Known as the Bullets, the school hosts 24 NCAA Division III men's and women's teams, with a large number of club, intramural, and recreational programs. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. Gettysburg students come from 43 states and 35 countries. In 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked it 46th among Best Liberal Arts Colleges. In 2015, the Princeton Review ranked Gettysburg College as the 11th in its list of the Best Schools for Internships, only 1 out of 4 liberal arts schools in the top 25. It's also consistently rated as one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States, due to its close proximity to the Gettysburg Battlefield National Park. The college is the home of The Gettysburg Review, a literary magazine.

History

Founding and early roots

Gettysburg College was founded in 1832, as a sister institution for the Lutheran Theological Seminary. Both owe their inception to Thaddeus Stevens, a Radical Republican and abolitionist from Gettysburg. The college's original name was Pennsylvania College; it was founded by Samuel Simon Schmucker. In 1839, seven years after Gettysburg College was first founded, Drs. George McClellan (founder of Jefferson Medical College), Samuel George Morton, and others, founded a medical school, Pennsylvania Medical College, which was located in Philadelphia. The school had money troubles within four years, forcing all founding members to leave their posts. After a failed agreement to combine with the Philadelphia College of Medicine in 1858 (closed in 1859, with the faculty begin rolled into Pennsylvania Medical College), the college was forced to close the medical school in 1861. Students from the seceding southern states had withdrawn to return home, leaving it without adequate revenue.

Battle of Gettysburg

In June 1863, southern Pennsylvania was invaded by Confederate forces during the Gettysburg Campaign. Many local militia forces were formed around the area between Chambersburg and Philadelphia to face the oncoming foe.

Among these units was Gettysburg's 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia Regiment (PEMR). Composed mostly of students from the College and Seminary, the 26th PEMR was mustered into service on June 22, 1863. Four days later, the students saw combat just north of town, skirmishing with advanced units of Confederate division commander Jubal A. Early. Casualties were light on both sides, but about 100 of the militiamen were captured and paroled.

During the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Hall, or Old Dorm, was used as both a signal corps station and field hospital. Due to the geographic position it held, it was used by both Confederate and Union troops during the battle for signal work and surgery.

On November 19, 1863, College President Henry Louis Baugher gave the benediction at the ceremony opening the National Soldiers’ Cemetery at Gettysburg; speaking after Abraham Lincoln. Classes were canceled at the college as students and faculty to hear the now famous Address, establishing the now annual tradition of the "First Year Walk." Henry Baugher was the president of Gettysburg College from 1850 until his death in 1868.

Relationship with the Eisenhowers

Early in his military career, Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, lived in a house in Gettysburg that was across the street from the college (the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House until 1955 on N. Washington Street). Both were fond of the town, so they decided to retire to a working farm adjacent to the battlefield after he left the army. It was there that President Eisenhower recuperated from his 1955 heart attack.

While living in Gettysburg, Eisenhower became involved with Gettysburg College. He served on the Gettysburg College Board of Trustees, and he was given an office, which he used when writing his memoirs. Eisenhower’s old office is now named Eisenhower House and is occupied by Gettysburg College’s office of admissions. Eisenhower’s grandson, David, and his granddaughter Susan continue a certain level of family involvement with the institution.

Today the Eisenhower Institute, a nationally recognized center for leadership and public policy based in Gettysburg and Washington, D.C., is formally recognized as a distinctive program of the college.

Campus

The college is located on a 225-acre (91 ha) campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is 36 miles (60 km) from Harrisburg, 55 miles (89 km) from Baltimore, 80 miles (130 km) from Washington, D.C., 117 miles (188 km) from Philadelphia, and 212 miles (341 km) from New York City, and 425 miles (684 km) from Boston.

The college's main campus is roughly divided in half by Pennsylvania Hall (administration). The northern half contains Eddie Plank Gym, Masters Hall (physics and astronomy), Musselman Library, the College Union Building, the College Dining Center, Briedenbaugh Hall (English and Asian Studies), and several first-year residence halls and fraternities. A section of this part of campus known as "Stine Lake" is not actually a lake but rather a quad located outside of the library. Prior to Musselman Library being built in the late 1970s, and due to Gettysburg's wet climate and drainage issues, the quad and library site would be prone to accumulating water, creating a large, muddy "lake" of sorts. Today, however, Stine Lake does not flood, but the name has stuck, to the confusion of first-year students. Additionally, the College Dining Center is known to students and faculty as "Servo," after a now defunct 1980s food service company, Servonation.

The southern half of the main campus includes McKnight Hall (languages), Glatfelter Hall (computer science, management, political science, mathematics, and others), Schmucker Hall (art and music), Kline Theater, and several fraternities. Over the last half-century, the campus has expanded considerably to include land to the east of North Washington Street and to the west of the traditional campus. Since approximately 96% of students live on campus, most of this additional land is dedicated to housing. It also includes the college chapel, the admissions building, a large gymnasium and field house complex, and several athletics fields. The college has also purchased or leased a large number of buildings for student housing, including residences on Washington Street, Carlisle Street, Middle Street, Stratton Street, and others.

The Majestic Theater

In 1925, Henry Scharf built the Majestic Theater as an expansion to the historic Gettysburg Hotel, located in the center of town. Originally, the building featured a main room that seated 1,200 patrons. In the 1950s, performances in the Theater were attended by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, often with world leaders or visitors. When he was spending the night in his Gettysburg residence, President Eisenhower used the theater's ballroom as an official White House Press Room for news conferences. The theater was also the location for the world premiere of the civil war epic Gettysburg (1993 film), directed by Ted Turner. In November 2005, the theater underwent a $20 million renovation process, with the main room being restored to its former glory and the addition of two new nightly cinemas. The theater is the location for the college's Sunderman Conservatory of Music performances, as well as musical theater performances and outside guests. Many traditions and orientation events also occur in the building, which seats 816 individuals in a multi-level main room.

Academic facilities

Library

Musselman Library houses the college collection of books, journals, videos, sound recordings, online publications, rare books, manuscripts, and digital collections. An online catalog, MUSCAT, provides a gateway to all library materials and is accessible through any computer terminal connected to the college network. In addition, the building contains a media theater, computer lab, and media production center. Musselman Library is open around the clock when classes are in session. The library operates 24 hours a day on weekdays and selected hours during the weekends. In order to help facilitate late night studying, the library provides free coffee, tea, and hot chocolate at midnight to patrons who bring their own mugs.

The library has 412,787 print volumes and 263,999 e-books available for students, with subscriptions to 56,571 electronic journals, 360 print periodicals, and 296 online databases. A section of Musselman library is used for students participating in musical classes, with 9,405 printed musical scores and 27,500 online scores for reference. The basement of the building houses a substantial DVD and music section for students to use freely, with 15,460 physical DVDs and films, 23,892 online, and nearly 150,000 sound recordings online with 11,135 physical CDs. If there are materials that students need that are not found within the library's extensive database, the school participates in an Interlibrary loan.

While the ground floor and basement of the library are reserved to regular use, with students able to freely communicate, the upper floors are generally study floors with a quiet policy. The fourth floor of the building hosts constant and sometimes changing special collections, with topics ranging from the Civil War to Asian Art studies. Rare books, manuscripts, and works of art are all preserved and available for perusing. The space is regularly used as an exhibit area as well.

Schmucker Hall

Gettysburg College is a well respected institution for the musically inclined. The college is home to the Sunderman Conservatory of Music, which has performed regionally and internationally. Schmucker Hall houses four main classrooms, a 225-seat recital hall, a 10 station technology/piano lab, and 16 practice rooms. Two practice rooms are dedicated organ practice rooms, with a ratio of 6 students for 1 practice room. A recording studio is also found within the building's walls. Choral assemblies usually perform in Christ Chapel, the campus' nondenominational structure that houses a variety of different ceremonies and seats 1,100 individuals.

Glatfelter Hall

Glatfelter Hall is one of the most iconic buildings on campus. Built in 1889 as the New Recitation Building, the deep red brick and gray stone building was redicated in 1912 to honor Philip H. Glatfelter, a trustee and generous benefactor of the college. The building was built in the Romanesque Revival style, with a soaring tower 143 feet high.

Currently, the building features four stories and a basement, with a grandiose main staircase traversing all but the top floor. The building houses the Anthropology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Political Science, and Sociology departments, along with campus management resources. It is completely handicap accessible, with an elevator traversing all floors. The topmost section of the building contains offices, seminar areas, and a small student library, as well as the entrance to the belltower. Atop the tower, Glatfelter Hall's bell can be heard across campus, ringing to mark the hour.

The Science Center

The Science Center is part of a complex of two buildings. The Science Center itself is the most modern academic building on campus, built in 2002. An 85,000 sq ft. building, the science center was designed to have first-rate scientific equipment, facilities, and resources, and has been continually renovated to include the most up to date material. It includes:

• Greenhouse and herbarium
• 400 MHz NMR Spectrometer
• Nd:YAG Laser Spectrometer
• A scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope
• Specialized labs for a dozen different subjects
• Phase Contrast and Epifluorescence Microscopes
• Animal rooms for both endotherms and ectotherms
• Media Preparation Room (with autoclave, radiation room, and a walk-in environmental chamber)
• Multimedia 'Smart' Classrooms, Lecture Rooms, and Seminar Rooms
• Computer labs
• Dozens of other resources

The main building is home to the Chemistry, Environmental Studies, and Health Sciences departments.

McCreary Hall is the other building in the complex, and is older but was renovated during the construction of the Science Center and in 2012. It is home to the Biology and Psychology departments, with the latest equipment including a vast deionized pure water system, infant research lab, space for cognitive neuroscience, and many animal facilities.

Masters Hall

Masters Hall is home to the physics department, and houses several specialized labs, the largest classroom on campus (Mara Auditorium), a machine shop, and a Physics student lounge. In addition, the building also includes an indoor planetarium, Hatter Planetarium which gives students glimpses of what the night sky will look like each month. It also has private shows for classes and performances on different, special topics. Some of the equipment available for student use and regularly used for professor's research includes:

• Modernized telescopes and microscopes
• An advanced laser research lab used for investigating plasma and laser interactions. Includes 25-milliwatt He-Ne laser, two 5 watt argon ion lasers, nitrogen dye laser, and other equipment.
• Optical isolation table and optical tweezers
• Other technology relevant to specific classes and professor's research

In addition, the building houses astronomy classes and uses the campus' observatory, which is located just past the quarry. The Observatory is used for undergraduate astronomical research and includes a 16-inch f/11 Ealing Cassegrain reflector, computer controlled. It also houses a classroom and six Meade telescopes. Since its construction in 1996, the observatory has been a huge benefit to astronomy students and has even made several star discoveries in the early 2000s.

Brua Hall

Brua Hall is the home of the college's theater department. Kline Theatre is the building's main attraction, seating 234 people with a thrust stage and an advanced sound and lighting system, including computer lighting memory control. The stage is home to many performances throughout the year, and is very often used by the theater department in addition to the student run theatre club, the Owl and Nightingale Society. Brua Hall also has a 48-seat blackbox, which with flexible playing space is constantly converted to fit the needs of the performance. The blackbox, Stevens Laboratory Theatre, is used for thesis productions from seniors as well as one-act plays written by students. The building has a fully equipped scene shop facility, stuido and classrom space, dressing rooms, an Actors' Lounge and reception area known as Arms Green Room, and other storage and workroom areas.

Large-scale productions are generally performed in the Majestic Theater.

Other buildings

Economics and Africana studies are housed in a former house that was fully renovated in 2013, as well as in rooms in Glatfelter Hall.

Breidenbaugh Hall and Weidensall Hall are two adjacent buildings that house the English, Asian Studies, Civil War Era Studies, Classics, Education, Globalization Studies, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Philosophy, and Religion departments. Weidensall Hall was originally built as a YMCA building, complete with a swimming pool, but was massively renovated in 1987. Both buildings feature a revived colonial design, with large columns supporting spacious porches.

Technology

Full network capabilities in all campus buildings and each residence hall room. Students have access to more than 1,300 computers and a complex system of workstations and laboratories. Wireless connectivity is available across 97% of the campus (the other 3% being the practice fields) and in all of the residence halls.

The school provides a large network of technological assistance, known as G-Tech, which is student staffed and IT supported. It offers free technical services including help with personal computers, removing adware or viruses, connecting to the college network, building computers, accessing school servers, and general troubleshooting assistance. The college's network infrastructure has been consistently updated over the past decade to keep up with student demand and modernity. In addition, the technology department has deals for students and faculty to receive discounted personal computers and programs.

The campus welcomed Google in July, 2012 to open the 225 acre campus to Google Streetview. Prospective students are able to walk through every inch of campus to see the facilities and fields.

Organization

As an independent institution, the college operates under a charter granted in 1832 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The College is governed by a 39-member board of trustees comprising leaders from a range of professions and walks of life. Thirty of the College’s trustees are graduates of Gettysburg.

On the student level, adjudication of academic disputes takes place through an Honor Commission, which holds hearings in which students are given a chance to have their say on charges brought against them.

The Academic Honor Code has been in effect since 1957, and recently has been updated to fit better with today's technology.

Academic programs

Majors

Anthropology, Art History, Art Studio, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Classical Studies, Computer Science, Economics, English, Environmental Studies, French, German Studies, Globalization Studies, Greek, Health Sciences, History,, International Relations and Affairs, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Latin, Management, Mathematics, Music, Music Education, Music Performance, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Policy, Religious Studies, Sociology, Spanish, Spanish & Latin American Studies, Theatre, Women Gender & Sexuality Studies

Special Interest Programs (Minors)

Africana Studies, Anthropology, Art and Art History, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Civil War Studies, Classics, Computer Science, East Asian Studies, Economics, Education, English, Environmental Studies, Film Studies, French, German Studies, Greek, History, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Judaic Studies, Latin, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies, Mathematics, Middle East and Islamic Studies, Music/Sunderman Conservatory of Music, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Religious Studies, Sociology, Spanish, Theatre Arts, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Writing

In addition to these majors and minors, the college offers several programs. Students may petition to design their own, individual major. Students design a curriculum of their own and choose a faculty advisor. During the senior year, the student takes a 400-level individualized study capstone which is the culmination of their program.
An engineering program is offered as a five-year, Dual Degree program in conjunction with Columbia University in New York City, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Engineering students may choose any of these schools to travel to, taking three courses of liberal arts, mathematics, and physics at Gettysburg College, and two years of advanced engineering and physics classes at their chosen University. Upon completion of the program, students are awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gettysburg College and a Bachelor of Science degree in an engineering discipline from one of the affiliated institutions.

A Nursing program, Optometry program, Pre-Healthy program, Interdisciplinary Studies program, and Pre-Law program are all offered as well, in addition to a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program.

Greek organizations

Fraternities: Alpha Chi Rho, Alpha Tau Omega, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu

Sororities: Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Sigma Sigma Sigma,

Service Fraternity: Alpha Phi Omega

Women's Music Fraternity: Sigma Alpha Iota

Academic Honorary Societies: Alpha Kappa Delta, Delta Phi Alpha, Eta Sigma Phi, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Sigma Iota, Pi Lambda Sigma, Pi Sigma Alpha, Psi Chi

Past Greek Organizations on Campus: Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Phi, Kappa Delta Rho, Rho Beta (local), Sigma Kappa, Theta Chi, Phi Beta Sigma, Phi Kappa Rho (local), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Zeta Psi, Phi Mu

Students can only rush as sophomores. Around 1/3 of all students are involved in some form of Greek Life.

Student media

"Gettysburgian" (Campus Print Newspaper), The Forum (www.gburgforum.com, the independent online news source), Channel 34 Gburg TV (Campus Television Station), WZBT 91.1 (Campus Radio Station), The Spectrum (College yearbook).

Every year, the media groups on campus work together to host a journalism and media conference entitled Speak Up, Write Out, bringing in members of the world, national, and local media to speak in panels open to students of Gettysburg and other nearby colleges.

Students and faculty

Nearly 2,700 students, approximately one-half men and one-half women and representing 40 states and 35 foreign countries, attend the college. Almost 60% of graduates will study at least one semester abroad.

Some 75% of the student body is from outside Pennsylvania.

The Class of 2019 had below a 30% acceptance rate, and often competes with comparable schools Dickinson and Franklin & Marshall for applicants.

The college employs 225 full-time faculty, with 100% of the permanent faculty holding a doctorate or highest earned degree in their fields. The student/faculty ratio is 10:1, with an average class size of 18 students. The college hosts one of only 19 chapters of Phi Beta Kappa in Pennsylvania.

LGBT Students

The college prides itself on LGBT involvement and discussion. Several support groups are available for questioning or struggling students, and the campus is considered an LGBTQA friendly and safe environment. The LGBTQA Advocacy and Education office is committed to the creation of an inclusive community where all students are empowered to succeed, regardless of sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression. The office regularly improves campus climate through educational and social programming, and provides one-on-one advising and institutional advocacy. A student run LGBTQA club known as ALLies club facilitates LGBTQA discussion and involvement on campus.

Activities and Traditions

The college boasts a wide variety of different events on campus, with an estimated 3,200 cultural events occurring during a four-year period.

Activities

There more than 120 clubs and organizations on campus, focusing on community service, art and music, theater and media, academics, student government, career fields, outdoor adventure, and other areas of interests. These clubs and organizations provide students with over 1,000 leadership opportunities each year, in addition to regular trips to surrounding metropolitan areas.
Students come from a variety of different spiritual backgrounds, with resources for Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, and Hindu students. An Interfaith council is regularly held to promote discuss and communication between the different religious groups on campus. The college provides nondenominational worship in the campus chapel and Glatfelter Lodge, in addition to providing various resources for religious holidays.

Traditions

Gettysburg college has a variety of different traditions during the four year undergraduate experience.

First Year Walk

On November 19, 1863, students marched through town to the National Cemetery to hear President Abraham Lincoln deliver his now famous Gettysburg Address. Since then, first year students have annually marched along the same 1 mile path to be welcomed into town and hear the same words spoken over a century ago. Faculty, students, and townspeople cheer the arriving first years along their walk as the entire town shuts down to participate.

Twilight Walk

Upon completion of the first semester, first year students walk from the college union building to Pennsylvania Hall along paths illuminated by upperclassmen holding candles. The tradition is designed to welcome first year students into alumni status, and involves the passing of a Class Book to the college president and the singing of the college's Alma Mater.

Thanksgiving Dinner

In a twist of events, every Thanksgiving the dining center opens for a Thanksgiving dinner extravaganza. Students organize themselves and their friends into groups of 8-14 people and receive unlimited turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and more, all served by professors and administrators. It is common practice for the president of the college to serve a table as well.

Springfest

Every spring, the weekend before finals the college hosts a well known musician on a constructed main stage in Stine Lake. Other musicians perform in the Attic, the campus' night club. The end of the term is celebrated with concerts, free food, merriment and play.

Athletics

Twenty-four sports programs, for both men and women, participate in NCAA Division III. Gettysburg has earned the distinction of having the best win/loss record in the Centennial Conference for the past 12 years.

The Gettysburg College women's lacrosse team won the Division III National Championship in 2012. Head football coach Barry Streeter, the winningest coach in school history, is also the longest-tenured coach in the Centennial Conference, having helmed the program since 1979. He is currently tied for 24th on the All-Time Division III wins list.

Twenty-five percent of Gettysburg's students participate in intercollegiate programs, which include twelve sports for men and twelve sports for women. Although the mascot for Gettysburg College is the Bullet, there is no official Bullet mascot at sporting events.

The college also offers an extensive array of club, intramural, and recreational programs.

The Center for Athletics, Recreation and Fitness

The College broke ground on the new $25 million athletic center, named the John F. Jaeger Center for Athletics, Recreation and Fitness, on May 30, 2008. The 55,000 foot Center is an upgrade from the former athletic facility, known as the Bream/Wright/Hauser Complex. Bream/Wright/Hauser still exists next to the additions. The Center opened in stages. A dedication ceremony on April 30, 2010 marked its completion. The Center was officially named for the 1965 alumnus John F. Jaeger on May 4, 2012.

The Center features:

• A natatorium, complete with eight lanes, four warm-up lanes, and enough space for 350 seated spectators
• A 10,000 foot weight and cardio room complete with flat-screen TVs
• Additional spaces for yoga, aerobics, spinning and martial arts classes
• An upgraded training room with a Hydroworx pool
• Rock climbing walls
• A student lounge called "The Dive"

The Center was created in order to provide more opportunities for the high percentage of students who like to maintain their fitness regimens and engage in intramural, club sports programs, and exercise classes. About 25 percent of the student body participates in varsity sports, while over 75 percent are active in intramural sports. More space was needed, and the Center is important to improve life on campus.

John Jaeger, a 1965 Gettysburg College graduate, donated $1.2 million to encourage others to fund the project. Another important donor, Robert Ortenzio, provided the largest single gift by a living person in the history of the College, by giving $2 million.

"Loyalty Song"

Fair Gettysburg our Alma Mater, hear us praise thy name,

We'll ever lend our hearts and hands to help increase thy fame.

The honor of old Gettysburg calls forth our loyalty.

So cheer (Rah! Rah!) old G'burg's Bullets on to victory!

However, another rendition exists with a few differences and is the one currently in use:

Hail Gettysburg our Alma Mater, help us praise thy name.

We'll ever lend our hearts and hands to help increase thy fame.

The honor of old Gettysburg calls forth our loyalty,

So cheer (Rah! Rah!) our G'burg Bullets on to fight for victory!

Notable alumni

Government

• George M. Leader, former Governor of Pennsylvania (1955â€"1959)
• John S. Rice, former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands (1961â€"1964) and President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate (1939-1940)
• William N. McNair, former mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1934â€"1936)
• Ron Paul, M.D., U.S. Congressman from Texas, 1988 Libertarian Party Presidential nominee, as well as 2008 and 2012 Candidate for the Republican Party Presidential nomination
• James Glenn Beall, former Maryland U.S. Senator.
• Carol Bellamy, former New York City Council President and former executive director, UNICEF
• Nathaniel N. Craley, Jr., former U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania (1965â€"1967)
• Fred F. Fielding, former (1981â€"1986, 2007â€"2009) Counsel to the President, former deputy to the White House counsel (1970â€"1972), member of 9/11 Commission
• Bruce S. Gordon, former head of the NAACP (2005â€"2007)
• Jeffrey Piccola, Pennsylvania State Senator, former State Senate Majority Whip (2001â€"2007)

Arts and entertainment

• Carson Kressley, fashion consultant, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
• Owen Roizman, five-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer for films such as The Exorcist, The French Connection and Network
• Karen Sosnoski, author, radio contributor and filmmaker
• Jerry Spinelli, author, winner of the Newbery Medal for Maniac Magee
• Stephanie Sellars, writer, actor, and filmmaker
• Jackson C. Frank, American Folk Musician

Academia

• Rev. David Bittle, first president of Roanoke College, the nation's second oldest Lutheran college after Gettysburg
• Janet Morgan Riggs, President of Gettysburg College (2009â€"present)
• Ruth J. Person, Chancellor of the University of Michigan (Flint Campus).
• Neal Smatresk, PhD, academic research biologist, President â€" University of North Texas, Denton
• Edgar Fahs Smith American scientist and provost of the University of Pennsylvania

Science

• J. Michael Bishop, 1989 Nobel Laureate in Medicine for cancer research
• F. William Sunderman, Physician, Editor, Musician, and Inventor. Medical Director for the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, N.M.
• John Bosley Ziegler, physician who discovered Dianabol and pioneered the use of steroids in sport.

Athletics

• George Winter, former Major League Baseball player
• John Yovicsin, NFL football player, coach at Gettysburg, and coach at Harvard
• Ron Warner, class of 1962, two-time All-American (1961, 1962) basketball player
• Eddie Plank, MLB Hall of Fame pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. (Plank was not technically an alumnus since he was not a student, but he pitched for his local college's baseball team.)
• Harry O'Neill, one of two Major League Baseball players to die during World War II

Military

• Herman Haupt, American Civil War general who ran the Union military railroad system
• Keller E. Rockey, Lieutenant General, United States Marine Corps, commander of the Fifth Marine Division during the Battle of Iwo Jima
• Charles A. Willoughby, Chief of Intelligence on General Douglas MacArthur's staff during World War II, member of Military Intelligence Hall of Fame
• Flora D. Darpino, first female Judge Advocate General of the United States Army

Other

• David Hartman, first blind person to graduate from medical school in the United States

Civil War History activities

Due to its close relationship to a crucial battle in the American Civil War, Gettysburg College hosts a number of activities and awards:

• Pennsylvania Hall, located in the center of campus, was occupied by both Union and Confederate forces during the Battle of Gettysburg. Today, a Civil War era-style flag (for the year 1863) flies above the building, which was used as a lookout position and a field hospital during the battle.

• In 1982, professor and historian Gabor Boritt founded the Civil War Institute, which hosts annual seminars and tours on Civil War themes. Scholarships are granted to high school students and history teachers to attend the week-long summer event.

• Since 1998, the Gettysburg Semester, a semester-long immersion in Civil War academic study has been offered.

• Gettysburg College students may elect to pursue a unique interdisciplinary minor in Civil War Era Studies. Requirements include a general introduction course about the Civil War and a capstone senior-level seminar. Students must also select four classes of at least two disciplines. Some of the classes offered include (but are not limited to): military history, Economics of the American South, Civil War Literature, films about the Civil War, and Gender Ideology in the Civil War.

• The Lincoln Prize has been awarded annually since 1991 for the best non-fiction historical work of the year on the Civil War.

• Starting in 2005, the Michael Shaara Prize has been awarded for excellence in Civil War fiction. (Shaara was the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the Battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels.)

Gallery

References

External links

• Gettysburg College website. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
• Official Gettysburg College athletics website. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
• Papers of Willard S. Paul, president of Gettysburg College (1956â€"1961), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
• Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections: Weekly Gettysburgian (1897-2004)