Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The university has been coeducational since its founding in 1889. Its campus is on .
History
Slippery Rock University was founded in 1889 under the name Slippery Rock State Normal School as a teacher training school. James E. Morrow was the first president. The school was purchased by the Commonwealth in 1926 and became a four-year college.
Slippery Rock State College was established in 1960 and issued undergraduate and graduate degrees within the liberal arts and other professions. , Slippery Rock University has 8,243 enrolled students as well as 172 majors, 45 minors and 44 graduate programs, including certificates.
Administration
In 2012, Cheryl Joy Norton was appointed as the university's first female president. Norton announced she would retire effective June 30, 2017. William J. Behre became the university's president in 2018. Behre would go on to serve the university for roughly 4 years before announcing his retirement on February 15th 2022. Effective on July 1st, 2023 Karen Riley was appointed president of Slippery Rock University.
Athletics
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania competes in the NCAA Division II and is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
Slippery Rock University's official mascot is Rocky the Lion.
Varsity sports
Men's teams: Baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field.
Women's teams: Basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, and Volleyball.
The announcement of Slippery Rock's football scores is a tradition at University of Michigan Football games, started in 1959 by Michigan Stadium's public address announcer Steve Filipiak. The tradition spread to other stadiums as well - during a 1970 game at the University of Texas, the announcer failed to read Slippery Rock’s score, which resulted in the crowd demanding to know said score. Slippery Rock was so popular with U of M fans that on September 29, 1979, they played in-state rival Shippensburg at Michigan Stadium, in front of 61,143 fans, a record for a Division II football game (Shippensburg won, 45–14). Slippery Rock played a second game at "The Big House" in 1981, attracting 36,719 fans in a 14–13 loss to Wayne State University. Slippery Rock made a third trip to "The Big House" on October 18, 2014, losing to Mercyhurst University, 45–23; a crowd of 15,121 braved a chilly wind to witness the contest.
Club sports
In 1995, the women's water polo team won the intercollegiate national championship conducted by USA Water Polo. This remains the only collegiate water polo championship ever won by a non-California team.
In 1987, the women's judo team, a varsity sport team at the time, won the intercollegiate national championship conducted by the National Collegiate Judo Association.
Slippery Rock ice hockey joined other colleges and universities in the region to form the College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA) in 2006. In 2020, the university suspended the hockey program for the indefinite future.
Student life
Aebersold Student Recreation Center
The Aebersold Student Recreation Center is an on-campus student recreation center.
Fraternities and sororities
Interfraternity Council Fraternities: Sigma Tau Gamma (1961 – rechartered 1993, as of 2019 currently suspended for 5 years) Theta Xi (1966 – rechartered 1987) Alpha Sigma Phi (1970) Pi Kappa Phi (1985) Pi Kappa Alpha (1997, as of 2019 currently suspended for 3 years) Kappa Sigma (2006) Kappa Delta Rho (1981 – rechartered 2014) Theta Chi (2018)
Panhellenic Association Sororities: Sigma Sigma Sigma (1961) Alpha Xi Delta (1963 – rechartered 1987) Delta Zeta (1963) Alpha Omicron Pi (1966) Alpha Sigma Tau (1966) Phi Sigma Sigma (1991)
Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) Organizations: Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority Zeta Phi Beta sorority Delta Sigma Theta sorority Phi Beta Sigma fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity
Multicultural Greek Organizations: Theta Delta Sigma Society, Inc. (2010)
Student media
SRU has a student newspaper, Local Access TV Station, a PR Club, radio station, and a student-run literary publication. The Rocket, a weekly newspaper with a circulation of 3,000 88.1 WSRU-FM, a 100-watt alternative rock station WSRU-TV SLAB, an annual student-run literary magazine publication.