Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of 2021, Harrisburg is the ninth-largest city and 15th-largest municipality in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is situated on the east bank of the Susquehanna River. It is the larger principal city of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, also known as the Susquehanna Valley, which had a population of 591,712 as of 2020, making it the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Pennsylvania after the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Lehigh Valley metropolitan areas.
Dauphin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth largest city. The county was created on March 4, 1785, from part of Lancaster County and was named after Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, the first son of King Louis XVI.
Temple University is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Baptist Temple. On May 12, 1888, it was renamed the Temple College of Philadelphia. By 1907, the institution revised its institutional status and was incorporated as a research university.
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The university offers bachelor's degrees and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
The Keystone Service is a 195 mile regional passenger train service from Amtrak between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line. Most trains continue along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to Penn Station in New York City.
Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, commonly referred to as Harrisburg University (HU), is a private STEM-focused university in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with an additional location in Philadelphia. Founded in 2001 as Harrisburg Polytechnic Institute, it offers STEM-focused degree and certificate programs.
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania and one in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The acting administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT supports nearly 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of state roads and highways, about 25,000 bridges, and new roadway construction with the exception of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania. Shippensburg University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is the executive department of the state charged with publicly funded preschool, K-12 and adult educational budgeting, management and guidelines. As the state education agency, its activities are directed by the governor appointed Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education. The agency is headquartered at 333 Market Street in Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania Department of Education oversees 500 public school districts of Pennsylvania, over 170 public charter schools (2019), Career and Technology Centers/Vocational Technical schools, 29 Intermediate Units, the education of youth in State Juvenile Correctional Institutions, and publicly funded preschools. In 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Education employs approximately 500 persons.
The Commonwealth System of Higher Education is a statutory designation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that confers "state-related" status on four universities located within the state: Lincoln University, the Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh. The designation establishes the schools as an "instrumentality of the commonwealth" and provides each university with annual, non-preferred financial appropriations in exchange offering tuition discounts to students who are residents of Pennsylvania and a minority state-representation on each school's board of trustees. Legally, the universities remain separate and private entities, operating under their own charters, governed by independent boards of trustees, and with assets under their own ownership and control, thereby retaining much of the freedom and individuality of private institutions, both administratively and academically. It is the only public-private hybrid system of higher education of its particular type in the United States, although some other schools, such as Cornell University, the University of Delaware, and Rutgers University, all also have public-private partnerships of their own kind.
The Patriot-News is the largest newspaper serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. In 2005, the newspaper was ranked in the top 100 in daily and Sunday circulation in the United States. It has been owned by Advance Publications since 1947.
Penn State Harrisburg, also called The Capital College, is an undergraduate college and graduate school of the Pennsylvania State University located in Lower Swatara Township, Pennsylvania. The campus is located 9 miles (15 km) south of Harrisburg. The campus enrolls over 4,621 students as of 2021 and offers two associate, 34 baccalaureate, 24 master's, and three doctoral degrees as well as certificate and certification programs. It was an upper division college from its founding in 1966 until accepting freshmen and sophomores in 2004.
The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is a state-related college in Bradford, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1963, it is a baccalaureate degree-granting, regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh, conferring degrees in over 40 fields of study. In addition to its focus on undergraduate education, the campus hosts multiple research/teaching units of the University of Pittsburgh, including the Center for Rural Health Practice and the Allegheny Institute of Natural History, as well as the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center.
Pennsylvania State University is a geographically dispersed university with campuses located throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. While the administrative hub of the university is located at its flagship campus, University Park, the 19 additional commonwealth campuses together enroll 37 percent of Penn State's undergraduate student population.
The Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, officially the Harrisburg–Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and also referred to as the Susquehanna Valley, is defined by the Office of Management and Budget as an area consisting of three counties in South Central Pennsylvania, anchored by the cities of Harrisburg and Carlisle.
Paxton Creek is a 13.9-mile-long (22.4 km) tributary of the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Penn State Harrisburg Library is an academic library which serves Penn State Harrisburg, the Harrisburg campus of the Pennsylvania State University. It is one of more than 20 libraries in Pennsylvania State University Libraries system. Penn State Harrisburg Library is located at 351 Olmsted Drive and is open more than 90 hours per week. In addition to a print collection, the library provides numerous online resources.
G. Terry Madonna is a Senior Fellow in Residence at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He was Professor of Public Affairs and Director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College. He is also the Director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. In the early 1970s, he served as County Commissioner of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
