Bucknell University is a university located along the Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg. A "Little Ivy", often compared to Colgate, Williams, and Dartmouth, the university was founded under the name of the University at Lewisburg in 1846 as a private Baptist university. Bucknell University later shed its Baptist roots and was renamed for its benefactor, William Bucknell, a Philadelphian who bolstered the university during the post-Civil War recession.
Bucknell University has academic departments in the liberal arts, engineering, management, and animal behavior disciplines among others. It also contains a college of engineering with programs in electrical, chemical, computer science, mechanical, civil, and recently established bio-medical engineering. Primarily an undergraduate institution, Bucknell enrolls about 3,550 students (3,350 undergraduates and 200 graduate students) and employs over 280 faculty members as of 2002.
Bucknell University is a member of the Patriot League for Division 1 sports, Division 1-AA in football. In sports history, Bucknell University won the first Orange Bowl (26-0 over the University of Miami on January 1, 1935). In 2005, Bucknell went to the NCAA basketball tournament to become the first Patriot League team to win an NCAA game, in a surprising and intense upset of Kansas (64-63). Bucknell University is also the alma mater of the legendary baseball hero, Christy Mathewson, who requested that he be buried in a cemetery adjoining Bucknell's campus.
Bucknell has a strong Ultimate frisbee team, the Mudsharks. It was formed in 1975, making it arguably the longest running team name in College Ultimate. Competing in tournaments in the fall and spring season, this team plays better Ultimate than any other team in Lewisburg. They usually perform well in sectionals making it to the Metro East Regionals most years. They welcome new players either with or without prior experience.
Known for one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation, Bucknell University has a reputation for its rigorous academic programs (especially strong in engineering and the life sciences). In 2002, about 60% of all eligible students participated in fraternities and sororities, a higher than average rate among institutions with such organizations.
Bucknell ranks among the top universities in NCAA Division 1 in athletic graduation rates (No. 1 three times in the last 10 years), the number of students from Liberal Arts Colleges that go on to gain their Ph.D's, and is No. 3 on the All-Time List (CoSida) for Producing Academic All Americans. It also ranks in the Top 100 for schools that produce America's top business leaders.
Bucknell University's newspaper is The Bucknellian.