Plymouth State University
| Seal of PSU | |
| Motto | Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1871 |
| President | Dr. Sara Jayne Steen |
| Provost | Dr. Julie N. Bernier (interim) |
| Undergraduates | 4,000 |
| Postgraduates | 1,500 |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Rural |
| Colors | Green & White |
| Mascot | Panther |
| Website | http://www.plymouth.edu/ |
Plymouth State University, formerly Plymouth State College, is a University System of New Hampshire institution of higher education located in Plymouth, New Hampshire.
Plymouth State University is a coeducational, residential university with an enrollment of approximately 4,000 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. The school was originally founded as Plymouth Normal School in 1871. Since that time it has evolved to a Teachers College, a State College, and finally to a State University in 2003.
It was originally founded as a Teacher's College, and it still retains a distinguished teaching program/major to this day. Since that time however it has diversified its academic profile, adding many new majors and fields of study. It has become known in recent years for its meteorology program (Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute), which is considered one of the best in the eastern United States, and is also strong in business, visual and performing arts, interdisciplinary studies, and psychology. Also, new majors such as Criminal Justice have been added and other programs have increased their stature, especially the natural sciences with the creation of The Center for the Environment.The university now has a total of eighteen academic departments, with nearly forty different options within the major programs. The campus has also grown substantially in recent years with the addition of the Hartman Union Building (HUB) and Boyd Science Center and renovations/expansions to the Silver Center for the Arts, Lamson Library, Prospect Dining Hall, and the Physical Education Center. The university is considered to be a comprehensive regional university and has worked in recent years to increase its profile compared to other regional institutions such as University of New Hampshire (UNH). Enrollment has swelled in recent years concurrent with the official name change from college to university. A new residence hall, Langdon Woods, is currently under construction and expected to open in Fall 2006 to accommodate the increased enrollment figures. There are also plans under revision to expand certain key or "heavy use" buildings on campus, such as Lamson Library and the University Bookstore, due to complaints of over crowding and long waiting lines. Robert Frost, America's Poet Laureate, lived and taught at Plymouth from 1911 - 1912. The college has a campus newspaper distributed every Friday called The Clock, the first college newspaper in the nation to have a Sudoku puzzle in its pages.
Academics
The university offers B.A., B.F.A., B.S., M.B.A., M.S. and M.Ed. degrees and the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies (CAGS) in Education. Plymouth State is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the New Hampshire Postsecondary Education Commission, and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Program-specific accreditations include the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) for undergraduate and graduate degrees in accounting, applied economics, management, and marketing; the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs of the American Medical Association(CAAHEP) for athletic training; the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) for social work; and the Society of Public Health Education and the American Association of Health Education (SOPHE/AAHE) for health education.
The university currently has 18 academic departments. Within each department there are several different study options and degree programs. The most popular majors at Plymouth State continue to be Business (656 undergraduates enrolled) and Education (543 undergraduates enrolled) These two majors make up nearly 1,200 of the 3,447 undergraduate degree seeking student population. Other popular majors include Physical Education, Health, and Wellness, Art, Social Science, and Psychology. As stated, the university has been working hard to diversify its academic profile, and become a fully integrated academic institution, not just a teaching or business school.
Athletics
Plymouth State University's athletic teams are known as the Panthers. The athletic teams' colors are green & white. PSU competes in NCAA Division III Little East Conference (LEC) for most of its intercollegiate sports. It is most widely known for its successes in men's football, basketball, and soccer, and women's field hockey and volleyball. The school's main rival is Keene State College, which also competes in the LEC. Every year the President's Cup is awarded to the school which has more victories in total sports competitions against each other.
Plymouth State University athletics mostly take place in the Physical Education (PE) Center which was opened in the Spring of 1969. Since that time it has undergone several expansions and renovations, however many on campus do not believe the athletic community at Plymouth State gets the support it should from the administration. In particular many have criticized the university for not spending more on more modern, efficient, and updated facilities. Much of the facilities located in the PE Center remain essentially unchanged since 1969 when the building first opened. The athletic director at the university has gone on record as officially saying that the reason more people don't come to Plymouth State for athletics is because of the condition and quality of the athletic programs, and facilities. Despite this, Plymouth State varsity athletic teams have generally been quite competitive and excel in certain sports.