Office of the President

Welcome to Shippensburg University

Welcome to the Shippensburg University web site. Thank you for visiting our "home" and for sharing your time with us as you explore ship.edu and discover why the university is nationally known for its education excellence and for the many opportunities a Ship education offers.

When you look at our site, you will find that:

• Once again, U.S. News & World Report ranks Ship among the top universities in the North in its book "America's Best Colleges 2009." In the annual rankings, Shippensburg is tied for 58th among all 572 institutions in its category. All members of the campus community should take great pride in this continuing achievement.
• Work also continues on an academic master plan. This is an opportunity for us to look at our academic programming and to determine ways to enhance the already outstanding education we provide. Once completed, this will help guide the university to help meet the needs of not only our students but of the Commonwealth and beyond.
• For the third consecutive year, the John L. Grove College of Business is ranked as one of the best business schools in the nation. The college, with focus on the MBA program, is included in the 2009 edition of The Princeton Review's annual guide to business schools titled Best 296 Business Schools.
• We expanded the Valedictorian Board of Governors Scholarship so talented students in 10 South Central Pennsylvania counties have another reason to make the smart choice to attend Shippensburg. The scholarship was established last year for students in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry and York counties. This year, valedictorians in the 11 high schools in Fulton, Huntington, Juniata, and Mifflin counties are eligible for the scholarship.
• Our Growing Edges Community Counseling Clinic, a community counseling center in Shippen Hall that opened in the spring semester of 2008 provided free counseling for individuals and families. This program, the only one of its kind in the PASSHE system, served 28 clients with a 90 percent success rate and provided our graduate students in the program a unique opportunity to get needed field training as part of their coursework.
• Our student athletes continue to excel in their competitive venues as well as in the classroom and in community outreach. For last spring's semester, 43 percent of our athletes earned a 3.0 GPA or higher. In addition, they ranked number five in the nation among Division II athletes in the amount of money raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
• Our facilities master plan was recently completed. This blueprint will dramatically reshape our campus even as it maintains those special qualities that make Ship unique. The most dramatic change will be construction of all new residence halls and demolition of current halls. This phased project will provide students with the opportunity to be part of a living-learning community that will enhance their academic and overall university experience.
• We're working on a student and faculty exchange with universities in Wroclaw, Poland -  a city of nearly 700,000 with 170,000 of its residents who are students at 17 universities. We hope to have that program in place in 2009.
• The H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center continues to be the premier cultural arts facility in the region. Since its opening in 2005 and up through September, the Center has had 71 professional performances attended by more than 65,365 patrons.

These are but a few of the reasons Ship is a unique place geared toward offering our students the chance to reach their dreams. As good as our web site is; I strongly encourage you to visit us and experience first hand the Ship spirit and be part of the Shippensburg experience.Shippensburg is a fabulous place for your great future to start. Best wishes and I hope to see you soon.
 
Sincerely,

William N. Ruud, Ph.D.
President
Shippensburg University
1871 Old Main Drive
Shippensburg, PA 17257
president@ship.edu
717-477-1301