Penn State Mont Alto campus begins 100th year

September 03, 2003|by DON AINES

MONT ALTO, Pa. - More than 1,100 students returned from summer vacation, jobs or internships Tuesday to begin the 100th year of classes at Penn State Mont Alto.

Enrollment at the college is up 7 percent this year from last, according to Public Information Coordinator Holly Cieri. The 1,130 students make up the centennial class for the school, which opened in 1903 as the Pennsylvania State Forestry Academy.

Appointed in January 2002, David C. Gnage is entering his first full year as the 14th executive officer of the campus, which has been part of the Penn State University system since 1929.

This year, the school has added a fifth four-year major, according to Cieri. Students can now get a bachelor's degree in English at the university, in addition to nursing, business administration, human development and family studies and occupational therapy.

Cieri said, however, the occupational therapy major is being phased out because most therapist positions now require a master's degree. The freshmen enrolling this year will be the last accepted into the program.

The university's two-year occupational therapist assistant's degree program will be unaffected, Cieri said.

The centennial year will include a number of major celebratory events, including a reunion weekend Oct. 17-19 to which 14,000 alumni have been invited, said Margie Taylor, director of the office of university relations.

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